The Olympus Tough cameras are robust, have good lenses, are as close to indestructible as I have seen. I have an older model, which works great, so, if you do not want to spend for a new version, there are plenty of good used out there. The menu options might take a 4 year old a bit to fathom, but he could also just ignore all that until he seems intrigued; it shoots automatic images really well.

I gave my son the same camera before he headed to England for a masters degree. He produced numerous great pics! So, when she is not shooting, try it yourself. And let her use your unit, as well. The two of you can share and learn. And have fun...

I concur on Friedman. I've used 3 of his books. They are exhaustive, which can seem daunting, but he also provides his "go to" setup, which allows one to optimize at a generic level without gaining a degree in Sony options.

I have the A7rii. Problems with it, as others have mentioned, are primarily regards the menu system; it is arcane and difficult to get one's mind around. The only other issue is short battery life, so do have a couple charged extra batteries; they get eaten up rapidly. One thing that I did not see, but I would offer strong recommendation towards is Gary Friedman's books. They are massive - for the A7rii, there are 644 pages - but that means that everything is covered. He includes his 'ideal setup,' which allows you to go through the menu system, setting up different parameters, and therein gaining some sense of the far too many options present. But he is an astute writer and makes things clear. Have fun!

I have a (now old) NEX 7, with which I use the FE 70-300, 4.5-5.6. It works well, and, if you should choose in the future to go to full frame, of course, it works fine. And on the NEX 7, an early iteration of the 24 MP format, it works fine and produces an equivalent of 105-450mm. It has been out for a while, such that, if desired, you could find a used one.

There is a built-in assumption that almost all of us make, namely, that we perceive stimuli in identical fashion. Lots of research in hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, etc. makes it clear that that is unlikely to be true. But even as people have tried to 'calibrate' sensory experiences, how would one do that? Inevitably one has to revert to language as a mechanism of comparison, but language is fraught with the same lacks of precision that our senses manifest.

An experimental approach taken many decades ago posited that various people 'should' be able to perceive what was termed a Just Noticeable Difference, or JND. One was blindfolded and then given a square or rectangle to feel. When the felt object quit being a square and instead was a rectangle, that was deemed the JND. But, of course, different people had different points at which they perceived the difference. The same with circle and ovals. Also was applied to auditory stimuli with similar results.

But the take away is that each of us sees, hears, smells, tastes, etc. differently. Clearly there are commonalities to those sensory experiences, but not equalities. I've always wanted someone to see if twins experience in highly similar fashion; one would think so, but, you never know. But, then, regards colors, I'd say print what you see as optimal and forget trying to make it exactly as a monitor seems. Of course, some calibration probably can save on print supplies.

Laowa has a 10-18mm FF, manual focus lens for Sony A7's
that reportedly is very good with limited distortion, although at that width, distortion is impossible to avoid.

Oh, WOW!! If coming this way in the late Spring or early Summer, you might catch the mountains in full bloom -- rhododendrons and mountain laurel; if a good Spring, they can cover the hillsides with white and pink just about everywhere. And, given the extent of rain it is apt to be a very 'bloomy' year. And, although yet a bit further off from Gatlinburg, the Linville Gorge is spectacular -- purportedly the oldest exposed rock on the continent and the flowers are dominant.

In any case, have a great time!

Cades Cove, as several have suggested, is a really pleasant place. There is a large loop that you can drive around, or, if so inclined, in the early mornings, you can bike around it. Often deer are out in the meadows, and, yes, there are numerous older buildings that have been somewhat restored.

If you are willing, not far away in North Carolina, are several truly beautiful natural places. Going up on the Blue Ridge Parkway provides vistas for many miles, especially if clear. Brevard was once 'cursed' as the best town in which to retire, but it still is wonderful small town. And Asheville is also an amazing place, especially if you are interested in arts and crafts. There are several arts galleries in town. The New Morning Gallery in the Biltmore Village is special and the Biltmore Estate is wonderful, as well, if costly. But I have spent many hours in the greenhouses at the Estate, shooting pics of flowers: the lighting is diffuse, the flowers are well tended and beautiful and absolutely no wind. Also, if you like waterfalls and/or rock faces, the Cashiers-Highlands area is remarkable: second wettest area in the lower 48, with several rock faces between 600 and 1000 feet high. Some waterfalls go on and on and on, down rocky escarpments.

In Gatlinburg, it is mostly tourist attractions, which extend to Sevierville. But, if one goes over the mountain, in Cherokee, NC are many indian attractions. The central Cherokee town is mostly honky-tonk junk, but Qualla Arts & Crafts has 'real' stuff that is mostly amazing.

So, yes, many places that might be of value and often photographically wonderful. Given the time of the year, most vegetation is not 'out,' so probably looking more at things like Cades Cove or arts and crafts places would be smarter.

Laowa is a lens maker who produces incredible lenses. I, owning a Sony 7rii, am looking to buy the 10-18mm, widest zoom lens for mirrorless. Not sure what the Nikon camera you are using is, mirrorless or not, but Laowa has many unusual lenses, with some wide angle zoom probably present. Suggest at least looking at their offerings. And the one Laowa lens I have is very nice -- well built and great optics!

OK. I have a Sirui T-025X. I went to B&H and found that this tripod is no longer available but that a replacement (Sirui T-25SK T-0S Series Travel Tripod with B-00 Ball Head (Black, Carbon Fiber)) has replaced my model. The weight is low (2.2 lbs), but the capacity is high (13.2 lbs). And the cost is just shy of $200.00. Also, if you are an Amazon person, they carry this as well. I have used it for backpacking with a Sony and lenses, with which it has worked very well. It has numerous features; worth considering.

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I have the 70-300mm lens and find it very good. I use it a lot in backpacking and climbing situations. While one of the more expensive and faster offerings no doubt would be optically better, this lens provides great images and weighs considerably less than those costlier lenses. At 300mm, a tripod or some type of steady support is important, but it does well. And on a cropped sensor, it goes up to 450mm, which is pretty far out there.

On a cropped sensor, I pair it with the 16-70mm, f4, which covers almost all of the desired ranges and in good glass. It is an old enough lens that you probably can find a good used one or one on sale.

On my A7rii, it is excellent, as well. I'd choose it over the more expensive options almost all times, not wanting to lug such monsters around. BUT, if I were to go to Alaska to try to get good pictures of wildlife, I'd probably spring for the 200-400mm.

Hope this helps. Have a great holiday and best luck in your decision-making.

I have an 'old' Nex 7 (waiting for Sony to upgrade sufficiently to warrant a newer version), which provides great pics. The two lenses that allow for maximum coverage with very good optics and relatively low weight: 16-70, f4 & 70-300, variable f's. Carry them on hikes and climbs; both lenses work very well.

I concur with various inputs for a general use macro lens. I have an older Olympus macro 90mm, f2.0, which is great, but requires an adaptor for Sony A7rii. Also, however, if you want to go into the minute world of extreme macro, Olympus has some great lenses from bygone days, when coupled with bellows or tubes, produce exceptional images. Just purchased a Laowa 25mm, f2.8, which shoots from 2.5-5.0 real size, again extreme macro. But, if you want a lens that not only works as a macro and as a good general medium tele, then any of the 90-105mm lenses mentioned are great. Moving to extreme macro incurs lots of extra effort, which might not be what you want to pursue, but if you do, you'll need a good tripod, a remote trigger, some form of increased lighting (flash, light-table, etc.) and a focussing rail in order to obtain sharp images. And, even then, it is often very difficult to capture images outside of a carefully set-up indoor shooting context. (Probably more info than you wanted, but I am so excited with what the Laowa does, I couldn't help myself...)