Grid lines? Exposure issues

[Michael Lloyd]

I took my new Chamonix out for a test drive with some TXP 320. I shot everything at ISO 200. Things did not go well.

In all cases I metered the highlights and "put them" in Zone 8 according to the little taped on zone scale on my Pentax meter. I have tested the Pentax against a new Sekonic and the EV's match up pretty well. That said, my negatives, after scanning, consistently have "crowded blacks" and room on the highlight side of the histogram. When I look at the histogram of a negative scan, black, or the left side, is white in the positive image correct? So what I'm seeing is not under exposure but over exposure? I tried to compensate by shooting two negatives of each scene. One at 1s@f22 (the Zone 8 metering) and one at 1/2s@f22. I shot 3 scenes like this on 2 different days. It just worked out that exposure time was 1s. The results were pretty much the same. Neither negative was very good in any case.

I've had similar issues with Delta 100 but it seems to be a little more forgiving than TXP320.

I tried looking at the histogram on the back of the camera and it never comes up. Must be low batteries in the Chamonix... (kidding)

Here's a screenshot of the negative scan. I metered the sky and put it in Zone 8 on the scale



Here's the ColorPerfect Screen. I am not an expert with ColorPerfect. Not even close.



Here's after running ColorPerfect (no adjustments). The sky looks wonky and it's blown out. Can you see the grid lines in the middle? What is that about?



I feel like I'm dealing with a couple of fundamental mistakes. Any help would be appreciated.