Quick setting adjustments

[ph0enix]

I'm slowly (I'm getting old) remembering what does what. My question was more along the lines of memorizing. Do you memorize setting for a given environment? Let's say I'm shooting light coming through branches on a snow covered tree. Then I see a mini avalanche in another spot that's shaded by the mountain. Do you eventually just memorize settings so you can make rapid changes, just use auto and adjust later, or shoot & pray?

"Shoot & pray" is not a good policy.
There are some combinations of settings that you can memorize when going for a particular effect but it's usually a specific shutter speed or the aperture that I'm going for. Keep in mind that your camera has a built-in light meter that you should use when shooting in Manual. if you set the aperture (f stop) or shutter speed, there is a +/- scale in the viewfinder and you adjust the other setting accordingly until the meter indicates correct exposure (0). If you're on the + side, you're overexposed, - means underexposed. Setting the ISO takes some guess work until it becomes second nature ...and no, I'm not saying it's second nature to me (yet).

 

[analog.universe]

there is a +/- scale in the viewfinder and you adjust the other setting accordingly until the meter indicates correct exposure (0). If you're on the + side, you're overexposed, - means underexposed.

This is not exactly true. 0 indicates middle grey, sometimes called 18% grey. If your scene, or the spot you're metering (depending on metering mode), is brighter than 18%, you'll want a positive meter reading for proper exposure. Snow is a great example of this. You want to place the snow at +3 or so if you want it to actually appear white instead of grey. If you're shooting a dark scene, you'll want a negative meter reading for proper exposure.

Setting the ISO takes some guess work until it becomes second nature ...and no, I'm not saying it's second nature to me (yet).

ISO doesn't have to be guess work. You pretty much always want to use the lowest ISO that still allows you to get the aperture and shutter speed that are appropriate for the shot. ISO is the gain on an analog amplifier attached to the sensor. When you turn it up, the sensor is more sensitive to light, and as a result more sensitive to noise, so the lowest setting will yield the cleanest signal. It also gives the most dynamic range (difference between the brightest and darkest tone that can still be captured correctly).

 

[ph0enix]

That's why I'm a noob

BTW.
I didn't want to confuse things too much with special exposure cases like snow since the OP doesn't seem to have a good bearing on how to use the camera.

there is a +/- scale in the viewfinder and you adjust the other setting accordingly until the meter indicates correct exposure (0). If you're on the + side, you're overexposed, - means underexposed.

This is not exactly true. 0 indicates middle grey, sometimes called 18% grey. If your scene, or the spot you're metering (depending on metering mode), is brighter than 18%, you'll want a positive meter reading for proper exposure. Snow is a great example of this. You want to place the snow at +3 or so if you want it to actually appear white instead of grey. If you're shooting a dark scene, you'll want a negative meter reading for proper exposure.

Setting the ISO takes some guess work until it becomes second nature ...and no, I'm not saying it's second nature to me (yet).

ISO doesn't have to be guess work. You pretty much always want to use the lowest ISO that still allows you to get the aperture and shutter speed that are appropriate for the shot. ISO is the gain on an analog amplifier attached to the sensor. When you turn it up, the sensor is more sensitive to light, and as a result more sensitive to noise, so the lowest setting will yield the cleanest signal. It also gives the most dynamic range (difference between the brightest and darkest tone that can still be captured correctly).