Whatbird.com

I've been saving for a decent camera and have $400 or so to spend, but I need advice on what features to look for.

Need it for taking pictures of birds - of course.

Most of my birding is from my wheelchair looking out through my large window to my front yard. The yard is on the north side of the house & I have large pine and blackwalnut trees. This means the yard is in the shade most of the time.

What do I need for taking pictures in low light?

And what type of viewfinder is the best?

Any suggestions for specific camera are welcome, too!

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Vicki Conklin

Hi Viconk,

 I too am incapacitated, mine is due to extreme degenerative joint disease which does allow for some very short walks, but do understand your limitations better than most. I too love to take photos (can see my albums here if you want to) and do have an understanding - however slight LOL - of cameras, lenses, f-stops, etc.

 From what you have said, two things you are going to need is a zoom lens (or very long prime, if you go the single lens reflex digital route), and a TRIPOD to be able to take slow exposures which allow more light into your lens.

 There are a LOT of VERY good p and s (point and shoot) digital cameras out there, and they are probably your best bet with your budget, but make sure you have at least a 8X zoom. 10X or more would be better, obviously, but NOT digital zoom, optical only. Digital zoom you should not use as for the most part, you get that effect better on your editing software.

 If you wanted to go dslr (digital single lens reflex), with that amount, the ONLY way is to go used, and yes ebay  will have some good cameras with lenses for about that, but then you get into lenses and other accessories that you will want/need later, so that is up to you.

 I will be glad to converse more with you, if you want, please feel free to contact me via this site, will be glad to "tallk" to you either by messenger or email!

Jacque

Or, you can save up a little more money and buy a Canon Rebel DSLR from Costco for about $650 to $700. Thats a pretty decent camera for the bucks. There are also some good buys on the internet for other DSLR cameras without having to sell your house.  

Jim 

DSLR's are great....but by the time you get the lenses(considering the cost, and the bulk...) you have the price of 2 top of the line point and shoots, like canons 3s is, or many others...if you are taking the pictures for enjoyment, point and shoot may be your best choices...one very big deal to consider is the fact that high quality videos can not be made with DSLRs...the canon shoots at 30fps, and at full resolution... you can then go in and capture  frames, and convert them to stills....plus manuverability is a major  deal with DSLRs....check ebay for the prices...the canons go for about 200-250...Panasonic makes some great ones too...good luck...Bigger ain't always better, ya know

Just throwing in my 2 cents:   The Canon Powershot S5 (the camera I'm saving up for currently) runs around $400, but you get an 8 megapixel, 12x zoom that can capture great photos and videos as birdseye talked about.  The 12x optical is great for bird photos, and is among the highest you're going to get for that price range.  A nifty feature with this line of Canons is the fact that the viewfinder rotates out away from the camera.  My current Canon has this feature and it comes in handy at times...  for example, you can hold the camera above your head for a different angle if needed, just flip the LCD viewfinder out and rotate it so you can still see the image, then snap away.  Works well for shooting around corners, too, if you have a bird that's easily spooked by the appearance of someone at the window.

For several years I had the FujiFilm S7000 point and shoot camera. It was nice and I took lots of decent quality pictures with it. Never used the video feature on it. You will never get the image quality from a point and shoot that you will get with a DSLR. You will also never get the Zoom range that can be achieved with a DSLR if you buy the right lens. I carry a backpack that has a 400 mm, 70-300 mm and an 18-135 mm lens in it. I also have a 1.4 Teleconverter. The 400 mm coupled with the 1.4 converter gives me a 560 mm lens in bright sunlight. Not to good in subdued lighting. Even with these lens, there are times that I can't get far enough out there to do justice to the picture. My Nikon {D200 10.2 megapixel} has the video feature, however, I doubt if I ever use it. But, you have to pay for these long lens and like you said, they are not cheap. It just depends on what your looking for and what you can spend.

I use a Canon D30  3.3 mega pixal DSLR  it is a good camera but again the digital SLR's are expensive the Canon is a great camera due to the CCD being extra large (that is the cmos the business end it does what the film does captures the light the camera then stores it as a jpeg or raw image).I would say that you should get a camera capible of capturing digital Raw images. Check out Ebay you may get a deal there but most SLRs sold on ebay are for the body only you would also need to purchase lenses as well. I am saving up to get a 30D 10.6 mega pixal Canon it will have to be a used one new is about $1200

The kiwi

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Birds high above in the trees Serenade the flowers with their melodies

Thank you all for your input.

I had pretty much narrowed my choice down to a Canon S5 IS or an Olympus SP-560UZ.

After reading all the responses I think I'll look around a little more and save up a little more money while I'm looking.

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Vicki Conklin

have you checked out this website? lets you compare side by side...i have had an olympus camera, they lack one thing big... the shots per second is real slow, and they have a bad time auto focusing in the shadow... where the  bird seem to hide... but check this out  

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons5is/

If you plan on saving a little more you may want to consider an Olympus EVolt 510. I am a fairly experienced amateur photographer & I own one & love it. It is a DSLR rather then a point & shoot. You can currently purchase one with 2 different zoom lenses (one normal range & one telephoto) for $658.00 from B&H Photo in New York City. Hre's the link  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/488309-REG/Olympus_262072_Evolt_E_510_SLR_Digital.html. It's a great value for the money, a real high quality camera. I would also highly recommend B&H Photo to anyone. I've bought most of my equipment through them & they usually have the best prices around & I've never had any problems with them. Hope that helps.

 Greg (stitch58)

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"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on --shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."

George W. Bush

Thanks so much to everyone for excellent suggestions and advice!

Time to think about something else for a while - last night I was dreaming about cameras! I think I'll back off and save some more. Suggestions and advice still welcome.

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Vicki Conklin

Don't know if you have a craigslist.com(basically a free internet classified ad site) in your community but sometimes you can find amazing deals as people are reselling very good cameras for very cheap prices.  If you are near Denver you would surely have an active craigslist.com.  I've been watching mine recently just to see what I might be able to get.

In January my husband bought me the Panasonic Lumix FZ18.  Can't say enough about this camera.  It is light, so easy to use and takes incredible photos, plus it has an 18x zoom lense. You should read the stats on it.  I believe he paid around $350 and it was money well spent.  I didn't want all the complications of a DSLR as I know my limitations and this has worked out wonderfully. I love to take photos of the birds at my feeders and have been able to really get in close. Love it!!