Hahahah a good point but I usually carry a couple of cameras at all times. My constant pocket camera is the remarkable Nikon Coolpix A which gives great colour and is as sharp as I need admittedly with a fixed lens. I have far too many cameras in fact but I do take the point you are making and answered rather tongue in cheek.

Yes, I am currently shooting B&W in-camera but....I am using film in a Nikon F2S for these.

I have this lens and it truly is a cracker. At fully open the image separation is amazing and still sharp. Of course it doesn't have IS but anything this long needs to be supported for best results. Get a monopod if a tripod isn't convenient. Don't get rid of it, you will always regret that.

If you are interested in the Alps then don't look to do huge mileages. Some of the ascent and descent roads are very tortuous although picturesque. I would also avoid motorways and travel as much as you can on the small country roads. This way you will arrive at small and interesting towns and villages and leave the motorway drivers to miss it.

You know, the fun thing about cameras is experimenting. Why ask others when you can use each setting yourself and see what you prefer? If your current setting is producing what you like, then why change?

I go to Italy frequently and sometimes take three cameras and what a pain THAT is. You think you will need all this stuff and then worry about what you actually take out each day. For instance, last October when I was there I took a Nikon D7000, Fuji X-Pro1 and the amazing little Nikon Coolpix A. When I came home and started uploading them, I realised that for much of the time I had use the Coolpix with it's fixed wide lens. IDepending on what you are expecting to photograph, I wouldn't bother with the long lens. With a decent sensor and shorter lens you will be able to pull out any detail you ish with selective enlargement. Don't let gear get in the way of actually enjoying what you see!

I disagree about the software comment. Most people can produce perfectly acceptable photographs without using any software whatsoever. I have used many cameras from so-called 'entry level' to much more up market models and usually they produce great photos from automatic setting without tweaking. No, I don't use auto these days having gone far beyond but j.pegs straight from the camera will satisfy anyone.

About three years ago I flew from the UK to Italy with a handful of 35mm film. I asked at the scanner and they said it wouldn't be a problem so the went through the X-ray. I used the film and then flew home passing through the Italian security of course. The films processed perfectly without the slightest blemish.

I go to Venice every year, usually in summer, where the light is intense. I have never used a lens hood for many thousands of photos. Occasionally I use a polarising filter. In all those photos I have never had the slightest problem with flare from sun and, yes, I sometimes include the sun in the shots. Leave the lenshood in your bag!

I have been a Nikon user for many years and very pleased with the quality they produce. I must admit that taking a D7000 and just one zoom lens on my travels does tend to be bulky and somewhat inconvenient in crowds (I go to Italy a lot!). I was tempted by the Fuji X-Pro1 and I must say that it produces wonderful work and just that much easier to pack and carry. I also use the tiny Nikon 1 V1 and a Coolpix A. Will I get rid of the D7000? Of course not but for me, it is horses for course as the saying goes.

Great photos considering the restriction of movement for you on that day. I love Vilnius but haven't been there for years.

The thread heading is D3300

Don't worry about the so-called 'entry level' status. It is basically a black box with a lens. Nikon 'entry level' lenses are generally pretty good. I used a D40 for several years until I went to a D7000 and quite honestly, I see no difference in the quality of photos.

Exactly Cat. Nobody will ever notice any tiny difference in quality (if any) unless enlarging to an enormous size.

If you use a really decent quality filter you will never be able to tell any difference with your photos between having it on or off. Take particular note of those who write about a screw in filter protecting the front of a lens against impact damage - they have it exactly right!