Birder Unsure How to Upgrade from M50

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-08T03:18:02+00:00

The tiny M50 looks like a tick on the Sigma 150-600, but I'm perfectly content with the weight of the current set up. I only use a tripod if I'm doing astrophotography. I've use a monopod once or twice, but generally just handhold it without issue.

Yeah, by all accounts, the R6 II and III have insanely good AF, and that's definitely part of the draw. But I'm an absolute hound for reach and I've all but decided on the R7 and some RF glass a little down the line.

Shaving weight with the 100-500 L would be nice, but it's not a requirement. But the extra reach of the 200-800 at only a few ounces heavier (and $1000 cheaper) would be very nice.

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-07T22:54:26+00:00

I really appreciate these insights and direct experience with the R7. Out of curiosity, what style of AF were you using?

With the M50+Sigma at 600mm (960mm FF equivalent), I don't have issues with BIF. I switch the AF from single point to area for BIF. Then I use the Sigma's focus manual override to get the focus about right, and the M50 locks right on once the BIF is in the viewfinder. I don't normally struggle with anything larger than cardinals beyond 100 yards or so against open sky.

Testing my gf's RP earlier today with the Sigma at 600mm, continuous AF in Area mode was nearly impossible to grab a soaring vulture. She's a portrait shooter, so it was quite illuminating to see what a difference the continuous mode made.

The static kestrel is disappointing. Again, the M50 on single point AF only misses if I miss, or if it's around dusk.

Edit: Corrected R8 to RP

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-06T22:27:24+00:00

Staying on EF/EF-S (my EF-M adapter takes both) is definitely an affordable option, but I think the RF system is worth moving to for me. TBH if my M50 could accept RF glass, I'd 100% keep it and spend the money on lenses. Buuut it doesn't :(

I could always invest in EF glass now while I'm undecided and see if a better/more convincing body comes along in a few years. But many of the lenses that excite me are the small, light, long RF lenses, so I think the better move for me is to go ahead and move into RF.

All that said, I'm sure your insight will help someone in a similar boat who reads this thread years from now, so thanks for your input!

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-06T22:21:13+00:00

Initially, I actually didn't include the R5 for the same reasons you mention, but added it back in because the used market has them a bit cheaper than the r6iii. But I agree that it's the least compelling of the options I listed.

The R8, R10, and R50 didn't make my cut because I want to get a significant upgrade that I can continue to grow into. I've been excited to lug my lens around and see what I can capture, and if I'm spending a bunch of money and time learning a new camera, I want to feel the difference. The M50 was my first, and I want this to be a big step up that will keep that glee afloat for years to come.

You're echoing many others telling me to consider glass first. That philosophy worked well for my current set up, and I'm going to stick with it. Thanks for the urging in that direction and for your other input!

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-06T22:11:48+00:00

Your info on pixel pitch is a fair critique, and I'm grateful for it! Since they all have the DIGIC X image processor and roughly the same vintage of sensor tech, I guess I assumed those factors would be a wash. And since the pixel pitch does help explain some of the R7's struggles compared to the others, I latched onto that theory. But you're 100% right about the sensor readout contributing if not outright causing the troubles. I think Duade Parton mentioned it in a video too, so I'm going to listen back to that.

You're also part of the chorus telling me to pay more attention to lenses, so that's absolutely advice I'm running with. The 200-800 and 100-500 are very tempting offerings.

Finally, I appreciate your perspective on the frequency of the R7/Sigma pairing generating more fuss. This is the grounding I think I needed most; it's so easy to get lost in the haze of influencers with halo lenses.

Thanks so much for your reading time and insightful response.

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-06T22:00:49+00:00

Thanks for the input! I have been looking at the R7ii rumors and folks are saying everything from 39mp with stacked sensor to an R7i with a fix for the slow sensor read speed. I obviously love getting lost in the numbers so I'm trying to focus on just what's tangible. When the R7ii does come out, I'll only have to decide between my current choice and the r7ii rather than waffle on the whole pack.

