So, here I am at last doing my puny best to adjust both aperture and shutter speed on the new camera SIMULTANEOUSLY (and thus control both lighting and focus) solely by means of the various buttons and dials provided. Every time I twist or poke something, a fresh array of digital numerals appears. And it is my job to interpret and calibrate these (although their significance remains largely a matter of mystery and guesswork).
But I wouldn't even probably be this ambitious if I were not booked to spend tomorrow afternoon in Palo Alto for the sake of a training session with a real photographer, who will (alas) inevitably expect me to know a great deal more about the digital SLR world than I really do.