The Practical Zone System, Fourth Edition: For Film and Digital Photography (ISBN 0240807561) Book Reviews 1-7 Sorted By Most Recent, at VeryWellSaid.com

Easy to understand summary of Zone System

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.

(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-29 03:21:05 EST)

12-21-07

1\1

At last....

I wish I had this book 30 years ago. I knew of the Zone system, but heard people talking of measuring densities and base fog and it sounded like a lot of effort. Chris is that rare teacher who can take a subject and make it accessable to all levels. I tell all my photographic friends- GET THIS BOOK. I have given it as a present. My copy is getting dog earred already. This is not just for film. He relates this to the digital world as well. If you aspire to move beyond PHD-(push here dummy) photography, this is essential reading.

(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-04-26 04:08:52 EST)

10-31-06

11\11

Good Text, Crappy Illustrations

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

(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-12-31 16:07:15 EST)

10-30-06

14\14

Good Text, Crappy Illustrations

(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-02-14 23:29:09 EST)

10-06-05

2\2

Ansel Adam's zone system to-day

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.

(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-02-14 23:29:09 EST)

02-08-02

8\8

Best intro to Zone System I've seen

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"

(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-02-14 23:29:09 EST)

10-02-01

44\44

Practical, useful, sound guidance on the zone system.