Decent camera for relative newcomer (1 Viewer)

[Thegeezer9999]

Firstly my apologies if this is the wrong forum, @admin please move if not appropriate here, I did not know where to post this !

I am looking for a mobile, fairly lightweight camera which I can sling round my neck and take decent pictures which is not usually the case (unless I can mange to get very close up) with my iphone se camera. Back in the day I had a manual SLR, but that was many years ago, and I guess things have moved on a lot !! I will be taking pictures mainly in following locations (if this helps) :-
Back garden
Local parks
Wetlands like Kilcoole and Booterstown
Occasionally abroad

I am willing to do the hard reading and research but also would welcome advice. I have heard the terms bridge, mirror/non-mirror and dslr but not really sure what is best.

I don't want to spend a fortune, but main things I guess are decent (and quick to focus) zoom, video and video stills, NOT heavy or bulky. budget up to say €300 (can go higher or lower for right camera). I have also heard it is better to buy body and lens separately, but Ideally, at this stage, I think an all-in-one would suit me better.

Thank you to all who respond

 

[njlarsen]

With that budget you should be looking at bridge cameras, and even check places with used cameras. Forget mirror
Less and dslrs for now. There are several similar threads about this in the camera section of Birdforum.
Niels

 

[Thegeezer9999]

Thanks Niels, I could only find specialised forums for specific makes hence my post here. Could you point me to one or two posts and I can take it from there ?

Regards

 

[njlarsen]

Here are some recent threads:

1st Birding Camera

I'm an amateur, occasional bird watcher and am thinking about getting a camera so that I can take pics of some unknown to me birds to i.d. in my book at a later time. Is there a camera that would work that would cost less than $1K? Obviously would not be using a tripod and am not sure about the...

www.birdforum.net

Bridge camera advice, please

This will be my first camera specifically for birding. I don't want to go down the DSLR route, mostly for budget reasons, but also because I'm looking for a camera for record shots and bird ID rather than cracking good images (though hopefully there'll be a few worth keeping). And I don't want...

www.birdforum.net

Im looking for compact camera for walking

Hello everyone :)! I'm looking for a compact camera for taking amateur photos. Up until now I've been using a Nikon Coolpic B500- borrowed from my sister. I think was too slow. With a larger zoom there was little bit grainy photos. I'll be taking photos often while walking my dog and daughter...

www.birdforum.net

 

[Montereyman]

A big and often overlooked aspect of "bridge cameras" is that they are designed for novices and will automate a great deal, My wife first ventured in to phography with an Olympus Pen camera. It had setting or menu options for "sunsets", "flowers", and macro that produced perfectly exposed pictures every time.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1877284-REG/nikon_26541_coolpix_p1100_digital_camera.html

 

[njlarsen]

A big and often overlooked aspect of "bridge cameras" is that they are designed for novices and will automate a great deal, My wife first ventured in to phography with an Olympus Pen camera. It had setting or menu options for "sunsets", "flowers", and macro that produced perfectly exposed pictures every time.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1877284-REG/nikon_26541_coolpix_p1100_digital_camera.html

While I agree this can be good to get started, the better "bridge cameras" can be used in a (slightly?) more manual mode once you start getting beyond the basics. I have helped a couple of people going down that route.
Niels

 

[Thegeezer9999]

OK I have done a LOT of research, and it came down to the Lumix FZ330 or the Nikon D950. I would really appreciate your take on my understanding and my final choice of the Panasonic over the Nikon. I have also looked at some of the pictures from each, and do not believe the Nikon to be worth the extra money. This is not meant as a slight to anyone who did pay the extra to get the Nikon.

Firstly the cost, the Fz330 comes in at just under €500, whereas the Nikon is just under €700.
Secondly the portability. The FZ330 at just 691g, whereas the Nikon is just over a KG.
Although the Nikon has considerably larger zoom, I have read the quality of picture in low light is worse than the Panasonic.
The time taken to zoom on the Nikon is supposedly much slower than the Panasonic.
There is an excellent website where the Panasonic settings are exceptionally well explained to a beginner like myself (that is a BIG plus)

I know I am not going to take the world's best pictures, but I think on balance, this is an excellent starter bridge camera which should take me to the point where I can move up to the next best (AI ?) camera in a few years time !!

Would really welcome your comments on this before I click the "buy" button

As always, thanks to all who respond.

 

[njlarsen]

It has been a long time since I moved beyond a bridge camera to something a little better. Therefore, take my input with a grain of salt. I think you can get good experience with any of the two you mention. I think it might be hard to say any of these are wrong.

As one of the people here use to say, nothing beats getting close to the bird and having good light. You are likely to experience the advantage of this in whichever of these cameras (or any more expensive camera) we might be talking about.
Niels

 

[Thegeezer9999]

Thanks Niels, your assistance (and Monterryman) in my decision has been invaluable.

 

[Georgebirds]

The FZ330 is the exact camera I have.
It really is a good size and weight for carrying around, I just use the standard neck strap with no padding or harness and find it comfortable for all day long. It also feels easy and comfortable in use (even one-handed while riding a horse!) cos the balance, the grip, and the shutter button all seem perfectly aligned.
It's very fast, both to start up and to focus - no frustrating delay while you wait for the camera to be ready - I often walk along with my finger ready-hooked on the 'on' switch, and it's a matter of a second at most between spotting the thing I want a picture of, and getting one.
It's also very very resilient - mine's been on hundreds of miles of walks, been bashed and battered and dropped, even survived being in the same room as a small house fire! This model has a dust and water seal, to stop anything getting inside (one of my reasons for choosing it - my previous bridge camera eventually got more and more specks of dirt all inside the lens, which ruined the pictures, this one's been through years of equally mucky conditions and not a single particle is in there!)

I don't have many photos on the Gallery here, but here's a few real-world examples of what it's like for bird pictures, when used by a non-expert hand!

Media added by Georgebirds

www.birdforum.net

 

[crazyfingers]

OK I have done a LOT of research, and it came down to the Lumix FZ330 or the Nikon D950.

I have not tried the Lumix. I did try a Nikon D900 a while back. It's HUGE. I think that the 950 is just as huge. I would never carry it around for a day hike.

Have you looked at the Canon Powershot SX70? It's a lot smaller and I've had excellent results on birds.

 

[Thegeezer9999]

I have not tried the Lumix. I did try a Nikon D900 a while back. It's HUGE. I think that the 950 is just as huge. I would never carry it around for a day hike.

Have you looked at the Canon Powershot SX70? It's a lot smaller and I've had excellent results on birds.

I bought the lumix second hand but thank you for reply.