I will visit my son in southern Africa next September, and am struggling to figure out what camera to take. My wife and daughter will be with me, so I am unlikely to have loads of time to set up and take shots (its not a photo trip). I was a Peace Corps volunteer there in the 80s, and shot a lot of 35mm, but I'm really not satisfied with little negatives anymore. I thought about medium format, and that is still an option, I guess, but I would love to get some of those landscapes and portraits in 4x5. I just had a conference near LA, and took a couple extra days for a trip to Joshua Tree with only my old Travelwide. I took some shots handheld and some off a tripod, and while that seems like it could work, I didn't really like being limited to a 90mm. (I have not developed the shots yet, as I will not be home till tomorrow night.)
I could just take my Ikeda Anba. Its super light, but also a bit fragile, and I like it enough that I don't want to risk it in an environment where I could get robbed easily. I'm thinking if I take something it needs to be relatively rugged and something I will not cry to much about if it gets lost. So, a rangefinder might make sense. A Wista would be rugged, and quick to deploy, and can be had for around $400 without a rangefinder. I was also thinking about a Busch Pressman, as I've seen them for less than $200. Then I could take a relatively cheap 90mm for landscapes, and a 150mm for general and portraits with the rangefinder. Well, I'm rambling. If you have any thoughts, please share them.
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