NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

How about a Nikon CoolPix P900. They have just released the 1000 so there may be some deals on the 900, and it has major zoom.

kcooke Loc: Alabama

I agree Gene. That lens is pretty good. My wife is a beginner and has a used D3100 and the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Lens. Hear are some recent shots sooc. Not BIF but birds none the less. You will note in exif data that one of the bluebird pics is at 1/30 sec and 300mm. She is not shooting manual yet. Trying to teach her but it takes a while and I am not the best teacher!

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old poet

I use the Nikon 200 - 500 with my D7200 and love it. It has reach, fast tracking and focus. It is heavy, but at 77, I use a chest harness and monopod, and I hand hold it for long stretches, with occasional rests using the monopod or harness. It is superb for flying birds and small perching birds high in trees.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N3lKQ6em0JSJIMTw46zQhh5FxCY1Q3Lc/view?usp=drivesdk

Selene03

I am now a Canon person, but have shot Nikon in the past. Since I am often photographing birds from kayaks, pontoon boats, etc, my favorite set up at the moment is the Canon equivalent of what your friend has as a camera, a Sl2, with Canon's non-L full-frame 70-300 USM II lens. I think that lens is pretty equivalent to the Nikon 70-300 kit zoom that came with my D600. I would recommend that lens if it is not too heavy for your friend. I got some pretty decent bif with it and my D600; it should be even better on the crop sensor camera. Although I use my 5d mk iv and a 100-400 with a teleconverter for birds on land, I actually like my simple setup for its range and light weight. It would be hard using a heavier lens and managing the kayak at the same time. I have gotten my best bird photos with the simple setup, so I don't even see it as a compromise.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

WOW, I didn't know that!! Now I'm convinced, taking pictures with smart phones instead or dedicated cameras must be the way to go.

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

My significant other uses the Nikkor AF-S DX 55-300 f4.5-5.6G ED VR with her D3300 and produces some very nice images. It used to be mine and I liked it but I shoot Canon now.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

There is not a thing wrong with the OPs camera and ideas,. You can take great pictures with those with out spending thousands. And there are plenty of birds other times than the crack of dawn.

BrianFlaherty Loc: Wilseyville, CA

This article [from Popular Mechanics] just came across my desk about 20 minutes ago. Based on a couple photos attached to the article, bird shots at about a half mile are possible. . . maybe you should wait a few months? <smile>
===============
Nikon’s new 125x zoom camera has a lens that would be impossible on a DSLR

That much zoom pushes into telescope territory.
By Stan Horaczek July 13, 2018
Nikon P1000

Nikon P1000

This 125x zooming monster will cost $1,000 when it hits shelves in September.

Nikon
Buy Now!

The concept of “zooming” on a smartphone camera is mostly a lie. They often “zoom” by simply cropping the image to narrow the angle of view or adding an extra camera module with a more telephoto lens to handle the longer shots. Both methods come with downsides in terms of usability and image quality. Dedicated camera makers like Nikon know this, and the company’s latest long-lens camera is an emphatic reminder of just how different dedicated camera lenses can be from their smartphone counterparts.

The Nikon P1000 has 125x optical zoom, which means it starts a little wider than your typical smartphone camera lens, and can zoom far enough that you can focus on objects that are literally miles away depending on your vantage point.

In camera terms, the 125x lens has an equivalent focal range of 24mm to 3000mm. To put that in perspective, the massive, telephoto lenses you’ll typically find on the sidelines of sporting tend to hover between 400mm and 600mm. Those high-end lenses have higher-quality glass, more advanced motors, and wider apertures for letting in more light, but in terms of pure zoom, the P1000 is in a totally different league.
Nikon P1000 lens comparison

Nikon P1000 lens comparison

Zooming all the way to its longest setting doubles the length of the P1000.

Nikon

We could in theory design the same spec lens for a DSLR, but it would be nearly impossible to create the parts and assemble such a lens in the factory,” a Nikon representative told us via email. “Thirty years ago Nikon developed an AI Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IF-ED lens, and it weighed 16kg! And that’s for 1200-1700mm. If you were to design and build a 24-3000mm DSLR lens for an FX-format sensor, you might need a truck to carry it. To give you a rough idea of size, a 3000mm lens with a maximum aperture of f/8 built for a DSLR sensor would need to have a front lens element with a diameter of about 360mm (more than 14 inches)!”

While you don’t need a truck to carry the P1000, it’s still a sizable chunk of gear. It weighs roughly 3.1 pounds and extends to a length of 14 inches at full-zoom. A considerable amount of that weight comes from the 17 glass elements in the lens (arranged into 12 groups).

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Keeping the camera steady at an equivalent of 3000mm can be difficult, even on a tripod, but Nikon equipped the P1000 with its latest vibration reduction technology, which it claims can mitigate camera shake by up to five stops. “Dual Detect VR is so-called because the system calculates and corrects for the direction and amount of camera shake using two methods simultaneously: an angular velocity sensor and imaging information from the image sensor,” a Nikon representative explained. “This enables the kind of enhanced vibration reduction performance required by a camera with this kind of focal length.”
Nikon P1000 zoom example

Nikon P1000 zoom example

The first image was shot at its widest setting, and the second shot is the same scene at full telephoto.

Nikon

Behind the lens is a 16.1-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor in the 1/2.3-inch format. It’s considerably smaller than the 1-inch sensor found in some other bridge cameras like the Sony RX10, but it’s a function of accommodating all that zoom. Unlike the previous P-model Nikon cameras, however, the P1000 offers RAW photo capture, which should provide more leeway when it comes to noise reduction and exposure recovery.

pbcbob Loc: Delray Beach, FL

Thanks one and all for numerous replies. I will let her make the decision! Probably the 55 or 70-300. More replies welcome.

Bob

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Moved to Florida and just starting out in bird photography. I have tried my 70-300mm lens and so discovered I would like to have more reach. Your friend will have to decide between reach and weight.

Don

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

That endorsement is based on a 9 yr old review of a 12 yr old lens. And the link to the original review is broken.

https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-70-300mm-vr

I would hardly agree that it is wicked sharp. It isn't bad, and it will likely be better than a 55-300. But if you are talking about the new AF-P FX version that one actually is very sharp.

https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-70-300mm-vr-af-p

But at $600 each, neither fit the requirement of a low cost solution for someone that may not be committed to this.

The $360 AF-P DX 70-300 is also quite good, but it's still pretty expensive.

https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-70-300mm-dx-vr-af-p

Grace98 Loc: Waterlooville, Hampshire - United Kingdom

Hi Bob,
I've got a Nikon 3300 and an 18-300 Nikon lens. I do BIF as well with my camera/lens combination and have had some successes. If a bird if very high up in the sky, it has to be pin sharp to be able to crop and get a decent picture.
Many times though it's not the camera/lens' fault that pics come out rubbish, but mine. Recently I was at a local hawk place and took over 1000 photos...very few were decent...have a look at this taken with my camera. Yes your friend will be able to take very decent pictures with this camera. I've got various pictures of birds taken with this camera on the photo section - I think it's called "Hawk Conservancy"... Hope this helps. Grace

pbcbob Loc: Delray Beach, FL

Thanks Grace. Great shot. Keep up the good work.

pbcbob Loc: Delray Beach, FL

She decided to keep it simple and bought a DX 55-300. She is very happy with it now and quickly learning the camera. Thanks one and all for input especially those I did not give a personal reply.