The Practical Zone System, Third Edition (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The loneliest people in the world are probably photographers in dark-rooms waiting to see if their negatives will turn out the way they want them..." (more)
Key Phrases: correct development time, standard development time, printable negatives, Zone System, Normal Development, Zone Scale (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

California photographercollege teacher Johnson was a friend and follower of the late Ansel Adams, whose development of the "zone system" for black-and-white film exposure and processing was a major contribution to American photographic art. The author here undertakes instruction in that system without "highly technical explanations that confuse." Clearly and logically, with illustrations and helpful diagrams, he tells how to "pre-visualize" a picture and explains zone system requirements of contrast control, using a zone scale of gray areas linking the subject to shutter-speed and exposure choices, and similar analysis of elements in a scene to be coordinated with later developing and printing. A basic photography primer and glossary of terms are appended for reference. This is a job well done, but as is perhaps inevitable, the subject remains complicated.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The Practical Zone System is one of the easier books to understand on the zone system for better black-and-white photographs...It takes the complex issues of the zone system and removes the calculations and just gives you what you need to know." - The Midwest Book Review -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 3 edition (January 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240803280
• ISBN-13: 978-0240803289
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,137,526 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, useful, sound guidance on the zone system., October 1, 2001

By	Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is one of the easier books to understand on the zone system. It does not get too tied up in the details of the system but describes enough detail to allow the reader to understand the basics of the system. This book is really targeted to someone who is not familiar with the zone system or who has studied it in more complex books and did not really comprehend the system. For this intended audience the book is right on target. It takes the complex issues of the zone system and removes the calculations and just gives you what you need to know. Think of it like the difference between an art teacher who says "Color the grass green" versus one who says "The grass must be green because chlorophyll absorbs the green portion of the light spectrum and so reflected light appears that color". If you just want to know how to use the system without a lot of detail behind why the system works then this is a good book selection for you.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Text, Crappy Illustrations, October 30, 2006

By	Bruce Appelbaum (Yorktown Heights, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Practical Zone System: For Film and Digital Photography (Paperback)

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

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Practical Zone System makes the Zone System just that., January 4, 2000

By	Kai Conragan (Montara, California) - See all my reviews

This book is an excellent introduction to the Zone System. If you are looking to learn about the Zone System, it is hard to go wrong with this book. However, if you are somewhat familiar with the Zone System and are looking for more advanced info, this may not be the book for you. I had read Ansel Adam's book "The Negative" (which is an excellent book if you are looking for a bit more technical and in depth study) before this book so I felt that the book was a little simple. However, the thing I love about this book are the appendixes Chris includes. In them are a wealth of info for developing times for many developers and films, as well and a plethora of additional useful information. I also found the two testing methods Chris provided to be extremely accurate and useful. In summary, this is an excellent introductory book on the Zone System, and intermediate users will find the appendixes extremely useful. However, if you consider yourself an expert in the Zone System, I would not recommend this book. However, if you consider yourself an expert, you probably won't be looking for a book anyway.