My Bridge Birding Camera

Lesser Birds of Paradise shot by Fujifilm HS50EXR

Most professional photographers use D-SLR camera with telephoto lens to take pictures of birds. However, they are very expensive and heavy. I have used bridge cameras for birding since 2010. The quality of photographs, may not be the best, but is good enough for bird identification and picture sharing on my blog and social media. My first bridge camera was Nikon Coolpix P500. I used it when I traveled to a lot of regions not only in West Papua but also in Indonesia. Later, when the camera could not function properly anymore, I bought Nikon Coolpix P600. It was a nice camera but had a very short life. I did not make a lot of pictures of birds with the P600. Now, there are Nikon P900 and Nikon P1000 on the market but I haven't tested them yet.

Grass flowers in Tambrauw Mountain

My Current Birding Camera

After using Nikon cameras for several years, I decided to buy a different camera from different brand. I bought a Fujifilm HS50EXR. After using the cameras for several years, I could say that this is my best choice. I have captured hundreds of good quality pictures of birds, butterflies, flowers and landscape scenery. The camera is not expensive compared to high end D-SLR camera. To take pictures of  birds, I have to turn the lens barrel manually. This saves the battery life of my camera. I often spend 3 days up to 2 weeks guiding visitors on a birding trip in the jungle of West Papua from the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains to Klasow valley, to Raja Ampat. For that long trip, I always have 1 extra battery in the pocket of my bag. I also put the charging device and its cable in it. My Fujifilm HS50EXR allows me to take pictures of birds for several days in the jungle without recharging. I often mention this camera in my blog posts.

Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)

I hope that Fujifilm will continue to upgrade this Finepix HS50 EXR camera by creating higher version with 50x or even 60x optical zoom. However, I am sad to read that the company has discontinued the production and further development this electronic product.

by Charles Roring