grey scale

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What is a photographers grey scale?

-- Karen Burgess (kburgess@stclairc.on.ca), September 27, 1999

Answers

Hi Karen

I'm no professional, but I think you're essentially referring to the scale of values from pure black to pure white that can be produced in a B&W image. This is best described by Ansel Adams in his book The Negative, particularly in the chapter "The Zone System" (I think it was chapter four- yes this is a bible!). This is a deceptively complex topic. I've read much about it but Ansel explains it best.

To answer your other thread above about the best camera for architecture, there's really no single best camera in general- that's a subjective question. For architecture you can go several ways. A 35mm SLR may be used with a PC (perspective control) lens that allows you to prevent distortion that would otherwise occur when your camera is angled such that the film plane is not parallel with the plane of your subject i.e. a wall or beam. The best quality result for this type of photography is probably best with a view camera that is set up on a rail that allows perspective control such that the film plane position is adjustable independently of the lens position.

-- Asher (schachter@a1.tch.harvard.edu), September 27, 1999.


A grey scale is something like of piece of card or film that has greys of known values (typically expressed as density, or percentage reflectance or transmittance). The scale can then be photograged, or enlarged, or scanned, or whatever, in order to calibrate elements of the photographic process.

For example, it might be photographed, and the densities of the resulting negative is measured. A graph can then be drawn, showing the response of the film to different levels of light.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), September 28, 1999.


photograged = photographed. Sorry.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), September 28, 1999.

A Grey scale, is a piece of card board that has printed on it a calibrated set of grey's each being a certain percentage darker than the previous one. This scale can be used to calibrate your photos in terms that are meaningful to scientists, and the technicians who make the prints for those not into developing and printing their own prints and negs. Kodak has several interesting booklets that describe grey scales but they are generally read by the scientifically minded. Try some of the works by Adams such as his "The Negative" or his "The Print".

-- Robert Warren (beagle_bead@hotmail.com), September 30, 1999.

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