Download PDF The Practical Zone System For Film and Digital Photography Chris Johnson 9780240807560 Books

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Product details Paperback 256 pages Publisher Focal Press; 4th edition (September 29, 2006) Language English ISBN-10 0240807561

The Practical Zone System For Film and Digital Photography Chris Johnson 9780240807560 Books Reviews

• As a novice, when one reads a lot of the photo blogs and websites these days there are lots of references to differences between film and digital capture and processing. One of those differences is that you can know absolutely nothing about photography but, if you're in decent light, your digital camera will make a nice photo. You need no understanding of ISO, aperture, shutter relationships. To use that film camera, however, does require an understanding of how these things relate ... and anyone who wants to be at all creative with his/her digital camera will need a solid understanding of how these things interrelate ... But if want to learn more about how exposure works when using film, or more about exposure, in general ... if you want to understand an important aspect of using large format cameras ... or if you just want to learn more about this "Zone System" thing you keep reading about or seeing/hearing referenced, then I think this book is a wonderful addition to one's collection. Now, I should say I haven't even read the digital portion of this book, principally because I have lots of other books that are solely focused on digital techniques. But prior to reading this book I thought the Zone System was super-complicated, highly-mathematical system ... and even if it is ... this book shows that you don't need all of that to have a solid working understanding of how to use the Zone System. I guess I'm interested in learning as much as I can about various photography techniques and this book adds to that. Again, perhaps the photos used aren't the best (but that's probably more a publisher rather than author decisions) and perhaps it's not adequate for some readers primarily interested in digital, but it met my expectations.
• This book is a clear and well organized review of the Zone System. It includes the Zone System for both traditional film and for digital. The system means properly exposing for certain levels of gray that may appear in your frame. For film, a person may want to properly capture the dark tones in a photograph, and then shorten or lengthen the development time (time the unexposed film spends in chemical developing) in order to achieve the level of brighter tones in the photo. For digital, it's the oppposite. Properly expose the frame for the brighter tones (so they are not blown out), then adjust the dark shades in Photoshop. I liked the book. Just after I read it, I saw Annie Leibovitz's exhibition "A Photographer's Life", and the book gave me a much greater appreciation for her work.
• This book is the current bible of the zone system. Everything you want and need to know about it for both film and digital.
  
  But Focal Press once again comes through with crappy illustrations. The key to the zone system is being able to discriminate tones. The copy of the book I received has such muddy printing that it is impossible to see any difference between zones 0 to II and VIII and IX on the step diagrams provided. The black and white photos used for examples are equally muddy, making it difficult to follow the discussion in the text.
  
  Text gets 5 stars, production gets 1, average = 3
• I got this for a photography class. It is a very informative book concerning the "Zone System" that was created by Ansel Adams. It is all you need to know about the zone system and it is simply put so that there is no confusion. It is definitely worth getting to add to any photographers library. It is worth getting especially if you are just starting out in photography and are just learning the Zone System.
• A re-hashed book with a poor effort to update for digital photography. I found it very difficult to read. There was very little new information for any serious amateur, e.g. "What is a pixel?" and other useless tidbits for anyone who has some experience (which I'm assuming is the target audience). There was only one chapter where I found any new information. If you're looking for film specific stuff, this might be your book; it has thousands of development time charts, paper type references and other film centric information. My guess is that most of the potential buyers are using digital.
  
  I was mad at myself that I wasted so much time trying to wade through this book. Save your money, read Ansel Adam's "The Negative" to hear it in the master's words and then search the internet for any of the well written papers on the digital zone system (search on Chuck Gardner Digital Zone System for a favorite).
• The zone system was developed by Ansel Adams, who had a consummate grasp of all the technicalities of photography and used his knowledge to depict the wilderness areas he loved and wanted to preserve. However, most serious photographers do not have that technical expertise and do not work with the equipment used by Adams. This book is an excellent account by a current teacher of photography who makes the system understandable and useable in the modern context. It gave me a clear understanding of the way in which to control exposure. Having said that, I have used a different set of recommendations in carrying out black and white film tests, as I found those in the book over-complicated; nevertheless, the book gave me the essential understanding that was crucial to carrying out the film tests correctly and understanding the results.
• Good reference material, helpful in going through the steps and tests needed to calibrate your exposure development times for the zone system. Good discussion on T max films, and book is current with issues with new films and chemicals. Not is it only good on basic metering theory, it does assist in reader making a practical transition to planned photography
• Absolutly easy to understand and read. Very well presented, and may well be the only book on Zone System you will ever need. For those wanting to delve into the chemistry of exposure, pass on this book. If you want to learn what the Zone system is and how it works, this book is great. "Everything you need, nothin' you don't"