I used to own a Lumix ZS50 point&shoot (P&S) camera. Got it on sale at Costco about 5 years ago. Took it on a couple trips without problem. For being a pocket size, lightweight, and reasonably priced, it produced very good pictures. I was impressed. Gave it to my sister. She took it to Holy Land and came back with really nice pictures. I know by history she is bad with taking pictures. She thinks she is getting better. I think it's the camera with some Divine intervention. But, she doesn't care. I have updated to ZS70 on the ZS series but I think the top level is ZS100. Here are a couple of sample pictures from the Lumix ZS50: 1) Eiffel Tower, 2) The Louvre, 3) Claude Monet's Garden towards his house (cloudy), 4) A Windmill in Amsterdam (cloudy), and 5) Versailles Garden (all beauty as far as the eyes can see). I think you'll love one of the Lumix ZS. Good luck and take some good pictures.

Like some of the posters here, I too use ProShow (currently, Producer level) by Photodex. I started with regular then upgraded to Gold and now Producer level. There are more features and special effects as you upgrade. You can create a slideshow with accompanying music, special effects, layering, smooth transitions, captions/text, title, and all the other "bells and whistles" that come with the software. Once finished, the software allows you to make copy of your slideshow into format of your choice such as regular DVD, Blu-ray disc, USB flash drive or upload to Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, etc. For my personal/family use, I only make a Blu-ray copy. (Picture quality of the regular DVD is "good" but Blu-ray copy is "awesome.") You will need a Blu-ray recorder to make a copy. I have Pioneer but other respectable brands also available cost about $80-100. How long it takes to make a copy depends on the duration of your slideshow. My guesstimate is a 15-min slideshow takes between 30-45 minutes to copy to a DVD or Blu-ray. It seems shorter time with USB flash drive (10 min). I suggest you play the Blu-ray copy of your slideshow on a large screen smart TV with a couple of decent speakers for best viewing enjoyment. Of course, you will need a Blu-ray machine connected to your smart TV. Blu-ray discs are getting much cheaper (I use Amazon). You can also use the USB of either the Smart TV or the USB from the Blu ray machine to view. To learn more about ProShow, check out Photodex website. They have great tutorials and demos. I believe they allow trial period of 1 or 2 weeks. If it meets your approval, I suggest you buy the lower level first (starter or Gold about $80). You can download the program online. Like the other program involving digital photography e.g., Photoshop/lightroom, it requires time, lots of learning, practice, and patience. The great slideshow you will eventually create is well worth it. What do I think of ProShow by Photodex? Needless to say, love it. (DISCLAIMER: I have no financial ties or interests whatsoever with Photodex or Amazon!) Addendum: To avoid the clutter of having too many Blu-ray discs laying around and risk of misplacing or losing them, you can put them all in a high-capacity USB flash drive better yet, a portable hard drive (WD or Seagate 2 TB). You will need a Blu-ray "ripper" to copy to one of these media with no loss of image quality. But, that's for another topic. Hope this helps.

Agree with azted's response of, "you will need wide angle as well as telephoto." Fast wide-angle lens for low-light/night photo shooting (e.g. indoor museum, churches, synagogue); telephoto lens for your walking tour and extra reach. The well-lit Steidl's Hungarian Parliament overlooking the River Danube is a sight to behold at night. The largest synagogue in Europe is located in Budapest; heroes' square is more of military showpiece. There are other places connected with the WWII but can be disturbing to some. Lot's of history and beautiful places in Prague to see. To name a few, Old Town Square where the astronomical clock is (chimes/apostles' parade on the hour every hour; can be crowded, stake out your "best" spot early) and sort of people's gathering place, the Charles Bridge (artists, vendors, musicians, sculptures, even love locks, etc), St. Vitus Cathedral (glorious stained glass abound; bejeweled St. Wenceslas chapel with Gothic frescoes; he is the subject of the well-known "Good King Wenceslas", a Christmas carol), and other churches such as Infant Jesus of Prague. If you're with a river cruise (e.g. Viking), they offer excellent guided tour as part of the package. Guides are very knowledgeable and funny. Thank God, the beauty of Prague was spared the destruction of WWII. Enjoy your trip and take some good pictures. (Disclaimer: I don't have financial ties with any of the tour agencies.)

Tamron 18-400 is an all-purpose lens for travel especially if you need the extra reach. Love it. Takes great pictures for reasonable price. On the (-) side, it feels a bit heavier. Like you, use Nikon D7200. Overall, I am impressed with this lens. (Note: I am a newbie to digital photo and must admit am easily impressed and should take my opinion with a grain of salt.) I don't own either of the lenses you currently have so can't do side-by-side comparison. Here's a link to someone who did such comparison of tamron 18-400 v. sigma 100-400 on a whale-watching trip. (Disclaimer: I have no connection whatsoever with this guy or his website.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNZEVT0edkQ

Thanks for looking and the encouraging remarks. Yes, all photos were taken using a P&S camera (Panasonic Lumix ZS50), my first foray into digital photography. I did some Lightroom re-touching on a trial/error basis. (Also a newbie with this photo processing software. Just got it a couple weeks ago.) These photos were from our trip to France that included visit to the Normandy (American Cemetery & Memorial) in our itinerary about 3 years ago. A very solemn place. Not a dry eye among participants during the brief but moving ceremony. Got all choked up. Here's a link to a one-minute slideshow to honor the fallen heroes on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Photos from our visit about 3 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvYia9BuZQ4 Again, thanks.

