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The best way to learn the zone system is to read this Ansel Adams book. That's how I
learned. Before going any further you need to know the zone system. Go learn it
either by Ansel's book or my page here, then we'll get to the next section.
Presuming you know the Zone System:
HOW-TO
Put the camera on Manual exposure and point the camera around while looking at
the exposure bar graph. That's right, to use the Zone System you have to be very
systematic and the auto modes (my usual favorites) are not the way to go.
You adjust the manual exposure so that the elements of your image are exposed,
according to the bar graph, as you want them to be rendered on film.
Zone II = -3 stops
Zone III = -2 stops
Zone IV = -1 stop
Zone V = +- 0 stops
Zone VI = +1 stop
Zone VII = +2 stops
Zone VIII = +3 stops
On many Nikon cameras like the F100 one gets only a maximum of +- 2 stops on the
bar graph unless the camera is set to 1/2 stop intervals in the custom settings.
Here's where the art comes in: you are in charge. It is up to your aesthetics to
determine just how you want your image to look. You need to think as a painter and
ask yourself with what tone you want a certain part of the image rendered. As I said,
the spot meter is not easy since it only works reliably as part of a Zone System
approach.
Presuming you know the Zone System as required for using the spot meter, you
know that anything darker than -3 stops or brighter then +3 stops turns completely
black or white. You often will have scenes where the highlights and shadows are too
dark or light. Zone System people know what to do in these cases (hint: change the
light!), and again I refer you the Zone System (page 69) page or Ansel's book for
details.
A2/5 The Zone System
INTRODUCTION
Zones are levels of light and dark.
A Zone System is a system by which you understand and control every level of light
and dark to your best advantage. It works in digital just as it does for sheet film.
Having a system allows you to understand and be in control, instead of taking
whatever you get. Ansel Adams was asked in the 1950s if he thought the Zone
© 2007 KenRockwell.com 69 converted by Sándor Nagy