With birding gear, we frequently have to make choices, I thought I would talk you through my choices and decisions and maybe give you some ideas. Let's look at camera gear.
A digital camera has become a must have accessory for most birders. The ability to create memories, record a digital notebook and most importantly have a permanent record for ID and rarity submission purposes is vital. Of course being able to post the odd image to social media is a bonus, but which digital route you go down is a very personal choice and ultimately will lead to compromises of some kind.
Most of us would dream of owning a top of the range DSLR and a fast 600mm lens. If we had that we could be rich beyond our wildest dreams, front cover of National Geographic, or at least Birdwatch magazine. The reality is though, the best camera for birding is the one you will carry all the time.
Maybe you want to carry 5kg (the weight of a Canon 600mm with a 7Dmk2) around all day but will you enjoy it? Does the thought of carrying a bowling ball around, maybe up a mountain, or across a salt marsh, really sound that great? Lets not forget it also costs over £10,000. There are very few of us who would call ourselves birding photographers who could justify that.
I tried for years carrying a 7dMk2 and a 100-400 lens around. Quality and speed were great and price wasn't horrendous but, and this is a biggy, it just never had the reach. Even with the built in crop factor you are talking about a 560mm lens which has about the equivalent magnification of a 10x pair of binoculars. Maybe if most of your birding is in hides you can get close enough for decent shots at 10x magnification but many, many times I have been on the coast, up a hill, or on the side of a waterbody and that lens combo has just not been close enough, even with later cropping. Also the weight was definitely an issue and I found when faced with the choice of carrying a scope or the camera the scope won (let's face it, it's vital to have a scope in many locations).
I traded in the DSLR gear for a Panasonic G80 Mirrorless camera with a 100-400 lens. That camera has a 2x crop factor and amazing electronics and I still have it. I use it mainly for garden birds or any situation when I want good quality shots but it's no longer my regular birding camera.
I no longer want to be stressing birds out by getting too close to try and get a photo so my number 1 factor to consider when choosing a birding camera is magnification and focal length. Add in weight and price and there was a clear winner in my opinion, the Nikon P900.
Now lets get something clear straight away, the Nikon P900 is a fairly basic camera. No waterproofing, fairly poor autofocus, terrible electronic eyepiece and rubbish low light performance but this camera has a trick up it's sleeve, a 2000mm or 40x magnification zoom lens. Effectively you are carrying a telescope that can take photos but won't leave a permanent dent in your shoulder or wallet!
And the images, well in decent light they are very good. It won't get you on the front cover of National Geographic but it will get you all the images you want from your birding trip. Even better news is that Nikon have recently released the P950 which fixes some of the flaws of this camera (better EVF, Raw images and slightly better focussing). It's still a compromise and if quality is your main factor then steer clear but for the rest of us who want to enjoy the birds and take some memories home, it's a great choice. By the way, the Grasshopper Warbler at the top of the page was taken with the P900, as was this Mandarin Duck, you can be the judge.