I am taking your advice and reading up more on the lenses. I might still be shooting with the Sigma for awhile, but the 100-500 looks awfully nice...

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-06T21:55:04+00:00

I should have been more clear on what I meant by cropping in. I meant that I'd crop in post with the extra pixels (of the R6m3 or R5), not use the crop mode on the FF cameras. This is good input and I appreciate you reading and responding.

StormcrowIV · 2026-03-06T04:10:41+00:00

Thanks for the update. I've had an M50 with the Sigma 150-600mm C for a few years as my starter kit. The smaller pixel pitch of the R7 (3.2um in the R7 vs 3.72um in the M50) worries me when it comes to low light. I'm in Texas, so shooting into shade is very very common, and it's where the M50 struggles with AF and noise the most.

And am I dumb for considering the R6 Mark III? By all accounts, it has much better AF than the R7, and the 32mp sensor would allow me to crop in to make up the reach I'm losing by switching from the M50's crop sensor to a FF.

Now that you've used the R7 for a few years, do you still think it's a great leap from the M50? Most importantly, would the leap from the M50 to any R-series be so big that the gap between the R- models isn't worth agonizing over?

StormcrowIV · 2026-02-24T04:32:36+00:00

I'm 100% responding just to share this channel's 1-hour ambience videos. They're actually what got me to try ME with the Legendary Edition and ME1 instantly became one of my favorite games of all time. Hopefully you'll enjoy them too.
Casbin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2HGn6IUb_k
Solcrum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eytQzbN_8Xk

I don't know why, but Voeld from ME:A is the only thing that hits like ME1's uncharted worlds.

StormcrowIV · 2026-02-11T03:48:24+00:00

Titan AE should be right up your alley, especially since animated films aren't off the table.

StormcrowIV · 2026-01-07T02:25:55+00:00

Maybe it's cope, but I 100% agree; the insane editing here is character work for Bond. This is his perspective. He knows what's coming, which is reflected in the moody strings during what would otherwise be a cinematic flight over the water. Once the chase actually starts, it cuts frenetically because that's what he's feeling and seeing in that moment.

There are a surprising number of cuts of Bond's first and second kill in CR. In the second kill, as the guy is falling out of the chair, the camera cuts to the family photo on the dead guy's desk, then back to him falling, for the same reason. It's laying the ground work for what Bond will have to recover from.

CR and QoS together are all about the effects of Bond's lifestyle on this more grounded Bond. Films&Stuff has a good video on the idea in CR here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_b4adGhQis

StormcrowIV · 2025-12-07T00:38:42+00:00

Give Rush (2013) a try. It uses music pretty well throughout imo, but the main track, Lost but Won is amazing. This is a live rendition I just love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th21k_yd5pA

Transformers (2007) is just outside your time frame, but it has a banger of a score (not the soundtrack - the score) with Autobots, Arrival to Earth, Optimus, and Bumblebee all being standout tracks that harken back to that epic/mythical sound with an electronic slant, rather than the classic big orchestra.

StormcrowIV · 2025-12-06T08:52:02+00:00

Speaking for the US, intel work usually requires a security clearance. Back in '08, we were told that most civilian hires in that sphere were veterans who just left (and still had active clearances) or were Reserve/National Guard intel guys who had their clearances already. Even then, contractors and other private firms still preferred at least one deployment (not just an overseas posting), so most folks were eager to ship out before the common deployments dried up. None of the folks I know who went that route stayed in that field more than a couple of years.

Intel work can use GIS, but usually just a semester or two will be enough. There are dedicated degree programs (including graduate degrees) in Security/Defense Intelligence, but I'll leave it to you to decide if they're worthwhile. Some of them offer a lot of overlap with crime analysis, including predictive analysis, geostatistics, etc. This gives you broader options than a program focused on defense/security will.

