Time spent setting settings

[DDK]

Photography is easy!

At least, that's what I thought until I started trying to learn it. Man, the amount of settings on these cameras is overwhelming. At least they are to me since I know nothing about any of them. I knew some basics about the rule of thirds, lighting, etc. so I knew it wasn't going to be a simple case of point and shoot, but I must admit that I figured that choosing the shot was going to be the most time-consuming aspect.

Now I think it might be setting up the shot.

So here's a question to you all. Once you've chosen what to shoot, how to shoot it, etc. how long do you spend actually setting up that shot, including things like setting the white balance, exposure, etc. all the way up to actually clicking the button? I understand that it'll get quicker with time, experience and knowledge, but it seems to me that even as a pro you'd be clicking through menus a fair bit for each shot.

[jcuknz]

Very little becuase I trust the camera to get it right and have a one second review in the EVF to tell me if I was right to trust the beastie. Previously I would have selected AWB as for my sort of photography it gets it right except when shooting by domestic lighting. Will most likely be in A mode, not for any artistic reasons of depth of field, but to use the sweet spot of the lens ... I have only one. ISO would also have been likely set for the general conditions, possibly changed if when I take half trigger the camera tells me my shutter speed is on the low side bearing in mind the focal length I am using.

So I see the shot, compose what I want of it and find the focus point and click! ... it is taken

Obviously I am a sad case But I did it all manually for years with film and love digital and the capability of the camera to do the mechanical thinking for me. I have been trusting automatics since I got my first AE [only] camera and contrary to the sages of the time it never let me down.

The mechanics of photography have never been easier with the wonderful tools provided for us and we can concentrate of what we are tsking. The top professional of course is working to higher standards so likely needs to think about it more if they have the time.

[Mike Buckley]

For about 95% of my photos, I keep the camera set on Auto ISO, Auto White Balance, Aperture Priority, Evaluative Metering, One Focus Point (the center one), and the shutter releasing at 3 frames per second. Once I compose the shot, I adjust the aperture as needed and I try to guess the most accurate Exposure Compensation. I then release the shutter and check the histogram. If necessary, I adjust the Exposure Compensation and retake the shot. All of that happens very quickly; I spend far more time composing a shot than configuring the settings.

Once you develop a system of settings that generally works for you as mine works for me, you shouldn't have to be navigating layers of menu items. That's because the few settings you'll be changing to accommodate the characteristics of a particular image will be accessible using the camera's buttons.

[Adrian]

This is a very good question...I have similar ponderings and was contemplating a similar post.

To illustrate this I have just come back from a short trip to Rome. I used a 5DIII and had two main lenses: 16-35 2.8 L and 24-70 2.8 L II, neither of which has image stabilisation.

The camera has an incredible amount of customisation, but this all needs to be learnt. Just learning how to use the numerous focus modes is a challenge in itself: for example if I wish to compose a shot choosing a focus point somewhere on the extreme edge of the focus zones, the chances are that the next shot will require something different. However, there appears to be no return to default centre option, leaving me toggling around...

Same applies with ISO. We flit from bright sunlight to shade, or indoor shots as we traipse the tourist trail. The fast glass will handle indoor work very well, but the lack of IS means to achieve sharp focus some care is needed. I have lost count of the number of times I have found myself shooting high ISO in bright sunlight having just come out of a building...

I think there is a clear trade off between control and automation. Professionals have the advantage that they do this all day: as amateurs we have a cycle of familiarity through use impaired by forgetfulness until the next time!

It is of course easy enough to use a set of generic settings, or take advantage of the automatic functions in most cameras. Whether that leads to the results we see in our heads as we put the camera to our eye is another matter. I suspect there is no substitute for familiarity with both the tool and the manual.

Adrian

[Shadowman]

It depends. If you were previously using the camera for studio or macro work, you might have selected certain settings that just don't work in the field.

[William W]

It depends. If you were previously using the camera for studio or macro work, you might have selected certain settings that just don't work in the field.

Once you develop a system of settings that generally works for you . . .

Agree. 100%

It is all about being prepared for the local / general situation, before you walk into that situation.

Also, I suggest that you have a "Rest Position" for your camera - so you know exactly where it is at, when ever you pick it up to take it out for the day or put it to bed, at the end of its work.


