I think you have to know the limits of your gear and what you are trying to do. My gear is more middlin' for DR. I'm getting in the habit of keeping the histogram visible in the viewfinder, and it is surprising to me how many scenes dribble off the histogram both left and right in the same image. A lot of times you can figure out that what is lost is unimportant, by moving the camera or holding a hand out to block part, but sometimes you can't tell. You can take a shot and turn the blinkies on in the playback, but on my camera that only shows blown highlights. Besides taking time to chimp is more time than bracketing. So why not bracket in some cases? The film is free and you don't have to even keep the ones that are wasted.. I set it to capture normal, darker, lighter in that order. Sometimes you wish you had a shadow or highlight in your back pocket to blend.

Mathematically, each EV stop shifts one bit the sensor readout.

So, in you have a 14 bit sensor, and do +/- 1 EV bracketing, in you will effectively read 16 bit data. If you do +/- 2 EV bracket, you'll end wit 18 bit days and so on.

I've done many sure surveys my line of work, always to find out later that I've missed some important data points. So I've learned the hard way to take as many measurements as possible in the field.

The same applies for photography: get as much data (bracket) as possible, PP later.

I know alot of people feel offended by Bob's quote. I am not. If people do not know how to use manual exposure, then it IS easier to do exposure bracketing and pick the photo with best exposure/capture. I would also add, "or for lazy people or people in a rush." When only 1 photo is truly needed to capture full dynamic range with minimal noise, it is EASIER/FASTER to just do a 3 bracket exposure instead of putting camera on manual mode and adjusting dials accordingly to get the best exposure from 1 shot. I am often guilty of this myself especially if out shooting with a group and have to move quickly. It's not as if we are shooting film. It's easy to delete any unwanted photos while saving the 'keepers'.

Hey buddy please don't let that criticism get to you. I know that there is a lot to learn however that camera is the best 'Bang for the buck" DSLR Nikon that you could've bought. I'm here to tell you that I'm on my third D7200 and am putting a link to a website that will help you get a few things setup like back button focus (a must have change).

https://ditchauto.com/top-5-settings-change-nikon-d7200-2/

I'm a sports photographer but in my experience any camera that can shoot in the no-flash and low light that gymnastics photography demands can pretty much take any type of photograph.

The next thing is understanding metering modes and how to setup your camera to get the exposure right.

https://photographylife.com/understanding-metering-modes

I don't want you to give up and just remember that practice is how you get to Carnegie Hall...

Hope you find the linked info and moral support helpful and to answer your question: I'm my own worst critic. I wish I was able to work with you to help speed up the learning process...

-Jim Cameron

JCStudio Photography