I bought this book expecting it to once for all explain aa's zone system. i was quite disappointed that the book is from 1974 and the illustrations are of very poor quality.

sure, the basics of good black & white photography are still the same, but think the book feels outdated.

there has to be a better guide than this out there.

All the technical information in the world won't do you any good if you don't understand how to apply it. Fred Picker's Zone VI Workshop was the fourth book I'd tried to read about the zone system. It's also the last. This book clearly and simply explains the zone system. After reading this book I was able to understand Ansel Adams' books "The Negative" and "The Print". Highly recommended!

I went to the Zone VI workshop in 1989 and this was "required" reading before attending,for good reason, the instructions really work. This book removes the technical barriers to making a good negative and then a good print. He starts you out by showing you how to establish your proper film speed (ISO). Next, he explains how to expose a negative and properly develop it. And then, he explains how to make a proof sheet (proper proof) so you know if what you saw in the field is what you get in your final print. Finally, he tells you how to make a good print. All very logical. Fred knows how to take the mystery out of what is a fairly technical process and frees you so you can concentrate on making beautiful pictures (the only reason to do all this). In a little over 100 pages, you will learn what must have taken years for Ansel Adams, et al to find out by trial and error. Final point, Fred used to have a rubber stamp in his office that read "TRY IT". He would stamp it on letters that asked questions like "What happens when...?" His philosophy is simple - reading the book does you no good unless you actually do what it says. I learned a lot from this book and found it to be the most simple and clear set of instructions on the subject. But it wasn't until I made my first negatives and proof sheets and then prints that it all really made sense so "Try it!"