WW

[AB26]

Hi Djoran,

Cameras are like computers. At some stage you knew nothing about computers and whenever someone else would do anything on a computer it looked like they were very proficient and knowledgeable about computers although they only know little more than yourself. As time goes on you learn more about computers and it gets easier and eventually you know enough to find your way around the computer.

With a DSLR camera you start out by setting it to Auto. You look at all those fancy buttons and menu settings and you wonder what they all do. You read the manual and find out more about the different settings. Then you start experimenting with all of those settings, one by one, and see what effect they have on the image. As you get more knowledgeable about different setting you learn how to set up the camera for different shots. Eventually you set it to M – Manual and you find buttons and menu’s without searching for them or even looking at the camera. You learn your fingers where the buttons are and how to do adjustments in seconds.

All of this only happens if you are in love with your camera and you play with it every day of your life. You got to practice and practice some more, read the manual and then practice some more. One bit of advice – never experiment with changing more than one setting at a time. You got to learn what the setting you have changed, does. A good way of doing it, that works for me, is to do it at home, close to your computer. Make a change to a setting, download the image and look on your screen what the difference is. It may be a tedious way of learning but it is effective.

Never say you will “fix” it in post. Learn how to use your camera before resorting to PP. Learn how to use all manual settings, aperture, shutter, focus, ISO, white balance, try out the different colour and contrast settings, learn how and when to shoot using spot metering and spot focus. Get to know the limitations of your equipment, like dynamic range, focus distance, flash, continuous AF, burst shooting, how many shots you can take before the buffer is filled up, etc. Get to know how to use the histogram on your camera.

Once you have mastered all the settings on your camera you will set it up to suit your individual shooting style and what you like your images to look like. There is not set rule, each individual will set up a camera differently. It only takes time, practice, experience and lots of patience to get to the point where you will set it up the way you like to shoot.
If you have no intention of getting to know your equipment and you prefer to spend more time in front of a computer than with your camera, set it to Auto and shoot in RAW only. That way you can use Photoshop to do what you want to do.

No matter how I set up my camera and what I prefer as far as settings are concerned, do not follow suit. It is your camera and you got to get to know your camera and enjoy your camera. You set it up the way you like it and you should be comfortable with the settings you choose.

What I will share with you: I sometimes (yes I still do it) go to bed with my camera and hold it to my eye whilst changing settings. You should be able to find the right buttons and settings in the dark. Try it!

In a few months you should be able to take the camera from it's bag and shoot within a few seconds, if needed. For action you will have to be prepared, for landscapes you will have more time.

Did you keep the 1100D?

Good luck and enjoy your DSLR.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Djoran,

You are certainly correct in that the number of settings is daunting at first and it was only a couple of weeks ago that I considered counting the number of settings and variables available on my model but have not been bored enough yet.

Perhaps an explanation to the learning curve I took through to the procedure I have now adopted on my present camera may assist.

Having bought the camera and found that it has four customisable 'user settings modes', and tons of settings I quickly set these up using recommendations from others spreadsheets into preset modes for shooting portraits, landscape, action, macro. I soon found that I was forgetting to change modes and when I did I constantly made changes and forgot to re-set things and got totally confused.

I then changed my approach over time and reduced to just two shooting modes, P&S (point and shoot) and Macro.

My camera is always left in my P&S mode in Aperture Priority, f11, Auto ISO, matrix metering, single centre focus point (I always focus/meter and recompose if required) and AF-S (single auto focusing). The reasoning for this is that I know that I can take the camera out at any time and instantly take a shot that will give me reasonable results.

My camera the D300 has a customizable 'User Menu' of which you can add any changeable settings that are within the numerous scrollable main menu listings. The beauty of this is that over a short time you learn the settings that you occasionally need to change and build you own user list, of which mine after around 4 years has about 14 items only.

So in answer to your question of how much time I take between deciding the shot and taking it very little for the majority of my work.

Generally, from how the camera is already set I will take the following into consideration when time allows;

a) Is Auto ISO acceptable, will noise be a concern and do I need to set a fixed ISO (on my 'User Menu)
b) What Aperture do I need/want, change or do I want Shutter Priority (rarely in my case)
c) Is Matrix metering acceptable (95% of the time but I also meter off an area I hope will be correct for the shot)
d) Is Centre Single focus point acceptable (100% of the time as I recompose when necessary)
e) Do I need to change to 'Continuous focus mode'. (is the subject static or moving)
f) Do I need to change from AWB (very very rarely as I always shoot in RAW & Jpeg)

Supplementary items are;

g) If using tripod I need to switch VR off on some lenses.
h) If I decide to manually focus switch to this.

