Practice question · Multiple choice
Print exposures governed by the inverse-square law behave geometrically rather than arithmetically. Why does adding fixed increments of time, such as five seconds per strip, fail during test strip evaluation?
Hints
- How does human visual perception evaluate equal changes in tone across an image?
- What happens to the relative percentage increase when you add 5 seconds to 5 versus adding 5 to 25?
Show the answer
A. Equal linear additions yield diminishing changes in tonal density
Why
Tonal perception corresponds to logarithmic exposure stops. Adding fixed intervals yields progressively smaller proportional shifts, compressing highlight and shadow differences. Grain structure and full chemical development remain unaffected.
Practise The Enlarger and the Print
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