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Jake: Summer Breeze was Seals and Crofts !!
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And we Danced - by the Hooters

Concerned: If there wasn't a manual in the box - I can only wonder who was in the box before you were. Send it back to Adorama and request a refund, as you have {obviously} received returned goods - repacked (incompletely) and reshipped to you. Or - - request they send you a replacement.

Get a Lumix ZS-7 on E-Bay, or buy a refurb. Fabulous pocket camera. You drive - - have your 'stoker' take the photos. Snapping pix while driving a moto is like texting while driving a cage - STOOPID !! This Lumix has a 12x zoom and includes GPS geotagging - so even if YOU don't remember where you took the shot, the Lumix will :-) It fits in your pocket, and does a great job. Panasonic screwed the pooch with their ZS8 and above - changed the sensor and no gps. Same price. WIth your plans, don't even want to get into DSLR with all the hassles of lens changes, etc. KISS principle here for sure !!

Oh - The blending is done by the HDR software - - see my earlier post in this thread - middle of Pg 5

No need for a tripod. Day was bright enough so I didn't need one. Standard wisdom is as long as your shutter speed is the reciprocal of your focal length - you should be OK hand held. If you need to speed up the shutter, you can widen your f/ stop (lower number) or INCREASE your ISO number. So - if you're shooting 60mm equivalent (remember the crop factor on digital cameras), you should be OK at 1/60th second or faster. If your lens has IS (image stabilization), you can shoot 1 or 2 stops slower hand held and still be OK.
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For the Rothenburg shot (bottom of Pg 7 in this thread), it was timed based on the building exposure and the +- 3 exposure bracketing ensured I'd catch the bright sky and the shadowed flowers.
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Merlin

Photoshop LE is the standard - or the full blown Photoshop CS5 if you happen to be well heeled - - -
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Doing what you want, though, will take a bit of time in post-processing !!

To Oh:
Usually your camera will save all the specifics of your image IN your JPG image (called EXIF data) - the notes you should have to take would be minimal. You can usually view the EXIF data in any image processing program as well as right clicking on the image in Windows and selecting "properties". Also - if shooting well lit images, you won't need a tripod - even for HDR. Here's a shot I took hand-held during the day. You would NEVER see BOTH the sky AND the flowers in the dark nooks with a single shot.

Rothenburg odT - 3-shot HDR - Canon 7D and Canon 18-200 IS

Your camera should come with a RAW interpreter to convert to JPG or uncompressed TIFF. With Canon, this is called DPP = Digital Photo Pro and if you've misplaced your camera CD - you can download directly from Canon. I imagine it is similar with Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, etc. For the mainstream cameras (Canon, Nikon, etc), Adobe has 'free' RAW plug-ins for Photoshop and PSE. You shouldn't have to spend any ca$h to start working with your cameras' RAW features.

Piggybacking on Over the Moon: IF you only have one shot - make sure to capture it as RAW (as well as JPG) - this will capture much wider dynamic range than plain JPG and give you better post-processing options. If you can add auto-bracket and AREN'T planning on HDR in post - then would auto-bracket my RAW + JPG at only +- 1 to 1-1/2 EV rather than 2 or 3. Adding a polarizing filter may block some of the glare - but may also block some of the 'sparkle'.

Well - - I kinda like the ghosting effect - - plus, this way, I don't need signed releases from them :-)
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Also - the small streak in the sky is an airplane :-)

No problemo - -
EV = Exposure Value = darker or lighter
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Exposure/Exposure_01.htm
With the camera set to auto-bracket, you get one underexposed image (EV= -2) that captures the bright stuff (that usually gets blown out on your normal exposure), a 'correctly' exposed image (EV=0), and an over-exposed photo (EV = +2) that will capture the stuff in the dark shadows. Then the HDR process merges the best parts of all three.
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IF you are set to auto-bracket AND it is somewhat dark out - please note that your +2 exposure will likely take 1 or more seconds on the shutter - so you should shoot with a tripod (or you will have to push the ISO up to 2500+)! If it is BRIGHT out - you can easily hand-hold. I have taken auto-bracket shots at night at ISO 800 that took 30 sec - - have attached an example - - one of my faves - -

PS: I may have the + and - reversed regarding brighter/darker/ exposure times, it is correctly explained in the link at DP Review.
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Merlin

Night Shot - HDR - WW-II memorial, Washington DC

Looked through the posts - don't see anyone else has made this recommendation - :roll: - so - - -
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If your camera will autobracket AND shoot (large) JPG + RAW, this will give you a series with maximum flexibility later on.
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Set your auto-bracket to +- 2 or 3 EV, then snap the shot. Your White Balance setting will only affect the processed JPG images that are stored - if you don't like the balance, you can reprocess them later from the RAW.
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Next - - get yourself an HDR (High Dynamic Range) post-processing program - such as Photomatix, etc
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http://captainkimo.com/hdr-software-review-comparison
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Within seconds, your computer will have aligned the images, taken the best parts of each, and composed a well-balanced composite that would have taken you HOURS unaided in Photoshop !!
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The review listed above is an excellent, brief narrative on what can be done with each of the 10 listed programs.
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HDR is HIGHLY recommended for those difficult to capture, wide ranging photos.
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Merlin :thumbup:

Probably a reasonable choice - - maybe a bit short - - BUT - bet the f/2.8 works just fine - be sure to let us know when you get back !!

Tad: Originally there in 1988 - - daughter now doing a semester abroad - so we went back to visit her in Quedlinburg and took her back to Rothenburg. Here's another shot from 'outside' the wall.

Rothenburg otT - Outside the Wall

Recently took a trip to Germany - only wanted to carry a single lens for my 1.6 crop Canon 7D. Picked up the Canon EF-S 18-200 (could have gone with the Sigma or Tamron equivalents which are a bit longer but 1/3 stop dimmer at zoom). I used the entire range for shots and was happy with the jack of all trades, master of none compromise nature of this lens. For your FF 700D, equivalent range would be 28-300 or so. I've attached a small version of the quintessential "I've been to Germany and visited the Castles" photo of Neuschwanstein taken from the bridge behind the castle and a second photo from the walled city of Rothenburg odT.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau: Canon 7D & EF-S 18-200


Hotel Markusturm in Rothenburg odT: Canon 7D & EF-S 18-200