Having taken the shot I generally check the histogram and blinkies (if I'm after a 'keeper') and if I consider I need to retake with exposure compensation I always switch to manual and simply use the meter needle off centre to right or left to achieve this.

So in general I have very little to think about and what I do need to change is or has been made very quickly accessible through my custom menu.

[DDK]

Eventually you set it to M – Manual and you find buttons and menu’s without searching for them or even looking at the camera.

This has always been my problem. I jump straight to M on everything I do and then go, "Err... huh?"

Did you keep the 1100D?

Yeah. I'm losing too much by selling it or returning it. I figure I'll use this to learn and then decide later on if I want to go up a notch.

[Mike Buckley]

Same applies with ISO. We flit from bright sunlight to shade, or indoor shots as we traipse the tourist trail.

That is exactly why I always use Auto ISO unless I am using a tripod. All of my cameras going back about ten years have an Auto ISO configuration that allows you to set the maximum ISO and the minimum shutter speed. (I understand that some camera's Auto ISO configuration does not allow you to set the minimum shutter speed.) I keep the camera's ISO set to its lowest ISO. Combining that with shooting in Aperture Priority mode and I only need to set the aperture and the exposure compensation.

The camera then automatically shoots at the lowest ISO that the combination of the lighting condition, the aperture and shutter speed allow. It also automatically shoots at a shutter speed that is sufficient for hand holding the focal length of the lens and stopping the action in the scene because I have taken that into account when I configured the minimum shutter speed.

In my mind, Auto ISO is one of the three most important capabilities a DSLR has for providing the combination of user control and camera automation. The other two capabilities are the use of auto focus and either aperture priority or shutter priority.

[SteveF]

Program mode is a useful setting. Preferable in my opinion to auto. Program allows for some user input like spinning the top dial for faster or slower shutter speed whilst looking through the viewfinder for instance.

Auto white balance, autofocuss and auto exposure together with auto ISO. Wow, a fantastic combination for for the tourist among us.

Yesterday a friend showed me his 'additional' controls he'd found after reading his Nikon D4 manual for the third time ... he's 70yrs old and if he can find these I jolly well can 20yrs his junior (or thereabouts).

Aarghhh ... I can't find them cos' I'm a Canon shooter. Ah well!

[DanK]

Djoran,

I think you may be putting the cart before the horse, if you folks down under use that idiom. You're starting with the wrong question, IMHO.

Yes, cameras now have a great many options, and they will do a lot automatically, often--but not always--getting it more or less "right." But IMHO, if you want to be a confident photographer, you have to learn enough to know what settings (shutter, aperture, ISO) you WANT for the effects you want to create. Once you have that done, you can take advantage of the camera's automation when that will get you to those settings quickly, or you can switch to manual if the camera won't get you there. But the camera, however sophisticated it is, can't be a reliable substitute for a photographer's judgment. Ansel Adams supposedly once said something like, 'the most important piece of photographic equipment is the 12 inches behind the viewfinder.'

For example, for a lot of my photography, depth of field is a critical variable. Therefore, there is no way I am going to let my camera take control over aperture. And I never let it take control over ISO. So, if I have plenty of light, and the situation is one in which evaluative metering is likely to work, I may just set the camera on Av mode, select the aperture I want, and let the camera select the shutter speed. On the other hand, if the light is not adequate for that--giving me a difficult choice between shutter speed and ISO--or the lighting is such that I need to take more control over exposure, then I take complete control myself, perhaps using spot metering to do zone metering of the scene.

So in some cases, I end up snapping away almost as quickly as folks with point and shoots. Other times--including yesterday--it will take me some time even to get initially set up, and then I may need a few test shots to decide whether I have things right.

As for white balance: I always shoot raw, so white balance is irrelevant. It's trivially easy to adjust in post.

So my suggestion is to ignore most of the options on the camera. Learn how the 'exposure triangle' works, and practice a lot, choosing settings yourself so that you get a good feeling for their effects. Lots of people advise novices to set the camera to program or auto and just take a lot of pictures. I don't. Doing that can teach you something about composition, etc., but it teaches you nothing at all about taking control of anything else. Perhaps it's because I started on this before cameras did anything for you other than take a meter reading. However, I still think that practicing with the key settings of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO is the way to learn what you WANT the camera to produce.

