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That’s like asking how fast to drive a car. Where? A school zone? Daytona? Freeway? Through town? It all depends.

Suggest you study the exposure triangle, proper use of histogram and a whole bunch more.

The idea is to make an exposure that captures the spectrum of colors, from black to white, but not over expose or “blow” the highlights making the pic unusable. Of course there’s more to it.

If you’re using a camera with no exposure meter I suggest you reconsider that and simplify to a camera that does. Take away the unnecessary complications to find the elegant solution.

That’s a lot of info you requested. We
Did a trip with a small boutique travel company. BUT…we travel quite a bit with Overseas Adventure Travel. OAT has tours there. People on our current trip (Greece) said it was excellent. So consider OAT.


Lens selection would probably work.

I believe so.

The Universe is a big place and you’ve not considered all options.

Join a legit photography club. Mine has judging, webinars in a wide variety of topics, field trips and we’re expanding to include mentoring. Total cost is $30 a year. If there’s one in your area, consider it. Or join ours remotely.

Tophotogroup.org.

I’ve been to Italy and thereabouts many times. I concur with this recommendation. I do not agree with the 100-400 recommendations. You will be on the street, in churches and museums. All of which means wide. Of course, this is my preference, not dogma.

Fwiiw, do not underestimate the benefits of a mobile phone camera as a back up system. And it makes for a very robust photo processing and image back up system as well. LR Mobile, Snapseed and other programs do pretty well.

Here’s a link to a few shots I took a few years ago. If it will help. I’m working on my last Italy trip (where only a small Sony was used.) Note there are few museums or churches. We took this trip at the last minute so I didn’t do much research on happenings in Venice area. Well we get there and realized it was Carnivale! Festivals and fun times! So look up events to see what’s happening in the area. Don’t be a dope, like me! Safe travels to you.

https://hipcoyote.com/venice-croatia

Perfectly stated. It’s downright goofy. It’s all preference amongst a bunch of amateur (of which I am one) photographers. Over trivial matters.
Filter, no filter. Raw vs jpeg. LR vs what ever. How many is us operate at the edge of performance that any of this matters? One look at the gallery and who could argue many?

This is an example of a relatively unmoderated site. It allows a certain culture to exist which often is not positive. The attic should not even exist. But moderation takes time and efforts.

I belong to a camera club with a few very high end photographers. National if not world class. Not once have any of our programs discussed filters, canon v Sony v Nikon.

Actually I use a deal from Op Tech that carries the camera right on my chest called a reporter’s strap. It hangs off my back pack straps so that I can keep my hands free during some serious trekking, scrambling, etc. A pretty cool system when going on more than a jaunt in an easy trail. Otherwise I use a regular ol neck strap. I don’t care to have my hands tied up with a camera attached to a wrist strap, particularly in a street environment. Need hands free.

It’s all a matter of preference, no?

Or hiking and shooting a lot of pics. Having a cap cost me a few lost shots of critters so I kept cap off.

I can also see an argument for street photography. Moments are fleeting.

I busted a filter on my walk around lens and for some reason I had a generic Amazon one in my bag so used it. This may be heresy, but I don’t see a big difference in IQ. I typically use B+W however. Here’s some shots with the generic on the front. Seems ok. So I’m not certain it matters all that much.

Is this really how you spend your time?

Ken

I typed this up as you apparently made the purchase...so deleting my comments.

Enjoy.

look up photopills...

Perfectly stated.

Here is a cut n paste response I did a few days ago:

In the January 2024 PSA Magazine there are two articles dedicated to smart phones. One of the articles is entitled, "The Freedom, Versatility, and Capability of Today's iPhone Photography." The other is a documentary about a photographer's journey towards using an iPhone as a primary camera. Both articles display exceptional photographs. One author points out differences between his dlsr and iPhone 13 ProMax. There is not a lot of difference, but he does point out some situations where the little iPhone simply would not work.

While some may not care or want to ignore the advancements of the mobile phone as a camera, the fact is that it is here and quite capable. While people on UHH can argue, ad nauseam, about FF vs. this or that, IQ of each system, 31 pages and counting on the latest drivel on RAW vs. JPG, the fact is that that the phone is a very capable system. The photographs in the articles far surpass all but a few photos in the Gallery of the UHH. One author notes that the use of modern processing capabilities, including AI and algorithms to reduce or eliminate noise also benefit the iPhone camera. He also notes that the versatility of the phone is amazing...during a course he was teaching people did panoramas, macro photography, underwater photography and light painting...all with the little ol' camera. Of course, the phones cannot do birds in flight well or sports (except video is quite good), but as a general shooter or for travel, it may be all that is needed by the rational open minded person.

In my case, I do not care to use the iPhone as a camera replacement. The ergonomics and the rapidity at which I can deploy the phone camera are a problem. But, that could well be my problem rather than the device. What I do know, and will be teaching to my camera club, is that the iPhone can be a very capable mini-computer when I use a regular camera, edit the pics in LR Mobile on my phone, sync with the cloud and later polish up editing on my home computer. Now I come home from a vacation with nearly fully edited pics, all avail on the cloud with my raw and side car files for incorporation into my beloved LR Classic. Its downright voodoo.

What is clear is that the money behind phones is far greater than the money behind cameras. The computational capabilities, meshing with the cloud and so many other capabilities far eclipse our traditional cameras.

What is a universal truth is that using a camera as an artistic implement is the key to success. To paraphrase the adage that, "amateurs talk tactics while soldiers talk logistics," I believe amateurs talk gear while photographers talk art.