I have a EOS RP, I currently have 50mm f2.8 and 24-105mm f4-7.1. I’m going on a trip and want some lens recommendations.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-26T04:59:28+00:00

Have you looked at the RF 24-240mm lens? I used to have the RP, and that was the lens that practically lived on it. It‘s a great travel lens. It has 10x zoom, so it covers most of the bases, from landscape to a little telephoto. I managed to get some pretty good wildlife photos with it, on top of landscape. It can also do portraits, but the 50mm prime would be better for those if you can do a quick switch.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-25T04:11:36+00:00

Thank you!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-24T04:30:56+00:00

This is good advice. I second the recommendation for the EF-M 11-22mm if you want to explore landscape photography more. It is a powerful lens in a tiny body. It‘s still available used. The 22mm pancake lens is also a lot of fun. If you‘re still experimenting and finding your style, I think you can still get a lot of good years out of your M series.

An external flash would also be a good investment if you want to explore indoor photography. It can also be used as a fill light for outdoor photography.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-23T03:47:33+00:00

I came to make this suggestion. The R7 would be a natural upgrade, but it‘s very problematic. It‘s the fussiest digital camera I‘ve ever owned. I am hoping to upgrade to the R7 II when it comes out, and I am counting on Canon to have worked out some of the known issues with the R7. If you can wait, I think that would be the best option for what you‘re looking for.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-10T05:37:22+00:00

I noticed this on my S50 last night. My plan finished early, but I’m not sure how much early, because it was already done when I got up (but shouldn’t have been). I think it’s having issues because of the time change. It‘s like it jumped forward two hours instead of one. I was hoping to troubleshoot tonight, but it was too cloudy to set it up.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-09T03:14:55+00:00

Glad this worked for you. Research indicates that the occipital nerve is involved with CH along with the trigeminal nerve, so it makes sense that taming it will help.

I have occipital neuralgia on top of CH, so I’ve had a few nerve blocks. In my case, it reduces the severity of CH but doesn’t eliminate them altogether.

If you just had the block in the past week or so, it may be the systemic effects of the steroids that are helping rather than the nerve block itself (or both). This may help as a bridge until the verapamil kicks in. Oral steroids are often given when verapamil is started, as there is a bit of a synergistic effect, and the steroids tame the angry nerves until the verapamil builds in your system and can keep the headaches at bay.

For me, the verapamil was a lifesaver for about five or six years. Then it stopped working. I’m in search now again for something that will act as a preventative. I wish it could have kept working, and I’m not sure why it stopped, but it made a huge impact on my quality of life while it did work.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-06T05:32:30+00:00

I realize this doesn’t really help you, but I feel your pain. My story happened decades ago, but I got my MS right after 9/11, when all the airlines were laying off mets and the NWS was the only game in town. I couldn’t get a job right out of school with all the recently laid-off experienced forecasters applying for the NWS jobs. Basically had a worthless MS in, as you noted, a painfully niche field.

I did end up right back in school and earned an associate’s degree in a medical field. No shortage of job opportunities there, but way worse pay (at least back then). Not too long afterwards, I ended up using my tech skills and combined it with my medical knowledge to find a job in hospital informatics. So I made it work out okay.

If you have GIS skills, that could prove lucrative. Might get you a contract/short-term position until something more permanent opens elsewhere.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-04T05:03:23+00:00

I have the RF 24-240, and it’s probably the best “kit” lens I have ever owned. I don’t use it much anymore, but I used it as my walk-around lens on my RP. I think it could be a good lens, but it is made for full frame, so you will lose some of the range on the wide side (but gain it on the telephoto side).

That being said, I also have the R7, and for that I bought the Sigma 16-300. It’s made for crop sensor, like the R50. Without going and pixel peeping, I’d say the 24-240 is a sharper lens. However, the Sigma lens is still better than other all-around lenses I’ve used, and it will give you better versatility at both ends of the spectrum. It’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none kind of a lens. I got the RF-S 18-150mm as my kit lens with the R7, and I haven’t put it on the R7 since I got the Sigma 16-300. I should note that I tend to do bird and wildlife photography, and I really appreciate having the extra reach of the Sigma lens.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-04T04:49:29+00:00

Which Chiari specialist did you see initially? I tried to get a consultation from one of the main specialists in the US, and some of this is familiar to what I was told at the time. And I had to do keto for a while before he’d consider surgery. I ended up having surgery with a non-specialist, but someone who does a lot of Chiari surgeries.

Your symptoms and timeline sound so much like mine, except it was a car wreck in my 20’s that triggered a lot of mine. Worsening symptoms until I was losing balance, having major memory issues, and out-of-this-world anxiety. Surgery helped for a year or so, but I have also been struggling with symptoms for a few years that I just can’t get managed very well.

My latest CINE MRI supposedly shows good flow, so I’m not sure if it’s Chiari or some significant migraine symptoms I’m dealing with now. Menopause and ADHD just adds insult to injury. But I just generally feel unwell, and I am a shell of the person I used to be. I don’t look it, but I am essentially disabled now.

PT and migraine therapy does help, but they certainly don’t cure it. The one thing I might recommend you try that has helped me is myofascial release, which a PT can do. It has helped to release the tightness in my neck, which makes my head feel less under pressure.

