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I was replying to the OP thinking that is what he wanted to do, not saying he shouldn't do it as you suggest.
-- OR decided to try something else. There are no shortage of shutterbugs doing that.
P.S. A densitometer is not essential. If you have an enlarger "analyzer" or meter, or a hand-held meter with an enlarger attachment, you are all set. If all else fails, your eyeball does a pretty good job.
I second what Nicholas has advised.
The ZS assumes you'll be basing exposure on a shadow value and then seeing where the other values "fall." Read/learn about Zones II through V so you can place a given shadow value in the approximate Zone you want it. Inky black, Zone I or II, black with texture, but still very dark, Zone III, luminous shadows in landscapes, Zone IV, Shadows on snow or white sand, Zone V, etc. And, you'll need to be able to easily and accurately meter shadows for exposure determination and the other values to see where they fall. If you don't have a spot meter, maybe the ZS is not for you.
Don't bother with film-speed testing; simply rate your film 2/3-stop slower than box speed. This compensates for the Zone VI metering technique and assumed speed point. It will be way close enough to get started with and most likely not have to be changed.
Find yourself a N (normal) developing time by photographing a scene with a full distribution of values from Zone III through Zone VIII (textured black through textured white). Make a few negatives of the scene, develop one at the manufacturer's recommended time in whatever developer you choose and make your best print on the paper you use at an intermediate contrast setting (your N). I, like Nicholas, recommend you use grade/filtration 2.5 or 3 (I like 3) for your "normal" grade. Make a straight print with the Zone VIII textured whites in the right place. If the shadows are too dark, develop the next negative 15% less than the first and try again. If the shadows aren't dark enough, develop 15% more and try again. Within about three prints, you'll have a good N developing time. (Remember, you just need to be close, i.e., within half a grade or so, so don't obsess with getting a perfect print from a straight print at a selected grade - you just need to be inside the goalposts, not exactly in the middle).
Now you have your N development time and a usable E.I. Go out and make photographs, keeping good notes. The real learning curve of the Zone System is learning how to visualize what you're going to get in the final print from the meter readings you take in the field, so keep track of those. Imagine how you want the shadows, mid-tones and highlights to be rendered according to the meter readings and see if they match what actually happens when you make a print. You'll have to adjust your visualization to agree with the realities of the medium; that's the real learning curve.
With experience, you'll know what your going to get before you release the shutter, where printing problems will be, what you need to dodge and burn, etc. And, if you find your shadows are not exposed enough for your taste, you can adjust E.I. or change development times if your negative contrast isn't getting you in the ballpark most of the time. Field notes help here.
As far as contractions and expansions are concerned (N- and N+ development times): Most contrast control can be done with VC papers these days, but there are still times you need to contract or expand development. However, you don't need to aim exactly for a particular paper grade/contrast filtration (as was necessary with graded papers in the past). So, just think that N-1 is about 20% less development than N and N+1 is about 20% more (again, you can adjust these later if needed).
Scenes that in the classic ZS would require N-1 or N+1 development can be dealt with easily by developing at N and using a different contrast filtration to make up the difference. When you run into a scene that the classic ZS would call N-2 or N-3, just develop N-1 and deal with the rest of the contrast control with your VC paper range (e.g., N-1 development with a #1 filter when your N is a #3 filter = N-3). The same with expansions; for N+2 and N+3 situations, just develop N+1 and use higher-contrast filtration to make up the difference.
That will get you more than started. Remember, if you don't use the visualization aspect of the ZS, you aren't really using the ZS, just ensuring adequate exposure and a negative with a usable contrast range. Being able to see in your mind's eye what you're results will be before making the exposure is the real advantage.
Best,
Doremus
I second what Nicholas has advised.
The ZS assumes you'll be basing exposure on a shadow value and then seeing where the other values "fall." Read/learn about Zones II through V so you can place a given shadow value in the approximate Zone you want it. Inky black, Zone I or II, black with texture, but still very dark, Zone III, luminous shadows in landscapes, Zone IV, Shadows on snow or white sand, Zone V, etc. And, you'll need to be able to easily and accurately meter shadows for exposure determination and the other values to see where they fall. If you don't have a spot meter, maybe the ZS is not for you.
Don't bother with film-speed testing; simply rate your film 2/3-stop slower than box speed. This compensates for the Zone VI metering technique and assumed speed point. It will be way close enough to get started with and most likely not have to be changed.
Find yourself a N (normal) developing time by photographing a scene with a full distribution of values from Zone III through Zone VIII (textured black through textured white). Make a few negatives of the scene, develop one at the manufacturer's recommended time in whatever developer you choose and make your best print on the paper you use at an intermediate contrast setting (your N). I, like Nicholas, recommend you use grade/filtration 2.5 or 3 (I like 3) for your "normal" grade. Make a straight print with the Zone VIII textured whites in the right place. If the shadows are too dark, develop the next negative 15% less than the first and try again. If the shadows aren't dark enough, develop 15% more and try again. Within about three prints, you'll have a good N developing time. (Remember, you just need to be close, i.e., within half a grade or so, so don't obsess with getting a perfect print from a straight print at a selected grade - you just need to be inside the goalposts, not exactly in the middle).
