Look for a setting to release the shutter without a lens. My a7II has this setting.

I started with all manual exposure when I started with my FD lenses on Sony. I spent more time zeroing in the exposure than focusing and shooting. At the suggestion of others here at UHH, I changed to Auto ISO with +0.7 EC (in RAW) and either shutter priority or aperture priority. If the Dynamic range is too great and I'm getting exposure warnings on critical highlights, I just turn down the EC, rarely needing to go below 0 EC on this model for my shooting situations.

In Shutter Priority, I control the speed for stopping motion, but the camera will tend to raise the ISO above ISO-100. In Aperture priority, the camera will try to stay at ISO-100, but may make the shutter too slow to freeze the action and / or to hand-hold, even with the IBIS. I've gotten better at recognizing the situation and picking / adjusting the shooting mode. Similar to you, I adjust the lens aperture to the composition, adjust the camera mode (if needed) and just focus on focus and shooting, letting the camera handle the exposure.

With all due respect I will be waiting right here for some proof other than an anecdote or two. You haven't even provided those yet.

You can tell me I would thank God for being white but so far you don't have a clue what I am do you? You assume I am white. Is that racist on your part or just dumb?

Truth is I thank God every single day but never for my skin color. No matter I had been born black, white, Native American, Jewish, Muslim, or whatever I would still have been successful in what I attempted to do because I am hard working, and believe in respecting others. There are millions of people with skin color different than mine who are millionaires or Billionaires. I hope they thank God every day for whatever skin color they have as well.

Take a look around you. No I mean with your eyes open. You will see people of all colors in politics, film and television, law enforcement, the Supreme Court, attorneys, butchers, bakers, mechanics, airline pilots, military at the very highest ranks and so on. Yet you seem to be trying to tell me that being one skin color or another makes a difference.

Apparently you have never learned the difference in success is not skin color but how hard a person works toward being successful. You probably rate people on welfare as not able to succeed so they stay on welfare. I rate not all but a great many as being just plain lazy. All too many of all skin colors have found that the government will actually pay them not to work and in I think 37 states pay them better than minimum wage. Hell, they say, why should I bust my ass for minimum wage when the government will pay me not to work. That is the state of people you support.

Dennis