Pentax P3N / P30N / P30T
The Pentax P30N is a variant on the P3/P30 line of 35mm SLR cameras produced by Pentax, beginning in the late 1980s. Introduced in 1990, the P30N (also known as the P3N in some markets) is a lot of camera for little money. It can also be thought of as a "bridge" camera, as it fills the gap between the earlier all-metal, all-manual, all-mechanical cameras of the previous era and the upcoming auto-focus, automatic-capable, and more plastic cameras that would dominate the market in the 1990s. As the bridge between these photographic eras, it has features familiar to both genres.
Beginning with film exposure, the P30N features the ability to operate in a full program, auto exposure mode (if one is using Pentax PK-A lenses), aperture priority, or full manual metering. The electronic viewfinder display shows both the selected shutter speed and the suggested shutter if in the manual mode; otherwise, it merely displays the shutter speed that will be used if in an automatic mode. Shutter speeds are set via a familiar dial atop the camera and range from 1 second up to 1/1,000, plus Bulb and 1/100 flash sync modes.
In terms of other functions, the P30N has an electronic self-timer, depth of field preview lever, and a handy exposure memory lock button. This last feature can be particularly important as the P30N lacks any exposure compensation feature. Nicely enough, despite the era of the P30N's inception, the camera has a mechanical film crank and rewind. Thirty years after its introduction, this has helped keep the P30N a relevant camera - as other cameras of the time are being jammed up nowadays by faulty film advance motors.
The P30N makes a sneaky good camera for someone looking to get into 35mm photography, especially on a budget. While our preference is still toward the older, metal bodies like the K1000, the P30N is a solid enough camera and, if paired with any of the great Pentax lenses out there, will certainly make great images.
While the P3N and P30N are different names for the same camera, Pentax also produced a P30T model. This version differed from the P30N by having a diagonal split-prism focusing screen and by using a plastic film door instead of the metal one found on the "N" versions.
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