It takes time--I still find new things all the time, and I have been doing this for decades--but it pays off. So practice a lot, and have fun.

Dan

[Manfred M]

If you think of your modern DLSR as a computer that takes pictures, then you would not be far off the mark, as this is precisely what it is. This means things can be as simple as you need and get as complex as you want it to be. The problem with photography is that you need to combine the artistic component and the technical component that need to come together to get the best results.

Fortunately for beginners, the camera manufacturers have included a "program mode", where the camera more or less behaves as a point & shoot and takes care of most everything automatically for you, including selecting the appropriate ISO, shutter speed, aperture and focus. Compose and then take the shot, and at least that will get you started. The nice thing about shooting with a digital camera is that once you have bought the camera, the cost of each shot is darn close to free, so shooting lots and learning is all about the amount of time you put into it.

Learning is an interesting process; it is highly iterative and you have to build up on it step by step. Your camera manual is a very helpful resource, but it may or may not be useful / helpful at your level of experience. There are enough free sites (CiC is the best), videos using YouTube and Vimeo and of course the much more expensive paysites like Lynda.com or KelbyTraining.com to help you on your way.

You’ve gotten a lot of advice to filter through, so let me throw in some of my own (which may differ to what others have written), and let me explain why I do, what I do.

First of all I am a jpeg + RAW shooter. Most of the images I casually post are from jpegs, but pretty well anything that are serious photographs that I print, come from RAW images. Pretty well 100% of any image I post will see some level of post-processing. I use the full-blown version of Photoshop, because it gives me the tools and controls I need. I never got into the Elements version of the Adobe products and generally do not use Lightroom, because I find it has two fatal flaws for my own workflow. I suggest you do get yourself some post processing software and learn how to use it. If you want a free, advanced editor; look at GIMP; almost as powerful as Photoshop and the price is right, but the learning curve is considerable.

Settings:

White Balance – play with this and don’t just leave it on automatic. If you shoot RAW, you won’t care as you will set your white balance in post production.

ISO – I never ever use auto-ISO and this is the first function I disable on my camera. You get the least noise and highest dynamic range out of your sensor on the lowest ISO setting you can get away with. I always determine the ISO I plan to shoot with as one of my first steps in shooting. I will adjust as I go if I find I need more sensitivity.

Shooting mode – I shoot aperture priority about 80% of the time and use shutter priority about 20% of the time. I do shoot 100% manual, but generally only when I shoot flash (Speedlights and studio lights). When setting up to shoot, I will choose aperture priority when I am looking for specific (shallow or wide) depth of field. I choose shutter priority when I want to do something with motion - high shutter speeds when I want to freeze action and slow shutter speeds when I want some level of motion blur.

Program mode is a good place to start and you can accomplish the same as I describe in choosing shutter / aperture priority; I just happen to prefer my work flow.

I’m not going to get into the various autofocus and metering modes right now. You will have to cross that bridge at some point in your learning process. The one thing that you will need to do is to understand and use the histogram display from your camera. It is the ONLY way to learn to judge if your exposure is good or not

[RustBeltRaw]

Disclaimer: I shoot weird.

I lean toward manual everything when I'm setting up my camera for a shot, but I do switch to semi-automatic modes (usually aperture priority with AWB) in bright, consistent light. This method is partially so I know exactly what the camera's going to do when it goes click (semi-auto modes can get unpredictable in low or variable light), but also so I think about every aspect of the shot before I take it. The settings I alter while actively shooting are shutter speed, aperture, ISO, AF point, metering mode, and sometimes white balance or drive speed. I can change the first four without leaving the viewfinder, and a full sweep takes about 6-10 seconds. The last three, probably 8-12 seconds.

If I'm shooting manual, my usual flow is as follows:

1. Set desired aperture.
2. Set desired shutter speed.
3. Adjust ISO to achieve desired exposure.
4. Compose and shoot.
5. Check exposure on viewfinder (over-exposure warnings enabled) and RGB histogram.
6. Refine composition.
7. Re-check settings and exposure once desired composition is achieved.
8. Sometimes I bracket aperture and shutter speed with the final composition just to hedge my bets.

Naturally, this assumes a static or slow-moving subject. If I'm shooting action, I pretty much go rock-and-roll after the first three steps.

