>>3904278Most newbies make one of the biggest mistakes when looking at photography in general - they assume that prices are going to be low.
Even $500 is pushing it unless you want to settle for particularly old camera gear with quality that's long been surpassed by the smartphone.
Most wild animals will not let you get anywhere near you, so you're left with the question of how do you actually photograph them - you need lenses with a great big deal of reach.
And those lenses tend to cost a lot of money, like... a great big deal of money.
Shooting plants and doing macro is fairly simple enough that there are compact cameras out there which can do the job alright.
Something like the Olympus Tough TG-6 will do that job - it's a ruggedised camera that will be ok if dropped, is waterproof and can even be used for snorkeling. You will need a diving case if you plan to go below 2 metres of depth underwater.
The Olympus Tough has unrivalled macro ability for a compact camera, and even has a so-called "microscope mode". Some lens converters which attach to the front do exist to give some fisheye distortion or mid telephoto performance.
The TG-6 sells for about $500-600 US.
>>3904279Most bridge cameras are horrifically outdated and have largely gone out of fashion. I think maybe only Nikon makes a bridge camera anymore in the Coolpix line. The Canon PowerShot series never included bridge cameras as to not cannibalise the entry level EOS APS-C cameras with a kit zoom.
There is the recent Canon PowerShot Zoom, but that's not a bridge camera.
