I get questions all the time about what cameras and other equipment I use. My work horse, currently pictured in my photo on the about me page, is Nikon P950. This is a great, fairly light camera that can go from wide angle to zoomed way out. It’s great for birding, too. I like the video capacity, and from 2020 to 2023, this was the only camera I used for my videos. Here’s an affiliate link to that camera on amazon.
Photos taken with the P950
I love the convenience of the p950. It is in the “bridge” camera category, which means that it does everything a DSLR can do, but it has an attached lens. And that lens has an INCREDIBLE zoom. I like that I can get great shots from far away.
But then I spent some time shooting with photographers that were doing incredible video work with slower motion (60-120 frames per second) and a new photographer in my own household was seriously showing me up. So I have been using the Sony A6700 mirrorless camera lately. It is definitely more expensive, especially since you need to get lenses as well.
Normally, I have been shooting with the new camera with a lens that can zoom up to 300. The Nikon can zoom to 1295: much farther. But the optics in the Sony are so good that the photos look similar when you blow them up on the computer. And that lens can get some great stuff!
The big lens is the SONY FE 5.6-6.3 200 – 600 GSS and it’s incredible, but it’s also heavy– and you really have to play with the ISO and the shutter speed to get the shot you want– I am not 100% crazy about the auto settings: I think it’s hard to get pictures tack sharp. I can get good photos, but I can’t hold the lens that size steady enough for good video. For most of my shots, I have been using the Sony 70-350.