What camera should I buy?
I am a big fan of INaturalist. As a former photographer with less and less time I found myself using more and more my smaprtphone Samsung Galaxy S9, sometimes my Canon EOS80D with either 100/2,8 macro or 400/5,6L lens, sometimes Canon SX40HS but I am thinking about something else. I will try to summarize pros and cons of each of my considerations:
SMARTPHONE (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S9)
- ligthweight
- always with me
- good for flower and insects and some reptiles
- location data
- easy upload
- not good for birds, mammals and some reptiles
- not so good quality, especially in low light
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15587243
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15587290
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18303445
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17492844
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17254192
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/16262996
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15586824
HYPERZOOM COMPACT (e.g. Nikon P900 or canon SX40HS)
- lightweight and compact
- good coverage, from wide angle to extreme telephoto (e.g. 2000 mm for P900)
- location data (P900, pitty P1000 doesn't have GPS)
- easy video shooting
- not so good quality, especially in low light
- not good autofocus for birds
- shutter lag
- not so good macro capabilities, problems with focusing
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4919921
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4914364
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4919854
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4919836
SLR with hyperzoom (e.g. EOS 80D + TAMRON 18-400)
- still relatively light
- quite good coverage, not 2000 mm, but 640 not so bad for birds
- no need to change lenses
- picture quality much better than mobile or hyperzoom
- good autofocus
- no shutter lag
- not so good macro capabilities (but you can carry macro lens)
- not state of the art picture quality
- no GPS (on my EOS 80D)
SLR with telephoto zoom (e.g. EOS 80D + Canon EF 100-400 L lens)
- heavy
- outstanding picture quality
- outstanding autofocus, no shutter lag
- good coverage for flowers, birds, butterflies, and bigger insects, though not really macro (0.31x)
- excellent quality to make crops
- no GPS (on my EOS 80D)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18659517
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18659249
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10545454
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10545313
I am not looking at money, of course, the latest option is the most expensive, I am really looking here at the best and most effective option. Sometimes I think about Nikon P900, than about Tamron 18-400, now my prefered choice is Canon 100-400, especially now when I am linking examples. What would you choose?