Base settings Digital Rebel XT

I am completely new to photography, and have read several times the manual for my camera. Up to this point I have just used the zones, and auto to shoot. I am wondering if someone could give me some basic starting guidelines when shooting in manual mode. I am of course assuming that conditions would be more toward optimal. Example:

I have fairly good light I know I would probably want a ISO setting of 100-200. However f/stop, shutter speed I have no clue(or reference) to come from. So if there are general guidelines somewhere I can start, and commit to memory. Then experiment from the baseline that is established.

Thanks for a great way to share and learn photography everyone!

Sirecat

The correct settings are those that are appropriate for the situation. There is no easy answer to this question. Pick up Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It will give you a great photo 101. Also put you camera in the different modes to see what it chooses for those situations, you see that it uses higher shutter speeds for moving subjects, smaller apertures for subjects that need sharp focus front to back etc.

These sites would be a good place to start to learn the various things you need to know to make those kinds of decisions:
http://photo.net/learn​/
http://www.photoxels.c​om/digital-pho...tutorials.html
http://www.silverlight​.co.uk/tutorials/index​.html
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials.h​tm
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/
http://www.geofflawren​ce.com/

Like casaaviocar said, there is no easy answer to this question. Try zeroing all your in-camera settings and start from there. Also, a good light meter is indispensable when it comes to correct exposure.

Canon Learning Center had a great walk through on the XT. However it may be down now as it is not a current model.

It is still up...... http://www.usa.canon.c​om …tArticleAct&art​icleID=279

Thanks to everyone for the information...Really nice to get input from others with more knowledge and experience...

Sirecat