Advise on first camera

[Krish Chandran]

I have recently been interested in birding, so wanted to buy a camera. I have never owned one before.I use by iphone for all photos.

I did some research, on a birding group i was told to buy a point and shoot and after becoming used to it get a bigger camera.

I decided to get a Sony A6600 which is available on discount at around 60k and for the lens i thought a Tamron 18-300 mm will cover all situations and has enough zoom for bird photography, i chose this to avoid multiple lenses which will increase cost. Is this a good option?

If you are serious about bird photography and plan to stick with it, to learn and improve - buy the best camera lens combination that you can afford. I do not think that beginners should buy low end equipment and upgrade later. I think one must buy well and learn to use it. Much shorter learning curve.

OTOH If the camera is only for occasional use - get a point and shoot camera that you will anyway keep forgetting  how to use because of the long breaks between each use. 

About your specific question

The short answer : NO
1. 300mm is not enough focal length for birding. The resulting image will be very small in the frame and when you crop to size, image quality will degrade.  You need at least 400mm to get birding images that you will want to keep Especially as a beginner

2.  As  ashutosh1979 pointed out, picture quality is usually judged as . . .
Wide (super) zooms ( 18-300 or 150-600) = poor quality (There will be some here that may argue about the 150-600 being maligned - but, having used it that's how I feel)
Narrow zooms (100-400)= better quality
Fixed focal length (Prime lens) = best quality

Sony has a couple of other Zooms - 200-600 and 400-800 which are in a category of their own, comparatively more expensive and optically very good

3. As Thad said the 6600 is a serious camera. So you need to pair it with a serious lens, to get what you are paying for. Putting a cheap super zoom will completely defeat the advantage of this camera body.

So, what should you do? You should research some more, match prices with YouTube  and Photography life  performance reviews before  you take a decision. Remember when you spend all that money it is difficult to change gear after a only a few months of use. 

[ashutosh1979]

How is a 70-300 different from the 18-300, i saw youtube comparisons of sony 70-350 with the Tamron 18-300 and there were minor differences but price wise it offers good value to save and buy the 18-300, i may look for a second hand option of the same lens.

On paper both have similar telephoto reach of 300mm but in reality lot of things come into play, how the optics are constructed is complicated engineering. Long story short what you would get with 70-300 that you can't get with 18-300.
1. Better picture quality i.e. sharpness, color accuracy etc
2. More telephoto(zoomed in picture), yes!  300mm is NOT always = 300mm, it is a long explanation so just accept it for now.
3. Better autofocus
4. Less fringing

General rule of thumb  less zoom  = better picture quality
18-300 = 16X , 70-300 = 4X ,  300 prime = 1X  so    300 > 70-300 > 18-300  generally

18-300 also has its advantages,and it might be suitable in many cases( I have had lots of fun with it), but if 18-300 could do everything why would they make a 70-300 anyway

[Nishit Dave]

Everything depends on how much money one wants to spend. For bird photography, a minimum of 400mm (and 1.5x crop factor) is recommended. You can buy a second-hand 150-600mm lens in good condition. Sony has just released a 100-400mm f/5.6-8 lens that is expected to be affordable. However, it is best used in good light.

For the camera, an a6700 is better as it has bird eye focus - if you can find one for a good price in the second hand market. Otherwise an a6600 (has IBIS) or a6400 (no IBIS but cheaper) are good options.

[Thad E Ginathom]

i was told to buy a point and shoot and after becoming used to it get a bigger camera

I would not agree with that advice! A point&shoot would have left you very dissatisfied. A superzoom "bridge camera" might have been better advice.

But the Sony a6600 is not  a point&shoot: it is a serious interchangeable-lens camera :).  Try to do some photography other than birds: you will get some very good images with that camera of all sorts of subject.

It's difficult to know, when we start out, what we really need. When I began my current phase of photography, I wasted money on lenses that completely wrong for my purpose. I had to learn.

[FeatherScope]

How is a 70-300 different from the 18-300, i saw youtube comparisons of sony 70-350 with the Tamron 18-300 and there were minor differences but price wise it offers good value to save and buy the 18-300, i may look for a second hand option of the same lens.

[ashutosh1979]

For exploring all types of photography 18-300 is ok, if you are particular about birding 70-300 or similar is better. Later you might want to upgrade to 100-400 or 150-600, although you might want to upgrade the body also but that is debatable.

[Letchu]

yes the camera is fine if you are ok to start with a mirrorless but not ok with the lens. the focal length range is fine as it covers from wide to long zoom 300mm.. but remember the f stops start at 3.5@18mm and f6.3 at 300mm which is a minus point. but as a beginner you will be used to it... but if you notice with other PROFESSIONALS they prefer fixed focal length lenses like 200/300/400mm with f4 or 2.8 ones... you have to shoot always at higher ISO and to compensate with shutterspeed etc. which is not always possible in photography like birding or wildlife. the beauty happens only when either light is not helpful or a photographer not ready to click... ALL THE BEST

[FeatherScope]

I have recently been interested in birding, so wanted to buy a camera. I have never owned one before.I use by iphone for all photos.

I did some research, on a birding group i was told to buy a point and shoot and after becoming used to it get a bigger camera.

I decided to get a Sony A6600 which is available on discount at around 60k and for the lens i thought a Tamron 18-300 mm will cover all situations and has enough zoom for bird photography, i chose this to avoid multiple lenses which will increase cost. Is this a good option?