A9ii + Tamron 150-500 @ 500mm. No crop this time. I was seated on my porch about 10 feet from the feeder. I truly have no idea how people who take birding more seriously do it.
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Feel free to share your photos and other birding-related content here. If a photo you post isn't yours, please credit the original creator! Additionally, it would be appreciated if the location of the sighting and a date were given when a photo or question is posted. You do not have to give the precise location, something like "Northern Idaho, June 2023" or even "North-Western US, June 2023" suffices.
I appreciate you taking the time to write out a detailed reply! It certainly helped me understand the process. I have young kids, so I don't have the time right now to stake out a spot I know interesting birds will visit, but perhaps they will be more interested when they're older.
As for gear itself, my old D40 and newer D5300 were just as capable of good photos as the cameras I've rotated through in the past two years (buying used and selling): a Z6II, a X-H2s, an A7III, and A9II, and an OM-1. In terms of ability to be focused on the confirmes focus point, both the OM-1 and Z6II are worse in this regard - especially if you're trying to take advantage of things like human face/eye detection. The newer, and especially FF, bodies do let me push ISO way higher than I would in the past though. As you've found, your D3200 can take great photos. If you start thinking about upgrading, be sure to dig into where your improvements will (and won't) be.