ZoneMaster II

[Bruce Osgood]

Anlybody use or have experience with RH Designs ZoneMaster II? Can you give me your thoughts about its' use without the Analyzer Pro? I realize it is not a timer and wonder how useful it would be when using a conventional timer.

TIA,

 

[Blighty]

Bruce,
I use a Zonemaster II in tandem with an RH Stopclock Pro. AFAIK one would not use a Zonemaster with an Analyser Pro anyway because the Analyser already has a metering probe built-in. I suppose as long as your timer was able to exploit the accuracy of the Zonemaster, that is, to operate in times down to 10ths of a second (or finer) then there wouldn't be a problem. IMO, I think you'd be much wiser getting the Stopclock Pro which (when connected) automatically sets the time displayed by the Zonemaster.

 

[Bruce Osgood]

Blighty,
thank you very much. This is the information I was looking for. I didn't realize the Analyser Pro had the probe. Does the Analysers' probe funcition the same as the Grey Scale of the Zonemaster?

 

[mongo141]

Anlybody use or have experience with RH Designs ZoneMaster II? Can you give me your thoughts about its' use without the Analyzer Pro? I realize it is not a timer and wonder how useful it would be when using a conventional timer.

TIA,

I use a zone master II with a Gralab 505 timer and think that both are the some of the best money I ever spent. You could use it with about any timer that will give you accurate exposures down to .1 sec (1/10). The setup made both of my old Gralab 300 timers become large paper weights. Dave

 

[Bruce Osgood]

I use a zone master II with a Gralab 505 timer and think that both are the some of the best money I ever spent. You could use it with about any timer that will give you accurate exposures down to .1 sec (1/10). The setup made both of my old Gralab 300 timers become large paper weights. Dave

I am using a Gralab 500 (1/10 sec) for the enlarger (Omega D5/Chromo) and have a 545 but it does not allow for a Safe Light. My original intention was to use the 500 with the Zone Master II. But looking at the Analyser Pro it is only 75 Pound Sterling more than the Zone Master. What I am reading now is that the AP does everything the SAM does plus provides a timer.

 

[Dave Miller]

And it will also switch your darkroom light automatically too.

 

[Blighty]

Does the Analysers' probe funcition the same as the Grey Scale of the Zonemaster?

Hiya Bruce,
The analyser's probe works in exactly the same way as the Zonemaster. However, as I understand it, one is not able to program a printing sequence into the AP as one can do with a Zonemaster/ Stopclock Pro combo. Without wishing to sound like an advert for RH designs, their Stopclock Pro is one of the best darkroom investments I've ever made. Regards, BLIGHTY

 

[rbarker]

I also use a ZMII with an older, pre-existing Gralab, and love it - even though times need to be set manually. Because of the arrangement in my darkroom, I also manage the safelight manually. I chose the ZMII because of not knowing which direction I wanted to go in augmenting/upgrading/replacing my old Omega D2V. (As I recall, there are different models of the Analizer Pro for use with different enlarger types.)

 

[RH Designs]

Bruce -

The ZoneMaster II is basically the metering section of the Analyser Pro in a different box. It has the same functionality. The choice between an Analyser and the ZM/StopClock combo comes down to whether you want the additional flexibility of the StopClock's timer - i.e. programmable sequences and two channels. And to money of course

The Analyser's timer does allow for burning-in exposures - it will automatically subtract the initial exposure time from subsequent exposures - but you can't set up a sequence in advance. The automatic safelight switching is available on the StopClock as well, and is convenient when making light measurements.

HTH

Regards
Richard

 

[Robert Budding]

It sounds as if the Stopclock Pro/Zonemaster II combination gives the most flexibility. But is it more complicated to use for simple tasks than the Analyzer Pro? My hope is that easy things are as easy with the Stopclock as they are with the Analyzer Pro, and that the Stopclock/ZMII handles complicated printing easily. Is that a fair assumption? Or is the Analyzer Pro the best product if most of my prints are straight forward?

 

[RH Designs]

Both products are easy to use for straightforward timing. The Analyser has an ergonomic advantage inasmuch as it's an all-in-one unit and you only have one keypad to think about. For straightforward printing from a lot of negatives it's probably the way to go. But if you want to wring the last drop from a negative, the StopClock offers the convenience of programming a sequence of exposures so you don't have to remember them all in the dark.

Regards
Richard

 

[Walt Sharp Jr.]

I've had a ZM and stopclock pro, purchase in 2003. I have never had good luck with the ZM but I would't trade the stopclock for anything. I think that the ZM is too computer like for me and I just have not devoted the time to learn it's functions.
I can see that it is probably one of the best combinations available and will knock my own lack instead instead of the instrument.