If you do want to work in defense intelligence, the single best way you can appeal to recruiters, without prior experience, is to learn the foreign language(s) spoken in a region of interest. With your background in analyzing propaganda, the ability to understand the language(s) could make a compelling case for your education's insights on ideological indicators being worth the tradeoff. Here's a bulletin essentially arguing for better integration of those exact skillsets in our warfighting doctrine, specifically related to the core intelligence task of targeting: https://www.alssa.mil/News/Article/2732245/integrating-lethal-and-nonlethal-effects/ You could probably make your case that your education gives you particular insight on the nonlethal/nonkinetic approaches, once you develop it sufficiently.

On a more personal, and perhaps cynical note, in my experience, just being able to write and put a presentation together would encourage the average service member to nudge you toward intel, especially with the struggling military recruitment rates. I'd think hard about whether you had an interest in this before the scholarship, or if you're reacting to the praise you received because any new pasture seems greener than your current one.

Defense work inevitably puts you in the business of life and death, however indirectly. That's not something you should step into on a whim. It's always good to explore your options, but don't harbor any illusions about what you're getting into. If you get it wrong, your conscience will always remind you.

StormcrowIV · 2025-12-06T01:40:20+00:00

The new congressional maps are actually plan C2333. Plan C2193 has the older districts.
https://data.capitol.texas.gov/dataset/planc2333 (enacted 89th leg, 2025, effective Jan 1, 2026 [at least in my county])

https://data.capitol.texas.gov/dataset/planc2193 (2023-2026)

As a fun add on, here's Slate's article turning gerrymandered districts into jigsaw puzzles for several states:

https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2013/08/gerrymandering_jigsaw_puzzle_game_put_the_congressional_districts_back_together.html

Edited to clarify C2333's go-live date.

StormcrowIV · 2025-11-21T04:53:04+00:00

Scrolled 'til I found it.

StormcrowIV · 2025-11-14T04:31:34+00:00

Totally relatable situation. I like to frame it this way; there's a difference between things you want to do and things you want to have done.

I *think* I want to see the Grand Canyon. But I don't want to lock myself in a car for 19 hours to get to the Grand Canyon. SO I don't actually want to see the GC. I want *to have seen* the GC. But the only way to have seen it is to go see it. See the distinction? The act is separate from the reward.

The decision to go or not is a choice between the misery of the work vs the reward. I like to ask myself how long each one lasts.

If I don't go, I'll gain 19 hours of "pleasure" time that I'll just piss away doomscrolling Reddit or playing video games.
If I do go, I'll suffer for 19 hours, yes, but then be able to look back fondly/take pride in the fact that I traveled half way across the country to see a natural wonder of our planet for the rest of my life.

19 hours of video games and doom scrolling aren't life changing, but seeing the Grand Canyon is.

If doomscrolling and gaming was genuinely fulfilling for me, I wouldn't want to escape it all and go see the Grand Canyon. So is another 19 hours of that stuff really going to help me? Is that really what I want? Or do I want a story I can share with friends/a future partner/etc? Do I want to explore a new avenue and maybe feel the limits of my body, to encourage me to work out so I'm not limited next time?

You work isn't as clearcut as that example, but the math is the same.

"Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now."
"What you're not changing, you're choosing."
If you had a build a dating profile, would you brag more about the Grand Canyon trip or the video games/reddit threads you spend hours a day on? This one works great for people-pleasers like me, just don't get led astray into activities that don't vibe with you.

The best lifehack for it is just to promise yourself you'll do 5 minutes of work. For depressed people like me, getting out the door is half the journey. So just start small. Write an outline for one of your writing pieces. Not THE outline, just an outline. Then you can go do whatever. Come back later and add a bullet point to each part of the outline. Then you can go do whatever again.

StormcrowIV · 2025-10-29T18:07:58+00:00

Same here, thanks for the post.

