Originally Posted by
neil poulsen
The Zone System (by name) was designed for black and white photography. That said, it can be useful thinking in terms of zones for color.
Back to your query, there's a substantial behind the scenes portion that's not included in your description. For using the Zone System in black and white photography, you really can't use the manufacturers recommended ASA. Moreover, nor will it serve you to use the manufacturer's recommended development times and temperatures. Behind the scenes, the Zone System involves conducting tests to determine the Zone System appropriate ASA for your film of choice, and to determine the different development times that correspond to that ASA.
I use Ilford HP5 film, and my testing invariably indicates that the film speed is about 200 ASA. (Often half the manufacturer's recommended ASA.). My personal mantra for the zone system, is to expose for the shadows, and then develop for the highlights. How to expose for the shadows is relatively easy. For the Zone System, exposing for the highlights is a little more difficult. For the latter, one needs different development times that correspond to differing contrasts in the scene being photographed.
A good book of how to test for film speed, and for how to determine the different development times, is The New Zone System Manual my White, et. al. It's long been out of print. But, used copies aren't hard to find.
It's all a bit involved. But after getting the hang of it, one can get some great excellent black and white results.
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