Pentax K3ii camera, lenses, flash unit and battery grip

To be fair, I used Lightroom on all the Flickr stuff to get them even to that stage. I don't want to overdo the PP. I'd like to be able to capture the shot better in the first place so it doesn't need as much PP. But thanks anyway for your positive comment.

I look back on some of my early pics and I wince! I also noticed that some of the things you describe not being able to do from the manual are, in fact, complicated tasks that an experienced person would have to think about. If composing shots is the current problem, then ignore all the fancy stuff for now and set it on "green". Once you are happier with that, set it on Av and twiddle the rear E dial to play with the exposure, and so on. A little bit at a time.

Thanks, davidwozhere. By composing shots I meant that I don't seem to have a great eye either for seeing where to take the best shot from or for for seeing how best to frame the shot. The first thing I often have to do in LR is to crop and /or re-align. I also find that neither using exposure bracketing nor LR's graduated filter PP cheat produce brilliant results but I don't want to throw good money after bad on expensive filter sets. A big part of my problem is also that most of the time I'm out, I'm with family or with a walking group. It often is unrealistic to expect them to hang about while I set up my tripod and test and retest settings until I'm satisfied. I can't expect them to set out before dawn or return after sunset to get the best light and, as a married man, it seems selfish to keep having to leave my wife alone. That's what dedicated photographers seem to have to do. So, in selling this top grade kit, I am recognising my limitations - not those of the equipment. I look at some of the stuff in the Forum galleries and competitions and know that I haven't got the eye nor the dedication needed.

Welcome to the club! I studied technical and industrial photography at one of the top London Schools of Photography - but my wife regularly produces better composed and visualised shots with her tiny (and not always reliable) Nikon point and click......a gift that I simply don't posses! So I do what I do best - technical photography with a particular interest in entomology and horticulture.
The only reason I use filters is to protect my lenses when they are not being used, except for special circumstances they simply are not necessary. I regularly use a K10, K20, three K5s (my personal favourite dslr) and the brilliant K3, all will produce superb pictures with minimal input from the photographer if so desired.
Don't give up - keep it simple



Roger

Just to add my two pennorth for what it's worth. 1. Don't despair you are in good company. 2. Be comfortable with what you have and do the best you can with it and that includes using PS or LR to achieve what you want.
On a pesonal level I have a K5 & K3ii but my go for camera is my GR which gives me better results. Good luck with whatever you decide. Regards John, very aged still learning.

That's not the end of the world, is it?! Read a book or two about composition and some photo mags, try to copy some photos you've seen and like. If you go somewhere, think to yourself, what is it about this place that makes it what it is and try to capture that somehow.
Lots of folk just take endless selfies with some landmark behind. does that capture the feeling of a location? Probably not. Do you not have any art experience from school to call back on that can be applied to photography (the rule of thirds, golden hour light, etc.)? That might be more promising.
Look at photos and art works you like and decide what is it about them that makes them special. One doesn't go out ad take a masterpiece every time, but sometimes you may come back with something and it starts to click, literally! Often it needs a bit of work, perhaps some litter is spoining it, if so clone it out. Maybe the clouds look washed out, if so darken them down. Don't be averse to adding clouds from a photo taken on another day.
If you wish to produce some great photos, you won't if you give up!

I thank everyone who has responded with their encouraging comments so promptly, helpfully and constructively. Overall, I've not changed my mind to sell but takuman's mention of the GR - which I'd never heard of - prompted me do do some research in that direction. I'm really quite impressed with the quality of some of the sample images I've seen and I'm now thinking in that direction rather than the Panasonic family (fz1000/fz2500). The Panasonics major on video performance which I do very very rarely. The only downside I've read about re the GR is internal dust gathering - but I guess that few cameras are free from that in the long run. I also believe that there's a Google thread that shows how to disassemble, clean and reassemble the camera. Perhaps I need to hold on to my gel stick cleaner!
The GR also seems to get better reviews than the GRii - but there was some mention of a possible GRiii coming.

Have you considered the Pentax Q cameras?

No, it's another camera I've never heard of but I'll have a look at the reviews. Thanks for the tip. Still, unless my kit actually sells for a reasonable sum it will have to stay in use. I won't be giving it away - it's too good for that. And I've still got my K50 which I really enjoy using.

Silly question time, if you bought the K3II in Colwyn Bay, do you live locally?

I ask as I live in North Wales (down the Lleyn Peninsula), and you never know, our Pentax paths might cross.

Regards
Adrian

Hi Adrian,
Until recently I owned a second home in Blaenau Ffestiniog where we stayed a few times a month, travelling from our main home in Merseyside. Although we loved the cottage, our neighbours there and Blaenau as a place, at 73 years old, I found the time and effort and money needed to maintain a 160 plus year old stone built cottage was becoming too much. Blaenau is a wonderful place and great as a base for walking in beautiful Snowdonia and it broke our hearts to leave. We still visit Blaenau but we are unlikely to venture further in your direction than Porthmadog. It's a shame because we enjoyed visiting Criccieth and Pwllheli. I bought the camera on the day we completed on the sale.
Thank you for asking, Adrian but it is unlikely that our paths will cross especially as my time in the fantastic Snowdonian hills is now behind me.

All the best to you.

Regards
Adrian