Response to the zone system and the use of filters

Actually there is a way but does involve some testing. What I did was to take a picture of a gray card with the recommended filter factor and I bracketed around this exposure by 1/2 stop, I then developed the film on my developer of choice and took density readings of the negatives. The negative that gave me a 0.65-0.70 density was the correction factor that I used. This will work as long as you use the same meter, film and developer, if you change any of these variables the factor would change. In addition if you really want to get "exact" exposures, I also tested with the "new" factor that I found out the EI (exposure index) so that my shadows would come out as I envisioned them, as you found out, a red filter will "thin" out your shadows more than a regular exposure, or a green filter. so once you have a "correct" filter factor, test for the "correct" film speed for that specific film, filter combo. Good luck....

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