How come?

Nothing wrong here.

The K-r itself has no image quality problems, unless of course it's faulty in some way.

The only way you can compare is to shoot a detailed subject with the camera on a tripod.

As regards sharpening, different sensors will need slightly different aharpening. It also depends on subject and the tastes of the photographer. However, a picture should look sharp beyond any doubt once you've finished with it. If this isn't the case then something is amiss.

Try adding +1 sharpness to in-camera JPEG shooting to see if that puts it right.

Travel photography can be more like action photography and to enable fleeting moments to be caught I think a standard zoom is needed. Messing around changing lenses can be downright hazardous in markets teeming with people or tourist spots where pickpockets target the distracted.

I would fit something like the 18-250mm for preference. A wide range, good quality and close focusing. In closer quarters the 12-24mm is invaluable.

A 35mm on its own is about the same as a 50mm would have been on film. Yes, it's a standard lens, but highly limiting for travel.

If I was starting my lens range from scratch, I would be looking at the new Pentax 18-135mm as a general purpose lens. £499 from SRS.

So the choice would be:
12-24mm
18-135mm
100mm Macro
55-300mm

The last lens has some degree of overlap, but it's the best option for now.

It does of course depend upon the style of your photography and your requirements might be totally different to mine.

Telephoto lenses make stunning landscapes - it's much easier to eliminate unwanted details or bland sky.

I'm not sure why you will have to wait for a lens before you can do night photography? The lenses that you have will do very well if you use long exposures and a solid tripod.

True they are not ideal for hand held night shots, but with higher ISO settings can shoot at reasonable shutter speeds in remarkably low light.

Just to add to that reply, you will need to use stop down metering in manual mode so that the lens stops down correctly. Someone who does this routinely will be along I'm sure to add detail to that process.

Moved to General Chat.

Tiddles have been corrected....