Best (least-bad??) affordable used bridge camera (1 Viewer)

[taufish]

Hi, my partner has been wanting very much to upgrade from using her compact camera (Sony DSC-350) for birding but there's no way we could afford a DSLR at the moment, and it would be a big learning curve, so a bridge camera seems like a good interim step. I've read some blog posts and threads, but all the recommended ones are unsurprisingly the more high end ones.

Can anyone help out non-photographer me and recommend something that's halfway decent while still being affordable? Obviously we're not going to be able to get anything fantastic, but at least knowing what to avoid and roughly which options to look at would help a lot. A friend has a Sony H400 which they recommended, but I thought I should look for broad advice

Thanks so much for any help you can give!

 

[PYRTLE]

Hi, my partner has been wanting very much to upgrade from using her compact camera (Sony DSC-350) for birding but there's no way we could afford a DSLR at the moment, and it would be a big learning curve, so a bridge camera seems like a good interim step. I've read some blog posts and threads, but all the recommended ones are unsurprisingly the more high end ones.

Can anyone help out non-photographer me and recommend something that's halfway decent while still being affordable? Obviously we're not going to be able to get anything fantastic, but at least knowing what to avoid and roughly which options to look at would help a lot. A friend has a Sony H400 which they recommended, but I thought I should look for broad advice

Thanks so much for any help you can give!

Depends really on your maximum budget....

 

[taufish]

Depends really on your maximum budget....£200?

Yep, that's about right - a lot of the recommendations I was seeing were 500+. Obviously the cheaper the better but of course it's always going to be a trade off

 

[PYRTLE]

Yep, that's about right - a lot of the recommendations I was seeing were 500+. Obviously the cheaper the better but of course it's always going to be a trade off

That figure should get you a used Sony as recommended - probably a way forward to start with and then upgrade as and when. But obviously these even have their limitations, particularly for flight shots.
I'm sure far more knowledgeable toggers will pitch in.

 

[taufish]

That figure should get you a used Sony as recommended - probably a way forward to start with and then upgrade as and when. But obviously these even have their limitations, particularly for flight shots.
I'm sure far more knowledgeable toggers will pitch in.

Thanks, it's good to know I'm on the right track!

 

[rosbifs]

As Pat says you will struggle with flight shots so really need to think about what pictures you are wanting to take. I went down the Lumix route and thought the second new, to me, camera would have ironed out the flight shot issue, it hadn't. In the end I went for the Canon DSLR range and started with a cheap 70-300 zoom. Nothing to blow you socks off but I could get 'snap' shots easier than the Bridge cameras. SO I was/am happier with the DSLR.

You may be able to get something on EBAY or other that fits the bill.

Anyway, think about what pictures you or partner want to take, and not just birds because that will have a bearing - I took far more family and landscape pictures with the bridge than I ever do with the DSLR.

 

[taufish]

As Pat says you will struggle with flight shots so really need to think about what pictures you are wanting to take. I went down the Lumix route and thought the second new, to me, camera would have ironed out the flight shot issue, it hadn't. In the end I went for the Canon DSLR range and started with a cheap 70-300 zoom. Nothing to blow you socks off but I could get 'snap' shots easier than the Bridge cameras. SO I was/am happier with the DSLR.

You may be able to get something on EBAY or other that fits the bill.

Anyway, think about what pictures you or partner want to take, and not just birds because that will have a bearing - I took far more family and landscape pictures with the bridge than I ever do with the DSLR.

She pretty much exclusively photographs wildlife and sometimes landscapes (former wildlife biologist).

 

[njlarsen]

As you are in the UK is seems. I scrolled through some pages of used camera equipment at WEX. Panasonic was the only brand where I saw used bridge cameras within your range of less than 500 quid. There were several models, and I do not know enough about those to make recommendations. FZ1000, FZ330, FZ82 at least, possibly other models.
Niels

 

[Mikbul]

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[MelospizaMelodiaFan]

If you haven't, take a look at this thread. Bridge Camera Photography Showcase
Various cameras are represented here. You can get good results with a bridge camera. There are some very nice images in the gallery taken with a bridge camera.

I would buy used to get the most for your money.