Moving on to a bigger and faster rig

After about a year with the Nikon P950 I decided I needed something a bit faster. The P950 had a long reach, but I wasn't able to see feather details of birds in flight. They were blurred in most of my shots and I got to the point where I gave up on trying to capture a moving bird. Another event I really enjoy is a good airshow. While trying to capture fast moving jets I found that the camera would start buffering after a few shots. It meant I couldn't just hammer on that shutter button. Now a more seasoned photographer might be able to do better with the P950 and figure out manual settings that could allow for better fast action shots. I could not.

So this meant I would need to go into the depths of the internet and google which camera models could meet my needs and my budget. I don't know about you, but I think cameras and lenses are frickin expensive. Which is a bummer. So I decided I didn't want to throw down on the latest and greatest for the cost of a car. I found that I could purchase used equipment from reputable dealers.

Which camera would I pick? So many out there. I decided to stick with Nikon. Up to this point I had owned a couple and they are solid cameras. Plus I could use the old lenses with a new DSLR body. Did I consider mirrorless? Nah. Since they are the "thing" now the prices are a bit high and I would need more lenses. As I continued my research and watched many youTube videos I settled on the Nikon D500 camera body.

I decided on the D500 because it can shot 10 FPS and it has over 150 AF points. Also, with it being a camera that has been out awhile, I could find it used and save some money. I found several reviews that said this camera has held its own through the years. It is almost as powerful as some pro cameras. For me, this would do the trick. Now to find a lens for birding.

In order to shoot bird images you typically need a long lens for these flighty subjects. Birds enjoy a safe distance from humans, especailly the really interesting ones. Through research I found that zoom lenses are cheaper than primes. The prime lens typically has a higher quality glass, but you can find decent glass in cheaper zoom lenses. As expected a name brand like Nikon will be more expensive that other brands. So this led me to choose between a Sigma and a Tamron 150mm-600mm zoom lens. After watching several videos and reading articles I went with the Tamron lens.

I decided to make my purchase from B&H Photo again. I even contacted customer support before the purchase to ask questions. They were very speedly with their responses. I feel like I can trust that the product I get from them will be quality. Wouldn't you know it, I decided on what I wanted during Shabbat again. So I had to wait. I'm fine with waiting, I just think it is funny that my brain is finally ready to make a decision, but I can't actually checkout.

I can say that this setup of the Nikon D500 + Tamron 150-600 lens is going well so far. A little heavy. I mean you know it's gonna be heavy, but not that heavy until you're wearing the thing.