Ostdrossel, how do you get started with a bird camera? Is there an affordable camera you would recommend for a beginner?
It depends on what you want. There are always options that are better or worse or more pricey or cheaper. I use different systems for different things.
My homemade "feeder cam" with an action camera (the camera has the photoburst with motion detection function but any with photo timelapse works too). I have to harvest the photos from the SD card every day and take the cam in over night. The motion trigger is hyper active, so there will be tons of unusable photos and it takes a while to go through all.
IP cameras - I am still using my old Birdsy cameras in some spots, recording and livestreaming with the help of youtube and OBS.
Wyze cameras - I use them mainly for nestboxes but they are also a cheap option for feeder or baths, maybe. They come with an app. I pay 45 bucks a year for three cam pro licenses so I don't have videos restricted to 12 seconds. The v3 and v4 are pretty good quality, and I have also used them to "stake out" locations for other cams.
An actual "feeder cam" - I use a Birdfy 2, which is quite fantastic but expensive. (I posted a more thorough review on my website and here too last year.) I think similar quality you may get from Bird Buddy and the one that WBU sells (Feather Snap?) but I cannot vouch for any of these.
Trailcams. I have started using trailcams last year and have been enjoying playing around with them a lot. The positive side is that you may get better image and sound quality than with the smart feeder cams and don't need internet or data or even wiring for them to work but you will have to harvest your footage from the SD card. Cellular ones seem to work from afar but I have not tried any because I am too cheap to pay for extra data. I have been usng three models from the Chinese company Ceyomur (the CY65, 745 and 95), and they are all three a lot of fun to work with. The best of the lot is the 75, IMO, it has the fastest reaction time, a solar panel and takes good photos and videos. All three come with a practical app (great for positioning!) and can take photos and videos at the same time (great for the harvesting stage so you don't have to watch every single video, the photos act as preview). they are all well-priced on Amazon. I also use the more expensive Browning Spec Ops elite, which has stellar video quality but does not come with an app, is not great with photos and cannot take video and photo simultaneously. I usually try to say which one I used on my posts.
Last but not least you can use a regular photo camera.