54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I don't often give 5 stars - Name is misleading, February 7, 2001
First of all, I rarely see a book to which I'd give five stars, but this certainly deserves them! Besides that, the greatest praise I can give to a book it to make it as stained and tattered as my copy is! This means I've carried it with me everywhere so I would have it to read every spare second I had.
I think the name of the book is misleading. Had I known what this book was really about, I would have gotten it a long time ago. The Zone System (the seminal reference is probably THE NEGATIVE by Ansel Adams) is fairly straightforward, and some authors hash is to death and try to make it more complicated than it is. I thought this book was another "make something simple more complicated" books like that, but it's not. It might better be called "Sensitometry for Photographers."
It is a technical book on sensitometry - characterizing how photographic film and paper respond to exposure and development - and how to use that information to your benefit. It answers questions I've been asking for a long time, such as, "How is the ISO speed determined for film," and, "Why do B&W photographers rate their film at a speed lower than ISO?"
The book eventually does describe the Zone System and explains technically what it is doing, but doesn't try to complicate the system. The book discusses how the light meter determines exposure, and how to make a densitometer from a spot meter. It also introduces a simple and handy "incident zone system" using an incident meter that provides good exposure without a well-developed sense of visualization on the part of the photographer.
Be warned: This book IS technical in nature and involves a lot of graphs. Even though the author attempts to allay your math fears, reviews math principles and even goes in gross detail on technical drawing and graphing techniques, if reconciling your checkbook sends shivers down your spine, you're probably not going to make it very far through this book. (However, it's a joy to engineer-photographers such as myself tired of physical principles being oversimplified in other sources.)
Although the book is directed mainly toward large-format sheet-film photographers who can develop individual exposures independently, I think that any serious amateur or professional photographer would benefit from reading this book to understand the interaction of light, film and paper, and how to get the best from your materials. Many of the principles and procedures can be applied, at least in part, to roll films to ensure good exposure.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read for advanced photographers, December 26, 2002
This is a book all master photographers who shoot and print their own work should understand and use. It is a definitive work on the science and engineering of photo sensitive emulsions that applies not only to standard silver-halide photography but alternative methods as well like Platinum/Palladium, gum bichromate, cyanotypes, etc. although the other methods are not directly covered by the text.
This book was written for the "left brain" with all its formulas, methods and explanations. But, it is detailed enough that the brain does not have to fill in the blanks of information not included as is the case with many such books. There is a section that addresses a method of exposure form a more "right brain" view and draws on the experience of using a light meter for photographers who are at that level.
I do not believe how well written this book is compared to others dealing with the same subject. I wish I had found this book years ago.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I'd read this years ago!, October 9, 2002
Phil Davis has written a truly educational book that all photographers should read. Not only does he cover the zone system, which most of us have been exposed to, but he tackles the more difficult subject of sensitometery in an understandable way. Having read this book, I absolutely understand the results of my photographic efforts far better and am learing to apply the knowledge in advance to ensure better results.
If you're a casual picture taker this book will be too much for you, but if you are serious about taking full advantage of your equipment to create the best possible work you'll find reading this book to be time well spent.
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