Now you have your N development time and a usable E.I. Go out and make photographs, keeping good notes. The real learning curve of the Zone System is learning how to visualize what you're going to get in the final print from the meter readings you take in the field, so keep track of those. Imagine how you want the shadows, mid-tones and highlights to be rendered according to the meter readings and see if they match what actually happens when you make a print. You'll have to adjust your visualization to agree with the realities of the medium; that's the real learning curve.
With experience, you'll know what your going to get before you release the shutter, where printing problems will be, what you need to dodge and burn, etc. And, if you find your shadows are not exposed enough for your taste, you can adjust E.I. or change development times if your negative contrast isn't getting you in the ballpark most of the time. Field notes help here.
As far as contractions and expansions are concerned (N- and N+ development times): Most contrast control can be done with VC papers these days, but there are still times you need to contract or expand development. However, you don't need to aim exactly for a particular paper grade/contrast filtration (as was necessary with graded papers in the past). So, just think that N-1 is about 20% less development than N and N+1 is about 20% more (again, you can adjust these later if needed).
Scenes that in the classic ZS would require N-1 or N+1 development can be dealt with easily by developing at N and using a different contrast filtration to make up the difference. When you run into a scene that the classic ZS would call N-2 or N-3, just develop N-1 and deal with the rest of the contrast control with your VC paper range (e.g., N-1 development with a #1 filter when your N is a #3 filter = N-3). The same with expansions; for N+2 and N+3 situations, just develop N+1 and use higher-contrast filtration to make up the difference.
That will get you more than started. Remember, if you don't use the visualization aspect of the ZS, you aren't really using the ZS, just ensuring adequate exposure and a negative with a usable contrast range. Being able to see in your mind's eye what you're results will be before making the exposure is the real advantage.
Best,
Doremus
BTW, I have good a good quality scan of the (blank) "Kodak Curve-Plotting Graph Paper" form if anyone wants a copy...
Is that the same as this pdf?: https://125px.com/docs/techpubs/kodak/y30.pdf
BTW, I have good a good quality scan of the (blank) "Kodak Curve-Plotting Graph Paper" form if anyone wants a copy...
Oh, yespease to rlambrec@ymail.com or post it here.
Will what I posted do or do you need a larger file?
I made an absurdly large scan of it but reduced it 75% for the above posting.
EDIT: OK. Let me know if it's too low in resolution and I will email a better copy.
I'm also with Nicolas above, but I rate the film typically at box speed of -1/3 stop. For N+ and N- exposure and development, I see no shortcut to a proper film test with your favorite equipment and developer.
Technically if you want to calibrate to the Zone System criteria you would begin by using an EI 2/3 stop lower than ISO speed. Then you figure out your development times for normal, minus, plus.
I second Tykos. Start with a 15-20% reduction in the developer manufacturer's recomended development time. Be wary of the Massive Development Chart.
If the shadows in your negatives are too thin then drop the EI. If the highlights are too dense then drop the development time. And vice-versa, of course.
Take pictures of your normal subjects. Print with a #3 filter to judge the results. You are aiming for a print that pleases you, not us.
Reading Adams' "The making of 40 photographs" I found that almost none of his iconic images were made with the Zone System. The Zone System, as practiced by Adams, made him take boring photographs. I guess if you are going to go the plodding Zone System path then the spontaneity in taking the picture is killed.
That may explain my setting the meter at 2/3-1/2 the box speed, dropping the development time 15% and not bothering with all the place/fall folderol, and just get on with taking the picture.
And in the end don’t forget that AA and all others, after all the implied perfection of pre-visualstion, testing, measuring, tuning of development times, and so on, they often enough spent countless hours correcting that perfection in the darkroom, dodging, burning, and in fact many a times entirely altering what they had claimed to have visualised in the first place.
ZS is good to learn how things interact. Do take its premises with some grain of salt, so the love of your life you met last night still holds some promise in the morning.
we should also note that these -1/3, -2/3, -42 stops mostly depend on how the user meters the scene.
Slight differences in what can be considered zone 2 vs 3, different wanted results, different type of scenes (vegetation vs. studio vs. portraits), inconscious corrections due to experience all contribute to a different film rating, that's why the personal testing, even if not conducted scientifically, is important.
This post is worthy of being plagiarized for use as a Revised Introduction, or perhaps a Postscript, in the next printing of Adams’ The Negative.
I am a little confused now. Is this not the same thing? If I have a 400 speed film then I just rate it at 250 which is two x one thirds slower than box speedMy advice is to forget the testing for personal E.I. and just rate your film 2/3-stop slower than box speed to begin with (note: this is not 2/3 box speed, but 2/3-stop...).
Doremus
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