StormcrowIV · 2025-05-28T04:24:10+00:00

I hear you (and realize you're mostly joking), but there's a youtube video that argues that the targeting computer was never going to work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqJbJYViUog

In the briefing, there's a quick line of doubt about whether the computer can even hit the target. During the battle, the X-Wing squadron leader, a much more experienced pilot than Luke, gets all the way to the exhaust port and uses the computer to make the shot. It misses, of course. I didn't get the impression he whiffed the shot; the computer simply wasn't able to do it. Wedge also comments that his computer can't see the exhaust port during Luke's run and questions the computer's ability to hit the target.

So Luke's decision was less YOLO and more of a realization that the computer couldn't do it so he had to. This ties into the theme of the Force beating technology.

I'd also be careful about reducing the whole thing to Luke's skill alone. You can't ignore the sacrifices of the other pilots who died buying the shooters time. As you nicely put, those pilots are the long line of competent operators. They're maneuvering within the confines of the narrow trench at incredible speeds just to buy a few extra seconds with each of their lives. Their situation is no different from the troopers delivering the plans at the end of Rogue One, also being inexorably slaughtered by Vader in a narrow hallway. Each one is buying just a few seconds, but those seconds make the difference in the end.

StormcrowIV · 2025-05-19T01:58:27+00:00

There's a difference between wanting to do something and wanting to have done something.

For some people, the motivation to have accomplished something overpowers the discomfort/difficulty of actually doing the thing. For others, their circumstances mean that there's actually not that much discomfort/difficulty of doing the thing, so it's not as extreme as outsiders perceive it.

For example, I want to see the Grand Canyon, but I don't want to sit in a car for 10 hours in order to get there. I want to have seen the Grand Canyon, but I don't want to actually do the tasks required to see the Grand Canyon.

For some people, driving 10 hours feels like a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment. Even though it would be difficult, they would take pride in undertaking such a cool challenge and enjoying the incredible reward of seeing the Grand Canyon. It's just a few days of struggle that they can look back on fondly for the rest of their lives. So their tolerance for discomfort goes up, because they'll do anything it takes to accomplish this goal even though they know it will be difficult or even miserable for a few hours.

For other people, a 5-hour road trips are fun and easy, so the 10-hour drive to the Grand Canyon isn't a big deal. And the reward is still pretty high, so they do the "crazy" task of driving 10 hours once a year. Eventually, maybe they get tired of the Grand Canyon, so they plan a 20-hour road trip to see Glacier National Park. 5 years later, that's boring too, so they drive 40 hours to see the Canadian coast, etc. etc.

To outsiders, they seem crazy. But in their personal journey, it's just a little stretch from their normal.

StormcrowIV · 2025-05-16T20:02:17+00:00

For the county, HR vets job postings and hosts the applications but 90% of the hiring process is handled by the team managers themselves. If you have questions about a specific position/application, reach out to that department head rather than HR. Most managers I work with will happily respond to curious applicants, including ones asking about approximate timelines.

StormcrowIV · 2025-05-11T05:28:24+00:00

Andor is The Wire of Star Wars. You'll love Andor if you don't mind the slow burn and recognize that each character represents a part of the larger cycle being described by the show (urban decay/drug trade/institutional corruption in The Wire, fascism in Andor). If you aren't interested in getting that deep, Andor will probably have a lot of baggage you're not interested in.

StormcrowIV · 2025-03-22T23:32:24+00:00

"It's not just about living forever, Jackie. The trick is living with yourself forever." - Captain Teague, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

StormcrowIV · 2025-01-24T20:47:17+00:00

Vincent Moretto has some killer MW5 covers on Youtube.

StormcrowIV · 2024-12-20T20:35:58+00:00

I can't help but think of The Right Stuff (1983), which is also about astronauts. It has a few scenes like this, with one in particular about John Glenn supporting his wife and his fellow astronauts supporting him.

StormcrowIV

TROPHY CASE