Digital BW, The Print

From my perspective, the point of the zone system is to get a negative with
reasonable shadow and highlight tones.  If you have a negative with a
blown-out highlight, I don't think any scanner will help you.  For example,
take a high contrast scene that may take N-4 development (here reduced film
speed and compensating development in dilute HC110 or TMax RS).  I have many
negs like this that scan well, but I can't picture how I could get a good
tonal range with say, normal development.  In fact, the only problems I have
had in scanning LF negs with expanded and compressed development have been
those developed in pyro (Rollo or PMK), since the stain produces some
challenges in getting a good scan.  I would say go for the best neg you
would use for a silver print.

Regards,

  --Ken Carney
    www.kencarney.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Gulstene" <kevin@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 5:53 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Scanning and Zone Sys Development.


> Is zone system development time manipulation irrelevant when scanning
> film as opposed to traditional printing?   That is the question I would
> like some help with.
>
> My understanding is that the zone system is way of ensuring a  constant
> density range on the negative independent of the brightness range of
> the scene.  This is desirable because it makes most scenes printable on
> a grade 2 paper (leaving the other grades available for artistic
> interpretation) and it helps minimize the stuffing around in the
> darkroom required to get a good print.
>
> Since I am not doing wet prints but am scanning the negatives, it seems
> to me that the N- or N+ development dependent on the scene brightness
> range is, mostly, irrelevant.  By setting the black point, setting the
> white point and scanning the negative am I not mapping the entire
> density range of the image to a numerical range of 0-256 or 0-64k?
> This mapping would take place independent of the absolute density any
> particular zone.
>
> As a hypothetical example lets assume a scene contains a 8 stop range
> of brightness.  Three images are similarly exposed to capture that
> brightnesses range. The three images are given different development
> times and produce density ranges of  (1.0-0.3=.7), (1.4-0.4=1.0) and
> (2.0-.5=1.5).  When the images are scanned each one will produce a full
> histogram from 0 to 255 and a scene brightness at the 6th of the eight
> stops will show up at the same place in each of the histograms.
>
> Soooo, can't I simplify the zone mantra to "expose for the shadows and
> let the highlights fall where they may with normal development".  Also,
>   wouldn't it be better to generally use N+1 development times so that
> the numbers from the raw scan occupied more of the scanner's range?
>
> Thanks for your help
>
>
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