Excellent explanation. I have been using the Zone system since 1968 and meter with confidence. I have used it with 35mm, 120 and Large Format which is the only camera I work with these days.. Just came back from a 4 day photo trip using my 4x5 and metering with a Sekonic L508. The L508 has a function to allow you to calibrate the meter which is obviously important. I dream of Pentax bringing out the old meter again only using a AA or AAA battery.
That would be incredible if Pentax reissued there meter. Kind of feel like there would be enough people that would buy it to make it worth there while too. Hope your trip was fun and productive 👍
I use a very simplified zone system. 90% of scenes I shoot contain something white or near white. I just spot meter that one thing and adjust the exposure to set it to the correct tone, and let absolutely everything else fall where it will. This nearly always works perfectly with standard development time except in massively high contrast conditions, where a bit more metering care is needed, and possibly some development adjustment too.
Typically J like to expose for shadow values then meter highlight values and develop for proper placement. If not concerned about the shadow placing the highlights for normal development can work great. HP5 is pretty forgiving in this regard!
I really enjoyed the video. Pre-visualization really makes me think about how I want my final print to look. To me, it's important to get a print from the darkroom or digitally in the age of the internet. Every time I'm in the darkroom, I struggle to get a print to look like what I saw in my head. Photographing with the Zone System makes the struggle easier. From being a practitioner of darkroom printing, I'm in awe of Fred Archer and Ansel Adams did. Adams didn't have the same photographic materials to work with as we have today. Though I know how powerful the Zone System is and I use it during shooting, I'm not a slave to it. It's just another tool.
Two comments: (1) Since the ZoneSystem sets exposure based on the light levels reflects from a subject, an incident light meter of the Sekonic type is useless in this exposure evaluation process. (2) As stated, use of the Zone System with any precision beyond just pointing your TTL camera meter at the subject requires a calibration of film speed for a chosen film with a meter and the development time/temperature used. Very few people are willing to go through the on-film testing process required to do that calibration, whether using a densitometer to measure negative density or visually with a step wedge (less accurate but doable). Even so, understanding why the "System" works allows the user approximation control over exposure adjustments which will improve image results.
I find even using a densitometer testing can be frustrating if you try to get things too perfect (specifically paper densities & contrast). Using step wedges can be helpful but leaves a bit of room for interpretation. Both are fine but if I’m gonna do the work I like to use the densitometer and then match the negatives to my paper. The latter you would not need a densitometer but if you already have one from the first part 🤷🏻♂️
Without a negative the way you want, you'll never get the print you want, no matter which VC paper you you use. Zone System is a good tool for anyone who learn how to use it. Thanks for the video!
Exactly true. For a long while, I slavishly metered highlights at Zone 7-8 and the shadows at 3, no matter the significance of the values in the image. Now I take what is IMPORTANT and place it. The best way to make a good print is to get as close as possible in-camera. Still learning.
You can get punchy prints either way. Exposure does not change the contrast of the negative. You simply print down. One way gives you the option of having shadow detail(which can have a lot of contrast too) the other does not. But that is up to what you are after 👍
@Distphoto Matt, you're absolutely right of course, exposure doesn't change contrast but if I'm going for jet black blacks while printing, I'm not overly fussed about getting shadow detail in the negs. Excellent vid as always and thanks for taking the time to reply. Atb.
Good job for a short period of time......just one tweak, one of those little pet peeves, sorry. It's "visualization", there is no pre-visualization as the term relates to the ZS. Visualization is the core tennant of the ZS, its prime strength to the practitioner. Pre = before, pre-visualize would mean before you visualize. I may do any number of things before I visualize, but when I do visualize, I'm seeing the final print in my minds eye and deciding on the exposure and development needed to achieve it "before" releasing the shutter.
Thanks!
Thank you Steve!!!
Excellent explanation. I have been using the Zone system since 1968 and meter with confidence. I have used it with 35mm, 120 and Large Format which is the only camera I work with these days.. Just came back from a 4 day photo trip using my 4x5 and metering with a Sekonic L508. The L508 has a function to allow you to calibrate the meter which is obviously important. I dream of Pentax bringing out the old meter again only using a AA or AAA battery.
