Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder PRO Review - and 2 Years with the Original

sparrow with new bird buddy camera — I placed the new Bird Buddy 'Pro' camera into my original smart bird feeder house from 2022. This cute sparrow edit uses a pic the new camera took!

Jump to: example pics | hardware compare | plastic feeder, two years later

Bird Buddy recently announced the second version of their camera module, dubbed the Nature Cam PRO, that's included in their new Smart Bird Feeder Pro.

Quick links

Smart Bird Feeder PRO	Bird Buddy	Amazon
Nature Cam PRO (camera only)	Bird Buddy	Amazon
Hummingbird Feeder	Bird Buddy	Amazon

I'm an original user of the Bird Buddy and since its launch in 2022, I've published several posts comparing it to other smart bird feeders.

tl;dr: The new smart bird feeder pro camera captures excellent detail, more in-focus photos, and handles bright sunlight better than the original feeder.

Disclosure: I purchased the original Bird Buddy on my own in 2022. The Bird Buddy team emailed me last month unprompted with an offer to try out their updated bird feeder camera. This review is my unbiased opinion as a grassroots bird nerd. But first, here is a picture from the new camera.

House Sparrow captured by the new Bird Buddy Pro version

The newer, bigger, shinier, pro-er lens on the left. OG lens on the right! — The newer, bigger, shinier, pro-er lens on the left. Original on the right!

Smart Bird Feeder Pro takes better pictures way more often

I felt, in my first week of use, the Bird Buddy Pro camera captured a higher amount of in-focus photos compared to the original.

White-winged Doves and other big birds liked the extended perch that can be added.

The new pro camera seems to get more birds in flight than the original.

white winged dove at empty feeder — Oops, all empty.

Larger birds like Doves and Pigeons occasionally still appear too close or big to fit in the frame, but the camera focuses on them better.

In harsh direct sunlight the Smart Bird Feeder Pro camera managed to take photos worth keeping

The original Bird Buddy camera was blinded by the sun

The original Bird Buddy camera takes great photos but struggles with exposure when the sun is in the frame.

Original Bird Buddy Photo: Inca Doves and direct sun. Click to view the full-res version.

The new version of the Bird Buddy camera impressed me with how in-focus and detailed almost every photo it took was. Small feather details, eye reflections, and a nice blue sky were present in many images.

I think less about which direction to point the feeder due to the camera's HDR (high dynamic range).

The new camera's photos look more natural and it's mainly due to something called "High Dynamic Range (HDR)."

Slow-motion video reveals cute moments

The new camera can be set up in 2K mode or Slow-mo mode. The slow motion can unlock some funny or cool moments but comes with a slight hit to video quality. Still photos captured look the same regardless of which mode is chosen.

She takes a deep, curious look directly at the camera. This is a slow motion clip from the new Bird Buddy camera

Here is a normal speed 2k video with sound

Hardware comparison

For those who like detail, these specs were provided by the Bird Buddy team.

	Nature Cam PRO (new)	Original Bird Buddy
2K video	✅	✅
5 megapixel photos	✅	✅
HDR (High Dynamic Range)	✅	❌
Field of View	122°	115°
Pixel Size	2.0 µm x 2.0 µm	1.4 µm x 1.4 µm
Sensor Size	1/2.7″	1/4″
Depth of Field	2.6~5.9in	2.8~3.6in
90 frames-per-second video	✅	❌
High Fidelity Microphone	✅	❌

The Build: How Has It Held Up?

In late 2022, Bird Buddy arrived to backers of the original Kickstarter campaign. I reviewed the Bird Buddy when it originally launched and was impressed by the photo quality and whimsical design of the companion app. But, I wondered how would the plastic feeder hold up over time?

The original Bird Buddy feeder housing two years later.

For two years my Bird Buddy has weathered Texas rain storms, temperature swings, and hungry birds. (Thankfully no destructive squirrels)

After two years of continuous outdoor exposure, the Bird Buddy's plastic housing has held up well. The translucent front panel shows some yellowing from sun damage and the solar roof has delaminated slightly but it still works.

Some yellow aging on the translucent front panel but not really noticeable when full of seeds.

The solar roof is delaminating but still keeps the camera charged and is easily replaced.

I misplaced the back panel and resorted to taping the back closed for a while. Bird Buddy should make replacement feeder parts easily available on their website. This would demonstrate commitment to sustainable and repairable design. We all hate eWaste.

The Bird Buddy Team kindly sent me a replacement panel along with their new camera module.

How has the user experience improved?

Over the past two years, Bird Buddy's app has got several big updates to make reviewing photos faster and the app more enjoyable. The original camera hardware got higher quality 2K video options unlocked recently as well.

Conclusion

The improved picture quality of Bird Buddy's Smart Bird Feeder Pro makes this a worthwhile upgrade for existing users and continues the feeder's lead in overall picture quality in the smart bird feeders I've tested. The camera is available as a standalone accessory to add to an existing feeder or included with the smart feeder.

Bonus: Packaging and Bird Buddy Heartbeat + National Audubon

Thanks to Bird Buddy for sharing the new camera and more for me to check out with my original smart feeder!

The design of the official perch extender surprised me! It mounts on the bottom of the feeder and leaves other spots open for accessories.

As I researched for this review, I saw recent news about a partnership between National Audubon Society and the Bird Buddy Heartbeat project. I imagine there are ways to leverage growing consumer interest in nature and smart gadgets through collaboration like this. The Heartbeat Project is a live dataset of bird detections from the Bird Buddy feeder network very similar to BirdWeather.

Do you have the new Bird Buddy camera? How has your experienced been?

Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder PRO Review - Plus 2 Years with the Original

Smart Bird Feeder Pro takes better pictures way more often

The original Bird Buddy camera was blinded by the sun

Slow-motion video reveals cute moments

Hardware comparison

The Build: How Has It Held Up?

How has the user experience improved?

Conclusion

Bonus: Packaging and Bird Buddy Heartbeat + National Audubon

Related Posts

Comments from the community

Leave a comment

Chris

TJ

Jeff MannAuthor

Sander Kiesel

Thomas Dugan

Jennifer

Jeff MannAuthor

Emy Woodrich

Jeff MannAuthor