Quote Originally Posted by Colin500 View Post
I would still want the initial exposure to be selected manually, however when I switch from M to P the current exposure settings aren't copied, I'm back in automatic exposure land!
Frankly, it's just too complicated for me. I think you need to decide if you want manual exposure or not. If you do, IT'S MANUAL. If not, IT'S (possibly SEMI-)AUTOMATIC. Of course AE is useless in M...unless you turn a wheel, the exposure is already locked.

How are you arriving at this initial manual exposure that you want to lock? Are you making a rough guess, then taking a shot, and reviewing it on the screen w/ histogram? Are you relying on the camera's meter and watching the triangle in the viewfinder? Honestly you might want to try P with exposure compensation, then spin the little wheel to adjust your aperture/shutter pair.