It is a common use case to want to measure density relative to some "base" (unexposed film/paper area), rather than relative to the ISO-standard "zero" point. Having this ability would make it a lot easier to collect and compare measurements in the most common use cases.
As such, the this capability should be implemented as follows:
Have a way to set the current reflection/transmission reading as the "zero" offset for that mode, from either the display or measurement states
Make sure the "zero" offset is simply a linear offset applied to the result, and not used as part of the actual logarithmic density calculations
Indicate (in the display state) whether a "zero" offset has been set
Have a way to clear a currently-set "zero" offset, most likely from the display state.
Make sure the "zero" offset is specific to the current measurement mode, and is not persisted across device restart. It is not considered part of device calibration.
Implement display of negative density readings, to handle cases where a measurement is below the "zero" offset point.
It is a common use case to want to measure density relative to some "base" (unexposed film/paper area), rather than relative to the ISO-standard "zero" point. Having this ability would make it a lot easier to collect and compare measurements in the most common use cases.
As such, the this capability should be implemented as follows: