Photographic Sensitometry: The Study of Tone Reproduction
Hollis N. Todd & Richard Zakia
Morgan & Morgan, 1974
312 pages
When I rescued this little chestnut from the cut-out bin in a discount Manhattan bookstore, it was already a decade old and starting to fade in the face of encroaching video technology. Though the content was a little over my head to start, it quickly got me up to speed with knowledge I still call on today.
While dealing exclusively with stills work, it was easy to transpose much of its information to cinematography. It delved deeply into the H&D (Hurter-Driffield) curve, density measurements and gamma and exposure latitude. It also explained how those factors govern tone reproduction from scene luminance to final print. Zakia, a noted optics and perception expert, and Todd emphasized quantitative analysis for consistent image quality – a lesson I took to heart.
The great thing about recently rediscovering this book is that while rooted in analog film workflows, its principles apply equally well to digital tone mapping, LUTs and color science in tools like DaVinci Resolve. This’s important for any cinematographer looking to optimize dynamic range.
My copy was lucky to have survived last year’s Palisades conflagration. I’m told there are still some well-used ones available for the taking, so if you’re willing to go that deep to learn something usable, I’d highly recommend it!