Hi Girish ... Understanding the Zone System is, IMO, an excellent way to get better quality negatives and prints, even if you don't implement the system on every frame on every roll. Yes, it's sometimes difficult to use the system with roll film, but when you know what you want as a result you can sometimes compromise on exposure or processing. After all, there's still the printing stage to make final adjustments.
Of course, there's nothing to prevent you from shooting an entire roll of film on one subject, or in one type of light, which leads to another point: many 35mm photographers don't shoot enough frames of a particular subject. Often they'll grab a shot or two and move on to their next subject. I'm not saying this is wrong, but it begs the question of whether or not the subject was fully explored. Sometimes very small movements of the subject, camera, or the placement of the photographer, can substantially change the result of the photograph. Since you're reading Ansel Adams I'd like to suggest a book that's a little more in tune with 35mm photography. It's called "On Being a Photographer" by David Hurn and Bill Jay. You can read an excerpt here: http://www.lenswork.com/obpexc.htm and place an order for the book at the site as well. As far as spot metering goes, I may be one of the strongest advocates of the technique on this list. Using a spot meter has helped me to better understand the subtleties of correct exposure, and has given me a better understanding of light and scene brightness. If you can afford one, try a Pentax spot meter. The Spotmeter V is a good place to start if you're on a budget, as they are good meters and can be found used for a reasonable price. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn by using such a meter. I can't help you with your flash question. Girish Ganesan wrote: > 1. I was reading up on the zone system. I would like to know whether it is > possible to apply the zone system principles on a 35mm format. From > what I understood one has to control the exposure and the development > time of the film to get the desired results. In a 35mm format this > could mean that I have to shoot a whole roll with scenes which require > the same development time. Seems to be a tall order! What is your > personal experience ? > > 2. One of the limitations I faced with MZ-M is the metering system. To > experiment with zone system I need spot-metering. I know that MZ-5n > MZ-3 etc offer spot metering. How good are they ? From what I > understood they wont offer spot-metering with M lenses. So I was > considering getting a spot meter instead of a newer body. Any comments > or suggestions ? -- Shel Belinkoff mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