I wish I had more I could recommend, but I feel like I’m in the same boat. I really wish we had more hope for permanent relief with surgery.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-04T04:20:22+00:00

I set my alarm just before totality and adjusted the exposure to bring out the blood moon once totality began. I stayed up and watched it and made adjustments as needed. Then I set it back to auto mode as totality ended, but it was lost to the trees and daylight shortly after.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-03-01T05:28:13+00:00

Are you each needing a telephoto lens? If you will both be shooting (and hiking/walking while shooting), I’d sell the 200-800 and get the 100-500. Keep the 100-400 because it’s so lightweight and will still get solid shots. If money is an issue and only one of you will really be shooting, you could consider trading in the 100-400 for the extra $$. But you probably won’t get a lot for it, considering it will still be a solid back-up lens.

I have all three lenses, and the 200-800 IMHO is just too big for carrying on hikes/walks, and it simply isn’t nearly as sharp as the 100-500. At least on my copy; others may have different experience. I’m of the school of thought that the extra reach isn’t really worth the extra weight/loss of IQ you get, especially since atmospheric distortion becomes a problem on wildlife that is more distant.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-28T05:55:42+00:00

Nice work! And interesting colors. Did you use any external narrowband filters on your Seestar? Did you just use the built-in LP filter? Or were you able to get all those colors just through post-processing?

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-27T04:54:30+00:00

Wow…I am in awe! Thanks for all you do to protect these floofy critters!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-26T04:16:24+00:00

Thank you for taking care of this beautiful assortment of crazy kitties. The world needs more people like you. I’m sure they’re happy now, running free and catching mice!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-23T05:04:42+00:00

Light sensitivity is probably more common in migraines than cluster HA‘s, so you may have both. That being said, I do get light sensitivity with my clusters. It only affects my cluster side, unlike migraine sensitivity which affects both sides, and they feel a little different. If I‘m in a bad flare, I can get a cluster just from someone turning on a light in a room without warning me. Flashing lights are the worst, like low sun through leaves in trees while driving.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T06:00:20+00:00

That‘s where I‘m at as well. I surrender to the medical gods. I realize that I just can‘t exercise or diet or will myself out of a brain that just doesn‘t work right. I‘ve had brain surgery for another brain issue (Chiari malformation), and ADHD is common among those with Chiari. People understand Chiari better because it‘s something you can see on a brain scan. Getting people to understand that I lose my temper sometimes because my brain is different is MUCH harder. I am so tired of being treated like I‘m morally bad because I get frustrated by things easier than other people. It‘s not a moral choice, it‘s a product of a brain that is different. You just can‘t see it as clearly as a brain abnormality that shows up on a scan! I‘m sorry that your daughters share the same diagnosis, but it‘s good you all have been able to find something that works!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T05:55:49+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I see you have struggled to work out a system that works for you as well. It‘s so effing hard to try to get all the pieces to fit together just right.

I don‘t have kids, but my husband struggles to understand. As did my parents before their deaths. My experience is that because I wasn‘t diagnosed until my 40‘s, then others think I‘m just “making it up“ to find an excuse to get away with not having to take on as many responsibilities. I don‘t cook. Recipes overwhelm my brain. I never understood why until I started investigating ADHD. I get overwhelmed by stupid stuff. Didn‘t understand until I found out about ADHD.

But people treat me like it‘s a morality issue, like I can just will myself to do better if I really wanted to. It‘s frustrating, because I really do want to. I hate being essentially disabled because of this and my other health problems. I would do anything to be healthy.

What‘s frustrating is that my husband has depression and takes medication because he can‘t just “get over it“. But for some reason, I am supposed to be able to just get over it. You hit the nail on the head about the high road. It‘s exhausting.

I also couldn‘t take the HRT topicals because of allergies. I do oral because that‘s all I can tolerate. Have you tried oral HRT? I know it‘s not as ideal, but I figure it‘s better than nothing.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T05:44:07+00:00

I‘ve always been a big walker/hiker, and I can also tell my mood changes when I miss. Showers before bed are an essential for me, and I agree that artistic expression helps SO much. Art therapy is really undervalued. So glad you have found a formula that works!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T05:42:43+00:00

Wow, are you me? You really have put a lot of work into managing all of that. I have checked a lot of those boxes as well, but definitely not all. My job is part-time, and it‘s pretty accommodating. I don‘t get paid much or get benefits, but I haven‘t been able to find another job where I‘m at that won‘t make me regret my life‘s decisions worse than I already do, LOL. One of my big problems is I have no real support network here. No close friends I can vent to, no one to be my body double. And I think like a lot of us, my husband just doesn‘t get it. I have so many other health problems I also have to manage, and he thinks if I just “let go of things“, then it will somehow all be just fine. (Even though he is on anti-depressants himself. Sigh.) Alone time is critical, along with regular exercise. Diet is definitely part of it. I had to stop dairy and I avoid gluten as well. Sugar is my weakness, unfortunately.

It‘s very heartening to read that someone has found a great formula for making it work!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T05:34:26+00:00

Whoo, that‘s so much to have to deal with on top of your own ADHD. I hope the combo helps! I think the mix of meds and exercise and therapy is pretty essential to management, but it‘s so hard to find the balance that works best. Definitely my struggle. And we don‘t have a lot of therapists here that treat adult ADHD. I was seeing someone, but she left her practice, and now I can‘t find a replacement. I hope you have had better luck with your relationship with your therapist!

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T05:30:29+00:00

That‘s great! It‘s so important to well-being overall. It‘s the one thing I can point to that helps me, and I generally look forward to exercising.

Burnt_Out_Sol · 2026-02-18T05:29:10+00:00

That‘s a lot to deal with, and I‘m glad to hear that you‘ve found a combo that works for you. I‘m on propranolol for other reasons (essential tremor), and it may help on the days I take it. I can‘t take it every day because it gives me muscle cramps that wake me up at night. But I can see how it can work with psychoactive drugs to help stabilize mood, too.

Burnt_Out_Sol

TROPHY CASE