I do enough testing (EI, normal development) that I'm bored by it. I go through five or six sheets of film each time. PITA. I'm getting ready to do it again (Acros in Acutol). I'm thinking there has to be a way to make this easier, less painful, and more accurate.

What I'm thinking is, I need a zone system target to shoot. Maybe about 1.5x1.2 meters (5x4 feet). It would have, say, eight patches on it varying in reflectivity representing zone I through zone VIII. What the heck, make the patches for zone I and zone VIII bigger than the rest and separate them into 1/3 zone increments -- zone 0+2/3, zone I, and zone I+1/3 -- zone VII+2/3, zone VIII, zone VIII+1/3.

Put that on the wall, light it evenly, and expose and process one sheet of film. Use a densitometer to identify where (.1 + filmbase + fog) occurs on this film. If it's in the zone I patch, you're done. If it's in either the zone 0+2/3 or zone I+1/3, you are also done because you can adjust your EI accordingly and not have to retest. Once you find your EI, you can immediately read the zone VIII patch and decide how to adjust your normal development time. Again, having the 1/3 increments would help you estimate your time adjustment.

This just seems like it would save time, and save film/processing. But I can't be the first person to ever have thought of this. There must be a reason people don't do it. Enlightenment, one way or the other, appreciated as always.