daffyddtreanor

In (more or less) order: the beautiful old bakelite "Baby Brownie"; then upgraded to the "Box Brownie Flash II". The first SLR was the Mamiya 500TL, then Icarex 35 (where I learned to use a hand held meter). From there came various Pentax SLRs, Nikon EM, Canon New F1, Nikon F, F2, F3, etc. Now the Leica rangefinders up to the M6 are in use, though I'm tempted to go back to the Nikon F or F2,

14 day cruise next week and am debating between recently serviced Nikon S2 + 35, 50 & 135 lenses, or recently proven (but not serviced to my knowledge) Leica M6 + 35, 50 & 90 lenses..My heart goes to the Nikon, but my brain goes to the Leica. (I collect the damned things). Sometimes I hate having too many options. I'll probably finish up just tossing a coin - taking both is not an option.:(

I totally agree with Rick. The Olympus XA has an excellent lens, is reliable and should be well within your price range.