Metering
Image: The auto metering has produced a dark exposure here, but I can bring back the levels by +2EV before shadow noise becomes an issue to reveal good detail in shadow areas
With the same 77-segment metering system as found the Pentax K-5, it comes as no surprise that the K-30 behaves in exactly the same way. The spot, centreweighted and multi-segment modes are accessed via the info button or through the main menu. Multi-segment metering, on the whole, produces exposures erring to the highlights, which often results in dark midtones and shadow areas. However, this is not too much of a problem because the camera’s dynamic range is very good and there is plenty of recoverable detail from these dark areas.
There is the option to link the autoexposure to the active AF point, which is the only way to achieve spot metering outside of the centre point. I found adjusting the metering appropriately to each scene a little slow, so for general use I stuck to multi-segment metering and made tweaks to the exposure via the twin manual exposure control dials. Overall, I had to adjust the exposure more often than I would have liked.
