Is anyone using Adams' zone system (or a spinoff thereof), especially if you are shooting in-camera B&W or know you will be converting later?

I think most people that got beyond the basics in darkroom developing and printing at least made an attempt to understand the Adam's methodology. My own opinion was that it truly WAS a system and you had to be involved in all parts of it to benefit as he intended.

But I also concluded that it involved large format, single sheet film processing to be practicable and I wasn't gonna go that far. Using multiple-roll tank processing, better 35 & 120mm films and chemistry, variable contrast printing paper, etc., was more than enough challenge for me -- both intellectually and economically -- for personal enjoyment.

I did learn a bit from the exposure techniques though and, like many, adopted a much simplified three-zone approach to evaluating complex lighting.

Today, I vary from Sunny Sixteen to playing with a Pentax Spotmeter (after too much coffee) to just letting "Mike" (matrix or CA metering) have it's way and chimping to discover and compensate for the worst errors.

I'm glad I spent the time to appreciate, although not fully understand, his system as that makes life a little easier when choosing among the excellent exposure tools we have today.

H2

The zone system was primarily developed for Film and darkroom printing processes. there isn't much point in adhering to it with digital unless you are printing on C-type papers which have a DR not all that dissimilar to that of variable contrast B&W darkroom paper. Though Adams did have a point about exposing for the highlights and letting the shadows fall where they may, they eye is drawn to the brightest parts of an image so keeping those areas under control can be crucial.

Uhhh, primarily? What else was there then?

H2

some people have and still do the collodion process you know..

Actually. I hadn't thought of it. Would Adam's darkroom process work with that?

H2

there are also people doing daguerreotypes, and pretty much any other alternate process you can think of and many you likely never heard of. I've fiddled with a few coating my own paper for contact printing and am looking at doing some bromoils. many of the old contact print processes integrate well with digital where you print out a neg from a digital file then contact print old style

BTW if you ever feel like making life difficult and trying out some different methods of printing have a look at this site. it's my online reference for when i want to stretch myself a bit

AlternativePhotography.com

like this one

Against all good advice: how to build a large format camera for wet collodion work at home Cameras And Film AlternativePhotography.com

no it wouldn't because the plates lose speed with time, DlogE exposure curves would be better suited to this task.