That would be incredible if Pentax reissued there meter. Kind of feel like there would be enough people that would buy it to make it worth there while too. Hope your trip was fun and productive 👍
I use a very simplified zone system. 90% of scenes I shoot contain something white or near white. I just spot meter that one thing and adjust the exposure to set it to the correct tone, and let absolutely everything else fall where it will. This nearly always works perfectly with standard development time except in massively high contrast conditions, where a bit more metering care is needed, and possibly some development adjustment too.
This is with HP5+, which is extremely forgiving, it doesn't work so well with some other films (Fomapan 100 for example)
Typically J like to expose for shadow values then meter highlight values and develop for proper placement. If not concerned about the shadow placing the highlights for normal development can work great. HP5 is pretty forgiving in this regard!
I really enjoyed the video. Pre-visualization really makes me think about how I want my final print to look. To me, it's important to get a print from the darkroom or digitally in the age of the internet. Every time I'm in the darkroom, I struggle to get a print to look like what I saw in my head. Photographing with the Zone System makes the struggle easier. From being a practitioner of darkroom printing, I'm in awe of Fred Archer and Ansel Adams did. Adams didn't have the same photographic materials to work with as we have today. Though I know how powerful the Zone System is and I use it during shooting, I'm not a slave to it. It's just another tool.
Agree. it's a great tool not the law, especially if you use smaller formats! Thanks!
Two comments:
(1) Since the ZoneSystem sets exposure based on the light levels reflects from a subject, an incident light meter of the Sekonic type is useless in this exposure evaluation process.
(2) As stated, use of the Zone System with any precision beyond just pointing your TTL camera meter at the subject requires a calibration of film speed for a chosen film with a meter and the development time/temperature used. Very few people are willing to go through the on-film testing process required to do that calibration, whether using a densitometer to measure negative density or visually with a step wedge (less accurate but doable). Even so, understanding why the "System" works allows the user approximation control over exposure adjustments which will improve image results.
I find even using a densitometer testing can be frustrating if you try to get things too perfect (specifically paper densities & contrast). Using step wedges can be helpful but leaves a bit of room for interpretation. Both are fine but if I’m gonna do the work I like to use the densitometer and then match the negatives to my paper. The latter you would not need a densitometer but if you already have one from the first part 🤷🏻♂️
Without a negative the way you want, you'll never get the print you want, no matter which VC paper you you use. Zone System is a good tool for anyone who learn how to use it.
Thanks for the video!
Exactly true. For a long while, I slavishly metered highlights at Zone 7-8 and the shadows at 3, no matter the significance of the values in the image. Now I take what is IMPORTANT and place it. The best way to make a good print is to get as close as possible in-camera. Still learning.
It is all about the negative 👍
Hi Matt, could you make a video with a different papers how they react and how is the structure? It would be very helpfull. Thank you
Nah.. Just take 500 images of the thing and one will be ok... 😂😂👍 Great explanation thanks!
Hahahaha!
Do that sometimes too 😂
Can you talk about cinestill df96?
Have never used it. Seems like you would lose some contrast control. I can look into it further 👍
Though the set time limit is somewhat disturbing (I'm 65) I enjoy your clear, on target explanations.Thanks.
Your welcome!
Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights. That hasn't changed
in in the fifty years I've been doing this.
Imagine it won’t be changing anytime soon 👍👍👍
I'm not sure I buy into all that stuff about needing to see shadow detail. Punchy prints work best for me. 🇬🇧
You can get punchy prints either way. Exposure does not change the contrast of the negative. You simply print down. One way gives you the option of having shadow detail(which can have a lot of contrast too) the other does not. But that is up to what you are after 👍
@Distphoto Matt, you're absolutely right of course, exposure doesn't change contrast but if I'm going for jet black blacks while printing, I'm not overly fussed about getting shadow detail in the negs. Excellent vid as always and thanks for taking the time to reply. Atb.
👍
👍👍👍
Good job for a short period of time......just one tweak, one of those little pet peeves, sorry. It's "visualization", there is no pre-visualization as the term relates to the ZS. Visualization is the core tennant of the ZS, its prime strength to the practitioner.
Pre = before, pre-visualize would mean before you visualize.
I may do any number of things before I visualize, but when I do visualize, I'm seeing the final print in my minds eye and deciding on the exposure and development needed to achieve it "before" releasing the shutter.
In my experience that is the hardest and most important part! Thanks for the insight!