 Jeff |
Zone System I just started learning about the Zone system in a B&W Photography class I am taking. Question: Is it possible to accurately utilize the Zone system technique without having the ability to "Spot meter" with my camera. I have a Pentax ZX-7 with 6 segment and center weighted metering. I have been reading on the Zone system and almost all of the articles I have come across indicate using a spot meter. I would appreciate any information you may have. Thanks, Jeff C
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John A. Lind |
Jeff, The Zone System presumes manual exposure control. Subject luminance is measured with a meter, then decisions are made about aperture and shutter speed based on meter readings. The fundamental objective of the Zone System is placement of exposure so that desired highlight and shadow detail falls within the film latitude versus using an averaging scheme (even if that scheme is weighted in some manner). I don't know how one would use an aperture or shutter priority auto-exposure mode, or more difficult yet, a program mode with the Zone System. The basics of the Zone System hinge on being able to measure different parts of a scene with different levels of luminance. Matrix metering is a sophisticated system which is intended to emulate, to a limited extent, what the Zone System does manually. I emphasize "limited extent." Regardless of how sophisticated the electronics and program logic are, it's not nearly as sophisticated as the human mind. The *definitive* book on the Zone System is Ansel Adams' _The_Negative_. It has been a while since I read this book, so I pulled it back off the shelf again to review various sections that discuss meter usage as part of the topics covered. It confirmed what I had remembered. Full usage of the Zone System requires being able to get close enough to the subject to measure different luminance levels of different areas (as they face the camera position), or using a spot meter to do the same from the camera position itself. The former is more difficult, sometimes impossible, compared to the latter. The ZX-7 does have a "metered manual mode" and I looked at a copy of the ZX-7 manual on-line at Pentax' web site. It didn't say much about exactly how it operates. I was looking to see if it made a "spot" measurement of some type. Some testing by placing the camera in this mode and moving it around to see how its metering shifts will tell you whether it's using the center "spot" in the viewfinder or not. It did state how to set aperture and shutter speed using it: There are a couple sections on exposure estimating, but these are presented as an "emergency" measure in the event of equipment failure, and when having to work very, very quickly (or lose the image altogether from changing conditions). Sorry I cannot give you a better method with this. Those that use the Zone System typically have a hand-held spot meter, often with a very narrow 1 degree spot. -- John
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Jeff |
John, I really appreciate your quick response. I'll get through it though..I do think it's interesting and am going to continue reading about it and Again.. Thanks much Jeff
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John A. Lind |
Jeff, Don't despair. If nothing else, come away from studying the Zone System understanding it's very basic goals. The Zone System is Adams' *method* for achieving these goals through thorough calibration of every tool in a very objective manner. The goals can still be pursued using less objective means, and when using B/W and color, transparency and negative. The fundamental principle is determining how much density on film is desired for a specific region of luminance in the scene (how light or dark it will be), then considering what densities will result with the rest of the scene's luminance levels, and deciding if that's acceptable. If not, the exposure setting is adjusted until it is acceptable. [If it cannot be, one walks away knowing an acceptable image is not going to happen with that film, on that day, at that time, in that location.] Adams calls this "place and fall." Place exposure for the desired density of a specific region and the other regions fall around it with their densities. When using Kodachrome or Provia I often select what highlights will just barely capture detail without "blowing out," then examine where the rest of the scene falls, particularly the darkest regions in which detail is also desired. Decisions are then made about what to give up if I can't "get it all." Color transparency requires some different considerations about density placement, including overall average density, but it pursues the same underlying goals as Adams does with the Zone System. Good luck with your class(es)
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