Zone System

[yokolok]

Hi! Anyone care to share a definition in simple "layman's" term what this is and how to do it? And/or what it is supposed to do?

Thanks!

[googlit]

The zone system was developed by Ansel Adams for b&w film. It doesn't really apply to digital. The closest thing in digital phtography to the zone system is HDR (read the thread (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146)).

But the zone system is absolutely wonderful for film. It's built around the theory that you can break down the tones of a scene into nine zones, from pure white to pure black:

9: pure white
8: lighter with texture
7: light with texture & detail
6: light grey
5: 18% grey (middle grey)
4: dark grey
3: dark with texture & detail
2: darker with texture
1: black

Say you're taking a picture of a person. You'd meter their face, which is about a zone six. The camera thinks you're looking at zone 5, so you'd increase the exposure (open up the aperture or decrease the shutter speed) by one stop to place the face in zone 6.

so... it's a really handy thing if you're shooting black & white film, but it doesn't translate well at all to digital. sorry. :P

[yokolok]

thanks googlit!!!

i still shoot film sometimes, and still have a buncha b&w film...so will hopefully get a chance to try this out!!!