Hello Shaky, welcome to the forum!

Your advice regarding the book is perfect - as you probably discovered the manual rather assumes that you understand the basics of photography and many people stepping up from compact cameras don't! Having some sort of guide to hand when you're starting out is an excellent way of easing yourself into the hobby and you'll certainly get a lot more enjoyment from it once you know what you're doing. Not that this forum isn't a great source of info, but carrying the computer with you everywhere can get tiresome after a while...

Well I've had a quick scan through your photos and I can't see anything (at these resolutions) that screams out "poor equipment". I would like to offer you a suggestion though:

All the photos I looked at (the first 10) show in the EXIF data that the lenses were wide open when the shots were taken - *no* lens is at its sharpest when used in this way and all lenses benefit from stopping them down around 1EV+ from wide open. To take the kit lens as an example, at 18mm the max aperture is f3.5, at 35mm it's f4.5 and at 55mm it's f5.6 - to get optimum results you should look at using it around f4.5 @18mm, f6.7 @35mm, f8 @55mm and so on.

If the smaller aperture means that the shutter speed is too slow for you to shoot hand-held then consider upping the ISO value. Again, all your shots were at 100 ISO yet your camera is capable of taking noise-free pictures at levels well above this - don't be afraid to use higher values, you'll soon work out where the noise becomes too much for your own tastes and I'd amagine you could easily go to ISO 400 - 800 before you hit that barrier.

If you're still at the stage where you're letting the camera choose the aperture / shutter values for you then I'd suggest you go into the Custom Menu and set the program line to "MTF Priority" - the camera will then select an aperture that will give optimum performance rather than maximum light.

Other than that I'd say you'll get a lot of mileage out of your current lenses before you need to step up a level, keep practising is the key!

Before spending any money you might like to post some examples of the softness that you're seeing. People with more experience of that camera / lens combination will soon be able to tell if the failing is of equipment or technique; if it's the latter then you'll have saved a few quid and hopefully picked up some suggestions on how to improve your photos - throwing money at it isn't always the best answer...

Difficult to judge as in the second one you were bouncing the light so your ceiling was acting as a diffuser anyway. Try one bounced without the lightsphere and one bounced with - that'll give a better comparison.

The real proof of the pudding with those sorts of things is when you use them outdoors and you have nothing to bounce onto - should get plenty of those opportunities at the wedding...

I think the camera is regarded as fairly sturdy, but depending on how long it's been sat unused it may require a service. Do a visual check on the condition of the light seals around the film door and the mirror box / focussing screen - these corrode over time leaving a sticky black residue which can get over the internals and cause you problems (quite apart from those associated with the camera no longer being light-tight!). It is possible to clean up and new seals are cheap, but with ME Supers going for so little money you may feel it's not worth the hassle.

The phone number's 01923 220558 - probably the quickest way to make contact.

I really like it, the shades of orange and petrol blue in the sky (and reflected in the water) make me wish I were there to see it in person - I can almost feel a gentle breeze taking the edge off a scorching day.

As for the HDR aspect, I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't said, but I consider that a good thing as I'm not hugely fond of some of the more "extreme" HDR shots I've seen.

Big thumbs up all round from me!

I don't have that lens but I'd suggest any lens where the blades don't close down evenly has developed a fault - if it's still under warranty then I'd send it back to Tamron for repair/replacement.

Not really, his brother (my uncle) worked his whole life at Pressed Steel in Cowley (not that far up the road from these parts) and they got a staff discount on all the cars they made bodies for. If only we'd lived up the road from Maranello then life would have been different...

Agree about the gearchanges on Maxis though - always reminded me of stirring porridge (which went well with the suspension that felt like driving on jelly). Ours was black and looked like a hearse and to add insult to injury he passed up the chance of a Dolomite Sprint to get it! As a nine year old petrol head I could never understand that decision.

My Dad had one (in maroon) when I was a kid - I was embarrassed to be seen in it. He then chopped that in for a Maxi followed by a Princess so things didn't improve much...