Up and running here...

[doug]

The shutter "explosion" is really significant and needs careful handling/holding.

I think you'll find that the bulk of the noise/vibration is after the shutter closes so it will have no effect on the exposures.

I generally have my R8 set for -1 exposure comp to avoid blowing out detailed highlights, but the meter reading for me is just a starting point. More often than not I'll use the camera in manual exposure mode using the meter reading as a starting point, then checking the histogram after the first couple of exposures to be sure I'm not clipping any highlights; adjust exposure as necessary to fit the tonal range within the camera's dynamic range, as far to the right as possible:

 

[cmb_]

Peter - a nice feature of the DMR is the white-line Histogram during auto review. If you don't know about it here is how to turn it on:
Menu > AutoReview > Histogram > and select Standard