No wonder only see a few this time. In addition to the bad storms in Central America you mentioned, I think the late winter storms here in my neck of the wood (SE WI) probably contributed to the disastrous event. We were getting ready for Spring when on 3rd week of April got hit by a big snowstorm. Heard on local news that birds especially the little ones were dying because unable to dig for food due to thick snow on ground. So, we put up 2 bird-feeders full of stuff for them to feed but guess who showed up for dinner? Thanks for the info.

My sentiments, exactly. I share your description of "a sense of motion and urgency" portrayed by the blurry soldiers. It was an unexpected but a welcome effect that ends up conveying a better story. This is how that picture came about. As our tour bus approached the place, I caught a glimpse of the statue and quickly took a shot with my p&s (point&shoot) camera. It turned out blurry. At first, I was disappointed. Thankfully, I did not delete it. It is probably the "best" blurred picture I've ever taken. IMHO, the "blurry-soldiers" photo is also a heartrending depiction of, 1) the incredible and unwavering comradery among the young American soldiers during that war and, 2) their ineffable bravery to preserve freedom for theirs and generations to come. Thanks.

Got my first point&shoot camera (Panasonic Lumix ZS50) a week before European river cruise 5 years ago. Took almost 1000 pics that look great (my own standard). Took the same camera to France 2 years later with pics again quite impressive. (Doesn't take much to impress me.) A couple months later, jumped to the next level and got me a Panasonic FZ1000 with good pics and even better video production. After a few months shooting with the FZ1000, felt ready for the next challenge and got me a Nikon D7200. Took it with me to Alaska a year ago but had to take a "crash" course on DSLR 101 at a local community technical school a couple months before trip. It's been about 1 1/2 years with this camera so far, filled with frustrations and satisfaction with the latter, far and few in-between. I know I still have a lot of learning (and patience) to do. So, bear with me folks when (not if) I post photos not to your standard. Critic away! Go ahead, make my day. Seriously, happy I found this site. BTW, tomorrow is June 6, 2018, 74-year anniversary of D-Day, The Invasion of Normandy. In remembrance of the soldiers who perished during this battle, I posted a couple of photos taken (Panasonic Lumix ZS50) during our visit to Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France a couple years ago. A very solemn place. Quick facts about the Normandy American Cemetery: 1) the cemetery covers 172 acres (overlooking "Omaha Beach" - the bloodiest encounter), 2) all crosses are facing West towards "home" (America), 3) 9,387 - total number of American soldiers buried, 4) 9,238 Latin crosses and 149 Stars of David, 5) 2 pairs of fathers and sons and 38 pairs of brothers buried, 6) 307 - number of "Unknown Soldiers" graves, 7) 1,557 - number of soldiers MIAs, 8) 22 years - average age of buried soldiers. To all who gave their lives for our freedom, We Salute You! Thank You!

Also from WI. Not as many Hummers so far as in the past couple years. May be they're still trying to find their way back. Here's a picture of a Hummer I took in our backyard a couple years ago. Never seen a Hummer feed and poop at same time. Used Panasonic FZ1000.

Ah...Ah-laska! So much to see, so little time. You're all set to go. Your long lens will do for the whales. (I had the Tamron 18-400 mm. Great pictures.) You may also encounter sea lions, bald eagles, etc along the way. You will need the faster lens for indoor shooting on your "Sea Day" or Cruising Day. (Taking pictures of your family/friends and areas of interest of the ship for your trip's story. For example, the cruise line we took has great art collection on board I took pictures of.) Unless you must, leave the tripod behind. Most likely won't need it. Your lens image stabilizer should take care of that. Re: humpback whales - once you see a spout, get ready for the shot. Hope they breach for you. Pray for a sunny day. Unfortunately, Alaska weather is unpredictable. Mendenhall Glacier is also in Juneau. Hope it's included in your itinerary. Nugget Falls just a (walk) mile away; Mendenhall Ice Cave, a beauty. Hope you also included in your itinerary Denali by land/train and may be, air. Not to forget, Glacier Bay National Park. I hope you get to see one of the big glaciers calving. See them now before they're gone. I hope you booked a room with unobstructed view. Haines, AK excursion is also a 5-star. (Took catamaran, walked through forest, canoed, walked again just to be up, close, and personal to a glacier.) Take some good pictures and enjoy the trip.

I do just about the same thing. I use the software ProShow Producer by Photodex (awesome, check it out). Using this software, you can select the photos from your trip(s) and create a siideshow presentation with appropriate accompanying music and "all the bells and whistles" (effects mentioned by srt101fan above as well as adding title, text/caption, etc.). The software provides a catalog of music to choose from or you can select music from your own collection. Once finished, you can make copies for your travel mates, family/friends in regular DVD format, Blu-ray format (need a blu-ray recorder), USB format (thumb drive), or upload to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. They look and sound like professionally done. The Blu-ray format is the best format especially when played on a large screen smart TV with great speakers. The rest of the photos I save in WD portable drive. I also make copies of the finished slideshow program of the trips in WD drive and a separate high quality thumb drive (e.g., Sandisk 128 gb). Occasionally, e.g., as a formal gift, I upload to Shutterfly to make a photo book but can be really expensive.