It is the best book of the three books of the series "the camera", "the negative", "the print". The camera book is more interesting to someone using a view camera. The print is more interesting for someone doing a lot of photography printing. But the negative I found it interesting for someone interested in advance photography and that wants to learn how to better control exposure. In that area this book is a classic.

It is not a simple book for a beginner, so if you are picking a camera for the first time and just want to know how to load the film there are better books in the market to fulfill with that purpose.


Zone System still relevant in digital age   August 22, 2001
 16 out of 19 found this review helpful

Despite the heavy emphasis on chemical negatives, this book's essentially a clinic on Adams' Zone System for contrast control. As such, it's still totally relevant for the digital age. If you're using chemical negatives, this book's an absolute must have.

Adams' attention to detail in testing contrast and resolution in various lighting situations forms the core of the Zone System and of this book.

Issues such as filtration remain the same today as they did with negatives. Although pushing and pulling film is carried out differently in the digital age, it's not impossible if you have even a modicum of exposure control (for instance, overexposing and lowering brightness will still yield lower contrast). And if you are into digital, you'll gloat at your full control of exposure tweaks beyond the one-dimensional control you get with timing chemicals in solution.

One thing that may be disappointing is the emphasis on black and white. There's a brief description of color, but it really deserves a book of its own. This is especially true for filtration and contrast control.

The three books in this series can be read independently, but together provide a complete clinic from positioning the camera to displaying a final print.


nothing better   August 1, 2001
 1 out of 5 found this review helpful

A NEW PHILOSOPHY IN PHOTOGRAPHY (IN THE EUROPEAN MIND) IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS AND FOR EXPERIENCED JUST FIND YOUR LEVEL


There are doubts   February 14, 2001
 0 out of 24 found this review helpful

I believe the book is excelent. But I can't get nothing about publisher name and number of pages. So I can't judge is it worth assigned price.