Thanks for all your kind remarks and encouragement, gentlemen. Muchly appreciated and muchly thankings.

Thanks guys but my finances are slightly worse than those of Greece at the minute. I shall have to wait another month or so.

At last I have a K-r back in my possession. I've even managed to update the firmware without having to ask for assistance! Language set, I normally speak fluent rubbish but I couldn't find it listed, so put English, no one will know. All is ready to for me to learn how to take photographs. Everything except the weather!

As always, my thanks go to you all for assistance and encouragement. Opethian, thanks for youe comments. Pentaxophile, I can't see the 18- 250 lens. I'm looking in the classifieds. Kind regards.

Hooray! I managed to sell my 1100D this morning. Now all I have to do is to decide between the K-r and the K-5. Because of my severe financial situation I have to do 'credit'. I also have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in three fingers, which make handling the camera and changing lenses a bit of a bore.

My thinking is to get one of the 18-200/250mm tele's and use only that lens for all general photography, avoiding the lens changing. Later, I want to get a decent dedicated macro lens.

Just getting the K-5 body and the cheaper 18-200, Tamron will set me back a little over £1000 including the interest over two years. Getting the K-r, it seems to be available with the two lenses where I am, and the Tamron will set me back just under £500 for the K-r over six months free credit and £170 cash for the Tamron.

I would like the K-5 as I think it may well stay with me longer than the K-r but who knows the future. I shall decide on the morrow and hopefully bore you all again tomorrow evening. Kind regards.

ChrisA, Thanks for your comments, they are appreciated.

Weatherwax, If you might take a little advice. Take the trouble and time to physically print out the 345 page manual. Print it out in A4 size or the biggest size you can do.

My reasoning is thus. The small book that come with the camera is far too small. By enlarging it it is so much easier to read and therefore, understand. You will now be able to work through the printed out version and have your K-r at your side. Believe me, for the most part it will become easier to use the K-r and a lot better.

The K-r, in my opinion is far better than ,certainly the Nikon D3100 and the Canon 1100D. Try not to do what I did with regards to listening to all of the alleged faults. From my research you will, in all probability, not come across them. I am sure that you will love the K-r.

I only wish that I had listened to the little man inside my brain. He has never been wrong but I rarely listen to him!

As always, I am grateful for the informative responses to my OP. I hope that it will serve as a guide for those who, like me, are new to dslr cameras.

Believe it or not I am now trying to sell my 1100D in order to re-buy a Pentax K-r or even a K-5. However, I am not to hopeful as the price of a new 1100D with two lenses can be bought for as little as £479.00. I need £400.00 to enable me to get a new K-r. I have learned the lesson. What a silly old pensioner I have been.

Some of you may, or may not, remember my short ownership of a K-r in November last. After reading about the 'inherent' faults with the K-r and even speaking to the Pentax helpine who confirmed the problems, I exchanged my K-r for a Canon 1100D.It is a very good camera.

However, this last weekend I had occasion to attend a 'laymans' introductory photographic course. Naturally I picked the brains of the instructor, especially about the pro's and con's of the K-r and the 1100D. I also mentioned the inherent tungsten/low lighting and a problem that I was told of about some focussing at the long end of the kit telephoto 200mmlens.

I was told that all of the cheaper makes of dslr's have one or other of the problems mentioned and not to be concerned as in all probability you will not encounter them, as they are all manifest themselves in different circumstances.

His final words were that I should have kept the K-r, as in his opinion, it is a superior camera to both the Nikon 3100 and the 1100d canon.

Alittle late for me but perhaps some food for thought for those who are still wonering which camera to buy.

Thanks for your kind thoughts. However, I'm afraid that with Christmas coming I gave all of my refund money to my wife to go away for the New Year weekend, with her sister. She lost her husband a short while back and is finding things rather upsetting at the moment.

I shall be Ok till Pentax sort things out and by then I shall have enough money for a better camera. In the meantime I need to get this advertisement sorted out.

Sorry, I wasn't even aware of the classified section. I shall do that immediately. The initial attitude of the place where I bought the K-r made me detemined not to buy today.
I shall revert to my bridge camera until this time next year and hope that Ricoh/Pentax will be all sorted by then. I don't really want to buy any other but a Pentax. Also I have a very strict budget. I shall continue to visit from time to time just to be nosy. Right over to the classified.

After a week of shutter problems, it remained in the open position, I have today got a refund. I no longer have a K-r. I am hoping that by next year Ricoh/Pentax will have it all sorted and I can look for another.

In the meantime, I have the following to sell as they are now surplus to rquirements. Two 52mm Hoya uv filters, one 52mm circular Hoya Polariser filter, two lens pouches and one ORC-1 remote shutter release, unused and in the packet. Anyone interested can reach me through the forum and then email.

I hope that doing this is in order, please forgive me if not. Kind regards.