Zone system and pinhole compatible?

Hello:

 

Has anyone successfully used the Zone System with pinhole photos?

 

I will be probably using film instead of paper for my negatives.

 

Thanks

 

Murray

There is no particular reason why the zone system is not applicable to

pinhole. As a practical matter though, reciprocity will generally

complicate things a bit. With pinhole you are typically working in an

exposure time range where the film reciprocity will tend to increase

contrast. So where ordinary exposures may call for N, the reciprocity

will move you to N- development. This is most obvious where you are

working in the range (usually around 1 second with B&W) where reciprocity begins to have an effect: the highlights require no compensation, while the shadows do. TMX is nice for pinhole for this

reason.

It may take a bit of experiment to confirm what the pinhole size actually is (if not the laser-cut variety). Also, meters may not go up to the f/stops that you need, so you may have to do some multiplying to get your exposure worked out. Otherwise, no reason it wouldn't apply. There's probably not many people that do it, tho- the ones that are that finicky about exposure and contrast would be the ones that wanted the image in focus, too, generally.

Thanks replies -haha- that's me -

 

I did not like the results I got with 35 mm pinhole so I thought I might be happier with LF.

 

Someday I'll try.

 

Murray

Murray, you are on the right track to think of using a larger negative

with pinhole: A 5X7 or 8X10 pinhole contact print is actually quite

sharp. Maybe too sharp, a 3X enlargement will show the pinhole softness better. 35mm is just too small to work well with pinhole.

Murray, I've done pinhole for a few years now. The biggest difference in working methods is that you have to do film speed and camera exposure tests for proper exposure times for each exposure value (EV), for each camera and film type. To reduce the number of tests I have to do, I usually calibrate a camera and film type for bright daylight (sunny 16...), metered using incident metering, then maybe one more for high, thin clouds. Anything darker and the exposure times become unrealistic. What these tests do is enable me to find the proper film speed for each type of light. As stated above, I determine light level by incident metering, which is more like metering for tranparencies. For the paper negatives I shoot, which have little control of contrast in development, and due to limited contrast range, it works similar to slides. For a more thorough Zone approach when using sheet film, you should do your camera's initial film calibrations using reflected metering from the shadow areas, using one consistent type of light (i.e. bright daylight). Determine the exposure which gives the best shadow detail, then determine the development time which gives the best highlight detail. Then determine N- and N+ development times for contrast control, similar to conventional Zone calibration. You'll have to repeat this process for each different light level that you may spot meter as shadow detail, due to lack of reciprocity.

 

Basically, when you determine exposure in-camera to get shadows placed at the appropriate zones, you have to make sure that you have a pre-calibration done for that particular light level that you are spot metering from. Keep in mind that all assumptions of linearity are thrown out the window at these long exposure times and minute amounts of light. When you alter exposure times with pinhole, assume that your film's EI has just changed, too.

 

You may also find expansion/contraction development (N+, N-) will be non-linear as well, because at these low levels of illumination on the film plane, the film's sensitivity falls off at a non-linear rate. Below a certain light level, the film may never show any density change, regardless of how long you expose for. This means that contrast will increase, because the bright portions of the scene DO respond to increased exposure times, while the shadows don't.

 

I know this all sounds a bit rambling...bottom line is that the Zone System is intended to give printable negatives, and to aid in previsualization of the finished print. I believe it is possible to calibrate a Zone System approach for one particular light level, camera type and film, and determine expansion/contraction development times, within a limited range. It just becomes a pain when you are confronted with light levels in your scene other than what you've calibrated for. When that happens, most pinholers just wing it, and typically bracket exposures.

 

The irony of trying to over-systematize pinhole photography, whether it be exposure and development testing, or optimum pinhole aperture testing, is that pinhole works best when approached at a more intuitive level. Its the one area of LF that probably shouldn't be "ciphered to the last naught", as Jethro would have said.

I have been doing large format pinholes for a few years. The basic zone exposure apply with or without lens. I usually figure the darkest part of the scene I want detail in, and set it at zone 3, or maybe zone 2, or, minus 2 stops or minus 3 stops from what my spotmeter reads it.

 

That might be all the zone system you want to fool with, but, of course, you can get into narrowing or expanding the highlights, based on your length of development. I have some pinhole stuff at http://www.hiddenworld.net. Don't expect expert tonal exposure rendition, however!