With an R72 filter there will only be information in the red channel. The green and blue channels will be black.

The metering may still work, but it's not necessarily measuring how much IR light there is with any degree of accuracy. Bracketing is a useful technique, but with digital you can also review the results on the screen. In glorious red....

Scene modes can do more than just adjust aperture and shutter speed. They could, and do, make adjustments to saturation, sharpness, colour, etc to enhance the type of picture taken.

This the mysterious "Food" setting uses a small aperture and boosts colour saturation to make food look more appetising. I'm just going to cook an omellette now, so perhaps I'll give it a go!

Welcome to Mott and Don....

Macro photography is technically demanding but very rewarding. The best place to start is probably a good book on the subject, followed by lots of experimentation and practice.

You don't need to buy a macro lens straight away - there are cheaper ways of getting macro shots such as 2x converters, extension tubes, reversing lenses, even close up lenses. When you are hooked you will know because you will then want a macro lens.

Just keep it simple. If you get good results from sRGB and 8 bit files then where's the problem?

I don't think you need to worry about 16 bit and dithering or even work in Adobe RGB inless you have a reason for doing so.

Sometimes the more complicated we get the worse it gets. I would suggest starting with the question where is the current problem and then looking for a solution. Are you making big prints? Is there a lack of vibrancy? Is the original image well lit and of the best quality?

Perhaps you could post the image and then the one you are dissatisfied with and we might see what the problem is?

Have you tried another SD card to make sure there isn't a card error? Also, before use, the card should be formatted in the camera.

Otherwise, it sounds like a fault. Is it still under warranty?

You've chosen a difficult subject to light because of the highlights, but I like the effect. Which colour you choose is anyone's guess - which do you like best?

A small flower would be a much easier subject to light and record without any exposure difficulties!

Good luck with the grading.

Thank heavens you weren't holding a camera phone....I don't think it's illegal yet to hold a camera whilst driving!

What is certain is that the SR works very well with telephoto lenses. Our success rate with marginal shutter speeds is very high, and I'm pretty sure that all our telephoto shots are sharper.
However, there is still no substitute for a good solid tripod.
Unfortunately, because I find tripods really cramp my style.

With a tripod the SR should be switched off. The lack of movement will potentially cause feedback loops as the SR mechanism will be trying to find shake that isn't there.

With a monopod it's less clear, but as there is still some movement maybe the SR will be useful.

Why not run the experiment and let us know how it works out?