My interest in film photography is at the lever where I have a budget enlarger and want to make prints, but not at the level where I want to use a manual camera, meter every scene, use a densitometer, and actually learn the zone system. I want to share my plan for how to tune my process. I was hoping someone could confirm that this is probably good enough for an amateur to get prints he'd be happy to put in the family photo album. I started with John Finch's "
EZ Zone System" and dumbed it down by removing the light meter:
Step 0: Pick a film + film developer + paper combo
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Step 1: Go outside, find a scene with moderate contrast, and take several shots with a range of ISO settings.
Step 2: Use the enlarger to make a test strip through the film base and find the shortest exposure that makes the blackest black that your paper + paper developer can produce --- This is your enlarger setting for this combo
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Step 3: Enlarge the photos with that setting and find the ISO where you can first see shadow detail. --- This is your personal film ISO.
Step 4: Go back outside, shoot another roll at that ISO, cut it into strips. Develop each strip for a different time. Find the development time that allows you to see details in the highlights.
Done! Now you have your default development time + film ISO + enlarger settings. Some scenes still require adjusting EV and scenes with too much or too little contrast may require Grade filters at the enlarger. For roll film, don't mess with the film development time unless the entire roll is of very similar scenes.
Using a different film, developer, or paper would require doing a new test.
What do you think?
Dyed-in-the-wool Zone-System user here.
My recommendation: Don't bother will all this testing or even the Zone System if you're using a roll-film camera and the in-camera meter. Here's my take on your EZ Zone System and my suggestions for the steps:
Step 0: Great! use one film and D-23 for a while. That means until you have a good reason to change.
Step 1:
Finding an E.I. is important, but it really depends on how you meter. If you're not basing your exposure on a shadow value (ZS parlance, "placing the shadow"), then your in-camera meter will be fairly close, as long as it's functioning correctly. If you want some insurance, rate your film a third-stop or two-thirds stop slower than the ISO. It's not that necessary, though.
EZer method: shoot a roll of film in "moderate" conditions, develop it at the recommended time (for starters) and head to the darkroom to make prints.
Step 2, 3 and 4:
The "minimum time to find max black" test is valid, but not as easy as you might expect. Determining what max black is tends to be the problem. Depending on lighting you can see more or less separation in the darkest areas of the print, making finding the first indistinguishable step between a given exposure and the next really difficult. Usually people see too many steps of black and end up with an E.I. that is ridiculously too slow. Finding your developing time with the ZS assumes you know the contrast range (better, Subject Luminance Range) of your scene. If you're not metering that, then don't bother.
EZer method: make your best print, with good contrasts and good whites and blacks using VC paper and whatever contrast setting is necessary.
Evaluating the print will tell you a lot (note: this is important!). If you needed a lot more contrast than #2-2.5 filtration, then you need to increase development time, and vice versa. If your shadow detail is not there, you need to give more exposure (rate the film slower). Note that this takes care of Steps 2-4 all at once.
Then, refine as you go.
Important notes to speed your success:
1. Your in-camera meter will work well with moderate-contrast and flat scenes. It will tend to underexpose in contrasty situations. You need to learn to recognize really contrasty scenes and use your exposure compensation to give more exposure. One stop extra for contrasty scenes; two stops extra for very contrasty scenes. This can seem counter-intuitive at first, but it's correct. Your meter aims for a middle value. In contrasty scenes, the middle is too high to give adequate exposure to the shadows. That's why you need more exposure.
2. When printing, base your print exposure on a textured highlight area. Find the right exposure for that, make a test print at your chosen (or best guess) contrast setting and then evaluate it. Adjust print contrast to get the full range of tones and the shadow detail you want. Note: you'll have to make a new exposure test strip when you change contrast. It's time well-spent; don't skimp here.
3. Evaluate your prints to give you information to refine your exposure and development. Every print is an exposure/film development test. It's pretty simple: not enough shadow detail? Rate your film slower, and vice versa. Consistently printing at a really high contrast setting? Develop your film longer (15% is a good starting increment), and vice versa. Keep refining till most of your shots of moderate contrast scenes print around #2 and #3 filtration (film development time) and you are getting the separation in the shadows you want (film exposure).
That's it. Go make some pictures.
Doremus