A few qualifying statements about this list. First, the "exposure triangle" settings (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) are organized according to my opinion of their importance. If you bork the aperture, it's really hard to correct in post (try faking bokeh or turning it into a sharp photo). A high shutter speed is nice, but if you can't get it, good technique or a 'pod will help. ISO is used to bring the photo's exposure in line with the previous two settings, since it's downside (noise) is much less detrimental to the photo than the wrong aperture or the wrong shutter speed. I always keep it as low as I can, and sometimes I'll break the usual flow to drop the ISO at the expense of less DoF or a slower shutter. Plenty of low light work means that I don't mind shooting wide angles as slow as 1/10th.

I am also a RAW-only shooter, but I believe in getting WB as close to perfect as possible before shooting. One less thing to muck with in post, which I prefer to minimize.

Generally speaking, I spend a lot more time setting up and preparing for a shot than I spend mucking with settings. A typical location portrait shoot might involve 90 minutes of checking gear (and lots of idle time charging batteries), 60 minutes of posing and adjusting lights on-site, and about 10 minutes with my eye actually at the viewfinder. Most of my work is fairly informal, so I'm sure these setup numbers are way higher for the more professional guys. But I bet the viewfinder time doesn't increase much.

I have the advantage of using only one camera, so my muscle memory is well tuned. My 60D is a pretty intuitive beastie by now. Most cameras have user-customizable soft (on-viewfinder) menus where you can cluster your most-used settings or information. Mine includes (incomplete list) Flash Control, Custom White Balance, Flash Exposure Compensation, and Battery Info. Some also have a user-programmable position or positions on the mode dial ("C" or "C1, C2," etc. on Canon), which I'll frequently program with a high-ISO aperture priority mode for quick snapshots.

[Bill Yeung]

Please let me know anything I am wrong.
IN figure skating rink, f is always 2.8 , the lowest of my 70-200mm. I struggle with shuttle from 1/250 and 1600 ISO.... as no flash is allowed.
with 7D, I really don't know how people can use higher than 1/250 as some mentioned that motion need more than 1/250 !!! I wish I can but ISO just keep me from a low noise photo!
Outside the rink, indoor , for the presentation podium, with 24-70mm 2.8, always use 1/250 and up shuttle priority with high speed sync 580 ex flash. ISO can tuned down to 200 or 400. I am a hand shaker and use high shuttle speed to capture a non motion moment compensating the shaking.

[Shadowman]

Please let me know anything I am wrong.
IN figure skating rink, f is always 2.8 , the lowest of my 70-200mm. I struggle with shuttle from 1/250 and 1600 ISO.... as no flash is allowed.
with 7D, I really don't know how people can use higher than 1/250 as some mentioned that motion need more than 1/250 !!! I wish I can but ISO just keep me from a low noise photo!
Outside the rink, indoor , for the presentation podium, with 24-70mm 2.8, always use 1/250 and up shuttle priority with high speed sync 580 ex flash. ISO can tuned down to 200 or 400. I am a hand shaker and use high shuttle speed to capture a non motion moment compensating the shaking.

You should be able to get some creative blur at 1/250s. Also consider your position to the skater. Are they approaching/moving away, can you successfully pan skaters moving parallel to your position. Can you time when the skater is turning, jumping, stopping? To really freeze the action you need 1/250s or faster.

[rpcrowe]

I don't do a lot of ISO adjusting when I am shooting. Perhaps this is due from coming from a film background wherein I did not have the luxury of switching my ASA/ISO mid-roll. I have a fairly good idea at which ISO I will be shooting in order to achieve the shutter speed + aperture I will want or need...

I shoot with a pair of Canon 7D cameras and usually set my ISO at 160 for general bright conditions, but will often use ISO 320 when either shooting in less bright conditions or when I am using very long focal lengths. The extra stop of ISO will allow a faster shutter speed. If I am shooting in really low light conditions, I will adjust my ISO accordingly.

For off-the-cuff, street type shooting, I prefer using programmed exposure. Since my shooting parameters are visible in my viewfinder, I can easily adjust those parameters on the fly. The dual dial system on the Canon DSLR cameras I use (40D and 7D) facilitates the quick adjustment of shutter speed and f/stop. It is an automatic process for me to use my right forefinger to adjust the f/stop and shutter speed within the exposure values of the meter reading. If I want to increase or decrease my exposure to compensate for the meter reading (such as when I am shooting in snow conditions and want to add exposure) I can easily use my right thumb to add or subtract total exposure. I have the basic selection at 19 point auto focus...

