>>2791055I remembered
I like to think I've gotten some decent wildlife (mostly bird) shots with my pretty cheap camera and lens, it's been a worthy investment for me. my pixel takes great (more than good enough for me at least) landscape shots and I took advantage of some new customer (and then cancelling) deal to get it for like $100, so all together my "photography setup" still costs way less than a flagship phone. flagship phone cameras are pretty damn good nowadays but I still think zoom and wildlife aren't a strong point.
But if I had money better photography and birding equipment would be high on my list, as mentioned it's pretty much impossible for me to capture anything in flight and also if the bird is further than maybe 20 yards the zoom isn't really enough, or less for smaller birds. Jays in general are quite bold and often hang around campgrounds, beautiful birds; that said I don't think I've gotten a great shot of a Stellers Jay. If the bird isn't sitting still for a long time it's hard to get the focus right, I'm not sure if that's on me or the camera.
