bjrichus said:
My 1.5c worth is that Google is your search friend...
True, I have searched before posting, and got a large list of results.. therefore, I wanted an educated advice from the forum members, that have the books and can advice.
bjrichus said:
Did you also see the 4 page summary on outdoorphotographer dot com and all the other blog discussions out there?
It's not about gear... its about how you use it.
Now will take a look on the site you mention, thanks for the link :)
studio460 said:
The Zone System for Digital Photography:
While the Zone System was originally developed for film photography, its basic concepts are certainly applicable to digital photography as well. Just knowing that when you take a "spot meter" reading (or, an incident reading), that you're referencing the middle of the characteristic curve (e.g., "Zone V") is an important concept from which beginners would benefit. In other words, just knowing that the meter isn't necessarily indicating a "correct" exposure, and that it's simply indicating what's "in the middle," is a valuable lesson (in fact, using an incident reading to meter a caucasian face, results in underexposure by definition).
As you probably already know, the Zone System was basically a system which correlated under- or over-exposure in the negative, with under- or over-development in the film processing stage, to achieve the desired tonal range in the final negative (i.e., typically, to achieve the maximum recordable dynamic range).
This goal is the same in digital photography: to maximize the dynamic range of your particular scene within the constraints of the characteristic curve of a given sensor in a DSLR. Similar conceptually (though not similar literally and technically), some analogies can be made between adjusting "curves," black levels, and white levels in Photoshop, to the chemical under-/over-development process.
There are a few notable differences:
1. Digital sensors have less dynamic range than film negatives.
2. Digital sensors tend to lose highlight detail much faster than film negatives (the common comparison is to reversal films).
If nothing else, the Zone System can teach valuable lessons in the "sensitometry" of any recording medium. Learning the language of the characteristic curve would assist any beginning photographer in making the most of his/her chosen medium. Understanding "toe," "shoulder," and "slope," give modern terms like "black stretch," "knee," and "gamma," context, and also assist the beginning photographer's understanding of what various adjustments in Photoshop are really doing.
Type the terms, "Zone System digital photography," in Amazon, and a number of relevant titles appear.
Thanks for the detailed explanation... You don't need to convince me, I used this system in my film era with B&W film to get excelent results :)
Now I'm looking for books that will trigger in my daughter the passion for learning and using this system with a DSLR.
Before posting in this forum, I have searched also in Google, also in Amazon (and also in other book shops that I don't want to mention to prevent being banned over here), and the list is not short.. but from experience, most of the books are mediocre books and not the ones that really can push somebody to learn and use this system. That is the reason I posted here, to get advice from people who has the books and can advice which one to pick or which one to avoid.
Please do not miss-understand me. I appreciate very much your help, and I guess other users reading this thread will learn from your explanation.