I have the basic parameters of my camera at "P". However, I have other parameters set up using the C-1, C-2, and C-3 user selected modes. I can switch to these other parameters quickly by a quick turn of the mode dial. I have one of these parameters set up for Auto Exposure Bracketing which I will use when I am in a really chancy exposure situation or when I want to later composite three shots into an HDR image. I have C-3 set up for this including having the C-3 set up for burst mode which gives me auto bracketed shots with each press of the shutter button...

I will have the basic camera selection set up for single shots but, will have C-1 set up for moving subjects with low speed burst, AI-Servo and appropriate auto focus point...

I ALWAYS shoot in RAW and unless I am working in some strange lighting conditions, I will have my camera color balance set to auto. RAW allows me a lot of control over my final color rendition...

There is a great difference between shooting moving subjects like people, animals etc. and shooting landscapes or architecture. IMO, you need to be able to operate your camera a lot faster and more intuitively when shooting moving humans and animals. I am making a guess that this may be why some photographers shy away from people and animal photography.

Finally, I make great use of the User Selected options C-1, C-2 and C-3 on my 7D. These basically allow me to have my camera set up with four different parameter sets, selectable with a single twist of the mode dial. That is quite important to me and I am very glad that Canon reinstated the three User elected Settings that they originally introduced on the 40D. (note: Canon reduced these to two on the 50D and, for some strange reason, further reduced the User Selections to a single one on the 60D).

When I want to shot in manual mode, I will usually be able to predict this in advance. One of the times I always use manual exposure is when shooting with studio strobes. Anopther time is when I plan to shoot a series of images for a pano...

BTW: IMO, one of the neatest features of the 7D (and perhaps other cameras) is the quick select button which will instantly tell me all of the parameter settings and make it very easy to change the individual settings without having to use any other buttons or any other menus screens.

The 7D is the easiest camera I have ever used. It has a broad range of auto focus capabilities, the three user selected options, the quick control button and my shooting parameters in the viewfinder. This combined with the dials and buttons at my finger tips allows quick and accurate parameter selection.

[RustBeltRaw]

IMO, one of the neatest features of the 7D (and perhaps other cameras) is the quick select button which will instantly tell me all of the parameter settings and make it very easy to change the individual settings without having to use any other buttons or any other menus screens.

The 7D is the easiest camera I have ever used. It has a broad range of auto focus capabilities, the three user selected options, the quick control button and my shooting parameters in the viewfinder. This combined with the dials and buttons at my finger tips allows quick and accurate parameter selection.

The 60D has a similar layout, but with only one C mode. Hopefully the overall control setup will carry over on future cameras, because I'm very fond of it.

[William W]

Please let me know anything I am wrong.
IN figure skating rink, f is always 2.8 , the lowest of my 70-200mm. I struggle with shuttle from 1/250 and 1600 ISO.... as no flash is allowed.
with 7D, I really don't know how people can use higher than 1/250 as some mentioned that motion need more than 1/250 !!! I wish I can but ISO just keep me from a low noise photo!

I expect that you are still underexposing on the skin tones if you are still concerned about noise at ISO higher than ISO1600.
Underexposure will cause the noise to be more apparent.
Noise is also more apparent on the screen than in the print – especially so, if one pixel peeps on the screen.
A 7D is capable of very good results at higher than ISO1600 – you need to use the higher ISO capacity of the 7D: use your camera at ISO3200 or ISO6400.
Good post production techniques will enhance the 7D’s file, when you are shooting at High ISO.

*

To arrest Subject Movement for Figure Skating, you need to have a faster Shutter Speed than 1/250s .

*

You must NOT underexpose.

*

We have had this conversation before.



WW

[dan marchant]

....but it seems to me that even as a pro you'd be clicking through menus a fair bit for each shot.

I spend a few seconds setting the shutter speed, aperture & iso to get the exposure. I never spend any time clicking through menus because I use the buttons/wheels to change the setting while looking through the view finder. The menu is a really slow way to change settings and once your fingers learn the controls of your camera you will hardly need to use the menu.

I only use the menu to activate something special like mirror lock up, to format a card something like that. Normal shooting all controlled by the buttons/dials.