Launched in 1985, the Pentax P3 (P30 internationally) presented a shift with its plastic body, moving away from the more professional design of predecessors like the ME and SuperA. Designed for amateur photographers, it embraced a user-friendly approach, featuring a KA-mount bayonet for aperture information transmission and accommodating various manual focus lenses. Boasting program, manual, and exposure modes, the camera served a broad range of users, capturing moments with speeds from 1 to 1/1000 sec. Particularly noteworthy is its Program mode, allowing ease for users with exposures up to 8s observed. The P3/30's viewfinder covers 92% of the image, offering a split-image matte focusing screen. While maintaining simplicity, it lacked manual film speed setting, utilizing DX Encoding film with an ISO range of 25 to 1600. Despite its technical limitations, the P3 found popularity for its accessible design and reliability. The US version sported an all-black finish, distinguishing it from the rest of the world's dark gray model.