What camera set up to id ? (1 Viewer)

[todbod]

Hi folks, Just got mi allotment sorted, which is really actually going to be a wildlife place and especially a bird watching/attracting place, which i am very keen about. It's all set up ready and very nicely, a lovely cabin with rocking chairs and stove and windows all around, with long views, too. I've had it for 10 years but got distracted from it by other things to do and dosser druggy scumbags breaking in..........affected me so much i nearly gave it all up.Thank goodness I didn't because it is a great part of my world now.

Anyway, the thing is this, that I know very very little about id of wild birds. The trouble is that they come and go very quickly before I can id them. So, my idea is to photograph them to give me the time.

I am expecting to have a tripod and some lens and a camera. I don't have a smart phone, so i think a camera with a decent-sized screen. The distance is only about 4 meters.

So what do you reckon? I'm not into computer technology too much. I just want something very very simple, self contained. It doesn't have to be super quality or anything. I will probably just delete it after id and tick what amounts to my I-Spy book.

I am also interested in establishing what foods to attract the widest variety of birds, whatever.

So far i have all the tits and sparrows and a nuthatch and many finches and a spotted woodpecker, crows, pheasant, thrushes, goldcrest, pigeon. But I know there will be many many more. It is in the wide varied countryside of Pendle in Lancashire. I reckon there is great promise, black caps, all sorts.

I don't try to hide at all. My idea is to be very very very conspicuous. I reckon birds are clever and if they can feel i really don't care as a threat then they will trust me.

So what camera set up? What do you reckon? Doug

 

[Hauksen]

Hi Doug,

Anyway, the thing is this, that I know very very little about id of wild birds. The trouble is that they come and go very quickly before I can id them. So, my idea is to photograph them to give me the time.

I am expecting to have a tripod and some lens and a camera. I don't have a smart phone, so i think a camera with a decent-sized screen. The distance is only about 4 meters.

So what do you reckon? I'm not into computer technology too much. I just want something very very simple, self contained.

At 4 m, about anything should work fine. Ideally, it should have a certain amount of optical zoom to give more detail, but you don't usually need great levels of detail to identify birds.

It probably helps if it has a quick auto focus that can be configured for spot measurement, otherwise it might get distracted by nearby plants and branches too easily. (The "fully automatic, leave it all to the camera" mode probably won't cut it, so some light reading of the manual might be required.)

Photography is a great learning aid. Make sure you also have a good bird guide, like Svensson's, which I think is also called the Collins' Bird Guide in the UK.

A tripod might not be needed, and maybe even a hindrance, unless the birds always perch on that one special spot in front of your cabin.

Sounds like you're up for a very enjoyable time - I wish you a lot of fun with the local birds!

Regards,

Henning

 

[njlarsen]

A similar though more technical question is in this thread: https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=378823

Niels

 

[marcsantacurz]

Doug,

At 4m, a 500mm equivalent zoom would be fine, even for smaller birds. It would have a field of view of about 28cm at 4m.

A nice camera with great video is the Sony RX10 IV. It goes out to 600mm and has a decent sized sensor for excellent image quality. It will be on a the more expensive side, around 1500 GBP. You could find them used at some discount.

The Nikon P1000 is popular with birders. It zooms out to 3000mm! It has very good image stabilization so you can use it off tripod too. It comes in around 889 GBP. There's an active P1000 thread on these forums.

The Nikon P900 is getting a bit old, but is still a pretty good camera that zooms out to 2000mm. It will run you about 430 GBP, or maybe half that used.

Here are some other options. Really, there are a truck load of point-and-shoots around 600mm - 1300mm that would all be fine. One thing, though, is if you want to use it off tripod, I strongly recommend getting a camera with a decent view finder (EVF) so you don't have to hold the camera at arms length trying to point it at some distant bird. All the ones I have listed have good viewfinders.

• Panasonic ZS80, 720mm zoom, maybe 300 GBP
• Sony HX99, 720mm zoom, about 440 GBP
• Canon SX70, 1365mm zoom, about 470 GBP, or the older SX60 used for 300 or less.

I stayed away from interchangeable lens cameras. There are quite a few that would be excellent, but you would look at about 1900 GBP to get started (Nikon d7200, Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens, for 225 - 900mm equivalent zoom), maybe 1200-1500 used. Personally, I like the DSLR option, but it's more money, more weight, and more complicated to use. The RX10 / P1000 / P900 / or others would probably serve you just fine.

Marc

 

[todbod]

Thank you for the help given in your replies. It all helps. I'm gathering for now, but will commit in a couple of weeks, I expect.

It is something i really want to get into. It's gonna be great. I'll get it so that i can share the birds visiting me,and presumably be able to see other watchers visitors. Fantastic. Once again, thank you very much for your helpful info to help me through it. Cheers doug