Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst ... 234
Results 31 to 39 of 39

Thread: Relevance of zone system when scanning

  1. #31
    bob carnie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario,
    Posts
    4,939

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    My two cents is I use a colour meter that reads density in greyscale, rgb and Lab... so when I scan I open up the image and with a 3pixel apeture setting I check the L values in the shadows and in the highlights to make sure that I am going to be able to record detail where I want. From that point on its a matter of curves in PS to set the image .... L reads in 0-100 density which is in some regards relevant to the 10 zones .

  2. #32

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    5,505

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    Quote Originally Posted by bob carnie View Post
    My two cents is I use a colour meter that reads density in greyscale, rgb and Lab... so when I scan I open up the image and with a 3pixel apeture setting I check the L values in the shadows and in the highlights to make sure that I am going to be able to record detail where I want. From that point on its a matter of curves in PS to set the image .... L reads in 0-100 density which is in some regards relevant to the 10 zones .
    And don't forget to remove the lens cap if photographing with a film rangefinder camera!!

    Sandy
    For discussion and information about carbon transfer please visit the carbon group at groups.io
    [url]https://groups.io/g/carbon

  3. #33
    Drew Wiley
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay area, CA
    Posts
    18,337

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    It's comforting to know that somebody besides me makes that same mistake once in awhile!

  4. #34

  5. #35
    darr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    The South
    Posts
    2,291

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Wiley View Post
    Reminds me of the many roadside stands here in the Calif. growing up. They can still be encountered, but more and more are switching from their own farm produce to becoming re-sellers of gift-like packaged food items (like peanut brittle and jelly), since big corporate farms have swallowed up most of the family operations.
    We still have a few in north Florida. I grew up for a time in Topanga, CA and remember going to a roadside stand in the canyon as well as travelling to Oxnard with my parents for farm produce. It was a beautiful place back then.

    But as an outsider looking in, I can only offer a couple of comments. First, I know people who start out scanning and digital printing, but then afterwards want to do it darkroom style instead, and find their negatives impractical because those negatives simply aren't versatile the way they exposed and developed them.
    That is too bad. I expose and develop as I always have, but digitize for a flatter post processing file. If I ever need to make a wet darkroom print, I do not feel I would have a problem. I personally prefer to digitally print my images.


    Second, what is hypothetically retrievable in a neg or chrome isn't always high-quality information at the extremes. That kind of shortcoming is frequently detectable in prints by the "I can do anything in PS" crowd. You can swallow it down, but something just doesn't taste right. In fact, the best digital printers I personally know exercise quite a bit of restraint because they were excellent darkroom printers first.
    It can come down to a matter of personal taste. Sometimes I am taken back by what other artists, photographers and especially the 'general public' likes. We are all different, and may have different needs. If you want to present your portfolio to a large audience, apply for a visual arts job, or share your work in today's landscape, it must get digitized at some point. Nothing wrong with darkroom printing, but my profession required me to embrace technology and stay on top of it so I could teach others how to make a living in the field. Believe it or not, there are photographers that think I am a bit of a Luddite bc I still shoot film.

    Best to you,
    Darr

  6. #36
    Steven Ruttenberg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    2,777

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    Funny you mention shooting film still. I had gone back to film about 3 years ago and hardly shot on digital and when I did, it usually sucked. A couple weeks ago, I went to Yosemite for a few days. The first two days I shot my 4x5, then the last two I shot digital. While I made mistakes with my 4x5, the digital felt quite foreign to me. That was a weird experience. I literally forgot how to use my 5DMKIII.

    I am now working on nailing exposures and will be in the darkroom printing bw and drum scanning as well later in the year.

  7. #37
    darr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    The South
    Posts
    2,291

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    Quote Originally Posted by Steven Ruttenberg View Post
    Funny you mention shooting film still. I had gone back to film about 3 years ago and hardly shot on digital and when I did, it usually sucked. A couple weeks ago, I went to Yosemite for a few days. The first two days I shot my 4x5, then the last two I shot digital. While I made mistakes with my 4x5, the digital felt quite foreign to me. That was a weird experience. I literally forgot how to use my 5DMKIII.

    I am now working on nailing exposures and will be in the darkroom printing bw and drum scanning as well later in the year.
    I try to stay versed in both worlds.
    For a lot of my art projects, I shoot film.
    For macro and product work, I shoot digital.
    They are all tools to me.

    Enjoy the process!

  8. #38
    Steven Ruttenberg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    2,777

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    That is what I am doing. I just hadn't shot serious dslr in like three years while learning large format.

  9. #39
    bob carnie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario,
    Posts
    4,939

    Re: Relevance of zone system when scanning

    Quote Originally Posted by sanking View Post
    And don't forget to remove the lens cap if photographing with a film rangefinder camera!!

    Sandy
    LOL you have a long memory you long tooth southern gentleman.

Similar Threads

  1. Zone System Development For Scanning
    By IanBarber in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 23-May-2018, 04:43
  2. Zone system - relevance when scanning negs digitally
    By jimbobuk in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 14-Aug-2010, 11:47
  3. Zone system for scanning
    By Ed Richards in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 26-Dec-2006, 12:19
  4. Follow-up to "Zone System... relevance when scanning..."
    By Capocheny in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 4-Sep-2006, 15:47
  5. Zone system and scanning
    By Dan Johnels in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 16-Jun-2005, 07:21

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •