Thanks for the feedback fellas. I think have a good understanding of what you are saying, but the real solution is to get behind the wheel of a manual car. I hope that day will come somewhat soon.

Old style 'gated' manual shifters are of course very cool, but they are far less user-friendly than modern gearboxes, which are just smooth and effortless. But in classic cars yeah there's a bit more 'searching' for gears lol

Maybe weighted isn't the best term (most transmissions use springs to help guide the shifter back to the middle of the pattern), but the shifter is balanced to always want to return to neutral in the 3rd/4th gear gate. It it set up that way so that you will always know where you are in the shift pattern without having to look at it. If you move the shifter to the left, so that it is in neutral between 1st and 2nd, you will notice that it wants to spring back into neutral between 3rd and 4th. Same if you were to move the shifter to the right (in between 5th and R), it will want to spring back to the 3rd/4th gate. It's hard to explain in writing, but I think you have the idea.

Ah alright. So, if I'm understanding this correctly, weighted selectors will kind of hang out in the middle like this?
3
l
©
l
4

And, is this only while you are in 3rd or 4th, or for any gear at all?

Generally it won't be that hard to tell which gear you're going into. I drive a car with a five speed manual, and it has the following shift pattern:

1 3 5
|--|--|
2 4 R

The shifter is weighted so that it will always want to rest between 3rd and 4th gear, so as long as you know that it rests there, it will not be hard to shift into the desired gear as long as you know where that gear is in relation to the shifter's natural resting point.

Really though, all shifters are different and all will have a different feel. Some will require very little pressure to slide out of the 3rd/4th gate, while others will be very resistant. Some will have long throws, while others will have much shorter throws. The shift gates in my car (1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th and R) are not very close together, so I know exactly which gear I'm going into. In other cars I've driven (like my uncle's Challenger R/T and Camaro Z28), the shift gates are much closer together (shifting from 2nd to 3rd in my car is like shifting from 2nd to 5th in either of his cars), but the shifter's weighting is still the same. It always comes to rest in neutral between 3rd and 4th. Modern Corvettes and 911s with manuals will be like that too despite having seven gears.

@Mazdafreak Funny you mention YouTube videos because I've actually looked some up previously and it does indeed seem like that's the toughest part. Question: is it tough to 'find' gears in a car that does not have a gated manual? That's one of my biggest questions regarding driving manuals- I feel like I'd just shift into random, unwanted gears. And of course, I haven't used the flash at all on my camera since I got it.

The more photographs you take at night, the better you'll get at them. I generally try not to use the flash because it not only draws attention to myself, but it also distorts the colors a bit. I agree that the top does look weird on the Murci.

Check out some of the YouTube videos on how to drive a stick. The hardest part is learning how to start from a dead stop, but once you get the hang of that, it isn't very difficult. I haven't driven an automatic in a couple months because I've gotten so used to driving a manual! :O

@Mazdafreak cool, I need to do some more night shooting sometime.

Isn't that thing gorgeous too! There's only two things I dislike:
1) the rag top- they just don't look right when the top is up on those things, looks so strange.
2) I can't drive a manual yet xD

Thanks guys! Settings for this shot were 1/10, f/3.5, and ISO 3200.

And that is an unbelievable looking Murcielago Roadster! Can't believe it's a stick too! I would definitely be happy with that spec!

Camera settings? Neat find!

Also, you might enjoy this new recent listing at a dealership near me, just look at this and drool:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWgCtvNlhff/?taken-by=drivingemotions
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWiKwlqF8Ea/?taken-by=drivingemotions

Nice spot and cool framing!