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Response to advise to move into zone system

from Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net)
Hamad,

This could work, but it's so much trouble that no one does it. Rewinding and reloading film is rough on the film, as you're apt to have scratch and dirt problems. In a perfect world (the 4x5 world?) you'd calibrate everything so your negatives would print perfectly on one grade of paper, and at one time. That's the goal of the zone system. Since the scenes you shoot rarely use the entire range of the film, and you have 4 or 5 grades of paper available, there's no good reason to go through all this pain. If you really want to do it, you should get a camera with removable backs, or go to large format. If I read between the lines, it seems you believe the zone system will provide some magic cure for a problem you haven't specified. What exactly is wrong with your photos that you feel you need it?

BTW, years ago I did a complete zone system calibration using my 2 1/4 TLR. It was very educational, but totally useless in any practical situation. Film and paper were much cheaper then, so it was a good exercise. Today I recommend that people learn sensitometry. It's no more difficult than the zone system, which is just another way of expressing the same thing.

(posted 9126 days ago)

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