Zone System practicality with roll film?

[mtbbrian]

There are a few books out there for this, google "zone system and roll film or 35 mm and you'll find them.
I looked into it, but never really saw the point when you have 36 or even 12 different scenes on a roll.
If I were shooting sheet film I would certainly want more control.
Just my two cents of course.
Brian

[Xia_Ke]

...I looked into it, but never really saw the point when you have 36 or even 12 different scenes on a roll...

That's what I was thinking. Couldn't really see any way of making full use of it without throwing off the other shots on the roll. Wasn't sure if maybe someone had some tricks/tips/wisdom on it.

[photophorous]

With full zone system you can go to n-1, n-2, n-3, etc. With roll film, if you shoot an entire roll in one outing, where most frames are close in contrast range (not necessarily exact), it's best to just do n-1 or n+1. IOW, don't stray too far from N, and always expose for the shadows. This way the majority of your shots will look better than they would had you developed at N, and the rest won't be too far off. The difference between N and N-1 is not going to ruin a shot.

This is pretty much my strategy for 35mm. The majority of the time, I slightly underdevelop to reduce contrast, which make the negative scan better. And it's easier to add contrast than it is to remove it. If I shoot in flat lighting, I'll develop normally, but I rarely over develop.

With 120, this works even better. When you find that perfect scene, you will probably want to bracket a few exposures to make sure you place the shadows where you want them. Then you will probably want to try a few different compositions. That will eat up 12 frames pretty fast. A single good frame from a roll of 120 is a success in my book. A single excellent frame is even better.

[Xia_Ke]

With 120, this works even better. When you find that perfect scene, you will probably want to bracket a few exposures to make sure you place the shadows where you want them. Then you will probably want to try a few different compositions. That will eat up 12 frames pretty fast. A single good frame from a roll of 120 is a success in my book. A single excellent frame is even better.

Good point, hadn't really thought about it like that.

I have to be honest with you, I don't fully understand the whole n, n-1, n-2, etc. thing yet. I just started reading about it and right off the bat was wondering how practical it really is when you're not shooting on a frame by frame basis. Man, I have bunch of reading to do