I think that the point that I and some others are making here is that all to often people get to making the minutae of technicalities into a big issue, Most modern cameras will produce properly exposed and focused images, the art is in fieldcraft, knowing and observing the subject and puting in the time in the field, there are no short-cuts, just like driving from A to B you have to go along the road to get there.
The only way to get the pictures is to spend as much time in the field shooting them. Just like driving a car, when you are learning, it all has to be thought about, however the instructor tells you how to release the clutch or pull away on a hill you have to feel it and get the hang of it yourself, you can't get it right first time by reading a book or being told, after some practice it becomes second nature, then after a while it all seems so easy.
When you are out in the field and there is a bird in your sights the last thing to worry about is recording how far away it is, get the shots, change possition if possible, and get as many images as possible, it cheap on digital, if it ain't right delete it and try again, I tend to shoot on Av and set the aperture so in average lighting conditions the shutter is at 1/250th of a second and let the camera do the rest, if the light is to low drop the aperture or change the gain, I worry about the edges of frame more than the subject, just to know the composition contains all that is wanted in the picture and no more.
Just as a note on exposure details, I often get asked for these when pictures are being published in photo mags and more often than not make them up as I do not keep records of them, that may seem odd but I know very many other pro's who do the same so most of what you read in magazines alongside the published image is just educated guesswork!
Nigel
