Zone System
The Zone System is a photographic technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. Zone system’s zone texture chart is designated to pre-visualize scene tonality by texture visibility, and the chart is developed according to a sequence exposed texture from white-till-no-texture to dark-till-no-texture, and then divided the total step in 10 step thus we get 10 stop of exposure texture range from lightest to darkest tonality. By using this 10 stop of texture we can easily visualize Zone and alter the texture detail according to our need. And the Zone System is developed according black&white photography principal, thus it’s best for high dynamic range B&W photography.
But when this system apply to color photography, the texture chart might needed to re-calibrated according to color photography theory. The color presented in our vision is consist of the mixture of lightness and color of the light sources, reflected diffuse light with color of light sources and reflection object color, brightness of the object color under the light sources and the overall luminance of the day. We can’t expose a color photography like a black&white photography
example: if we plan to expose a green leaf, if we try to rise exposure value to 30% lightness, then the leaf become light pale green, if we try to decrease the texture detail by underexpose the leaf, it become dark and dirty green.
What is DynaTone Exposure System
DynaTone mean “Dynamic Tone”, it simply mean the system is utilize tonality to pre-visualize correct exposure, and DynaTone it’s designated to alter or develop high-dynamic-range (which the method of create color high dynamic image is unlike B&W images) or high texture range image, it’s designated to expose every tonality at the scene as what visible with our eyes.
DynaTone Exposure Reference Chart
The exposure reference chart is developed by capturing a set of tonality from 25% to 75% tonality and segmented according to the tonality percentage to develop the reference chart with the usable exposure tonality zone from 5% tonality till 95% tonality, all together it’s 9 tone zone. And the DynaTone exposure reference chart is designated to pre-visualize a set of tonality within the specific Tone zone.
Dynamic Tone Exposure System 