About dark cloth

[Songyun]

What is your ideal dark cloth?
What is the best size for 4X5 and for 8X10?

[Steve M Hostetter]

Hello,, I just went to a fabric store and bought 3 yards of black velvet cloth ,,, I use it for a background, darkcloth, holy bellows cover, shoulder cussion, etc. I paid $20.00 for it in 1983 and still use it today

[Andrew O'Neill]

BTZS hoods...except in freezing cold weather as they get really stiff. Mine is starting to flake it's rubberized coating after 8 years of use. Nice and dark inside.

[Steve M Hostetter]

PS... I might add I like it most for it's clinging ability

[Bill_1856]

BTZS hoods...except in freezing cold weather as they get really stiff. Mine is starting to flake it's rubberized coating after 8 years of use. Nice and dark inside.

I agree.

[vinny]

I had my mom sew a black t-shirt inside a white t-shirt at the neck, sleeves and a couple stitches at the waist. There's also some stretch cord with a cord lock sewn into the neck to allow for tightening around my 4x5. I put the neck over my neck when using my 8x10. Everybody pokes fun about it but it, keeps more light out than a cloth just over the top of the camera, works well in the wind, doesn't get stiff unless wet and frozen, and costs almost nothing if you have extra shirts lying around.

[Songyun]

BTZS hoods...except in freezing cold weather as they get really stiff. Mine is starting to flake it's rubberized coating after 8 years of use. Nice and dark inside.

I don't like BTZS hoods, I found difficult to block all the lights. I got a Harrison large size dark cloth, I found it very efficient blocking all the lights, but it seems that the size is a bit bigger for 8X10. I don't know if 54X58 will work for 8X10 or 4X5.

[Gem Singer]

The large Harrison dark cloth will work for 4X5, but it is large and unwieldly.

There is a smaller Harrison cloth for 4X5. I purchased mine at Quality Camera in Atlanta, GA.

I find the Harrison dark cloths hard to beat for price and quality. I've used mine in 25 mph wind gusts They are well made of lightweight material. The silver material on the outside and the black material on the inside makes it nice and cool to work with under the blazing Texas sun in the summertime, and it doesn't get stiff in cold temperatures.

[jvuokko]

I had my mom sew a black t-shirt inside a white t-shirt at the neck, sleeves and a couple stitches at the waist. There's also some stretch cord with a cord lock sewn into the neck to allow for tightening around my 4x5. I put the neck over my neck when using my 8x10. Everybody pokes fun about it but it, keeps more light out than a cloth just over the top of the camera, works well in the wind, doesn't get stiff unless wet and frozen, and costs almost nothing if you have extra shirts lying around.

T-Shirt really is the best. Two t-shirts, black shirt inside, white outside. Works like a charm.

You already said all the advantages. Perhaps the look is bit DIY, but who cares :)

[Gordon Moat]

I got a tube style 4x5 dark cloth off EBAY. It has elastic at one end to fit snug around the back of the camera. There is a Velcro splitter along the length to more easily adapt it to you. Outside is silver and inside black, all synthetic material. Nice aspects are that it packs thinly, and is easy to keep clean.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography (http://www.gordonmoat.com)

[Peter De Smidt]

If it fits your camera, the black t-shirt or dark sweatshirt works really well. For 4x5's put the neck over the camera back. Monorails and such can be more problematic. When I use my Sinar, I use a BlackJacket, which isn't perfect, but it works very well.

[Keith Pitman]

I really like the Gnassgear darkcloths for 4x5. Fortunately I have two. I am using Harrison darkcloths for some larger formats and like those as well.

[john collins]

Another vote for the Blackjacket.

[Songyun]

I got a tube style 4x5 dark cloth off EBAY. It has elastic at one end to fit snug around the back of the camera. There is a Velcro splitter along the length to more easily adapt it to you. Outside is silver and inside black, all synthetic material. Nice aspects are that it packs thinly, and is easy to keep clean.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography (http://www.gordonmoat.com)

I found it hard to use the hood on my Chamonix, there always light coming from the space between the back standard and the bed.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Funny...I know a guy who bought a Harrison and ended up selling it. I guess everyone has their own tastes.


I don't like BTZS hoods, I found difficult to block all the lights. I got a Harrison large size dark cloth, I found it very efficient blocking all the lights, but it seems that the size is a bit bigger for 8X10. I don't know if 54X58 will work for 8X10 or 4X5.

I have no problems on my 8x10. Fits nice and snug. Depends on camera I guess.

[Songyun]

Maybe I used my hood wrong, but with the harrison dark cloth I cover it from front stand all the way to back, and the velrco on the side can seal the light very well. With the hood, it doesn't seal as well as the harrison dark cloth.

[phil sweeney]

I use a large dark cloth for my 8 x 10, and 7 x 17. I attach to camera with binder clips.

[darr]

I have a Toyo cloth; white one side, black on other. It has some velcro to secure the cloth around the camera and then some. It comes in handy as a backdrop every once in a while.

[Steve M Hostetter]

I expect all this black on the inside and white on the outside is all good and well If you expect to live under the damn thing,,,, maybe some fire retardent shingles to a

Just get an old rag and gaff it off

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hmmmm....fire retardent shingles, eh? Not bad...

[Archphoto]

For my Sinar I have a modified copendium-barndoor at my focusing screen.
I used some fine piano hinges to mount it together.
It never sticks in cold weather, works great indoors and if needed I use a darkcloth to complement it.
The barndoor protects my focussing screen aswell like the backs of folders.

[aphexafx]

For my Sinar I have a modified copendium-barndoor at my focusing screen.
I used some fine piano hinges to mount it together.
It never sticks in cold weather, works great indoors and if needed I use a darkcloth to complement it.
The barndoor protects my focussing screen aswell like the backs of folders.


That is actually a pretty great idea...I wonder why nobody has thought to produce a "barndoor" viewer for their camera system...

[Joanna Carter]

After trying a few different cloths, I have finally settled on the Paramo cloth from Light and Land http://www.lightandland.co.uk/article.aspx?articleId=326&typeId=2&conId=8

This really is a superb cloth and, although it is possibly more expensive than a T-shirt, it is also waterproof enough to keep the camera totally dry in the strongest of squalls on the Northern Brittany coast, even though I got quite wet :-)

[Gem Singer]

Matt,

They already have. The're called folding focusing hoods.

Linhof, Toyo, Shen Hao, among others, make them.

Toyo even makes a focusing loupe that's long enough to reach inside of the hood and rest against the ground glass.

When folded, they act as GG protectors.

[Phil]

What is your ideal dark cloth?
What is the best size for 4X5 and for 8X10?

I have some notes I took from a conversation with Paula Chamlee regarding the dark cloth that she makes:

For 8x10 - 52" x 76"
For 8x20 - 60" x 94"

She makes them with 3 layers of cotton bed sheets - two are black, and one is white - sew them so you have a white side (outside) and a black side (inside). (Only sew around the edge so you don't get pinholes from the stiches.) Using red thread, make several whip stiches on the center of one long edge of the cloth - this will allow you to find the center of the cloth quickly to place it on the camera. Center the cloth on the rear standard of the camera and hold it in place with two #4 Bulldog clips. Wrap the darkcloth around the back of the camera and have it meet at center of the bottom - mark the spot on both edges - that's where you want to sew about 12" of velcro onto the edges so you can seal it around the camera. I used twin size bed sheets from a local chain that mails me 20% off coupons - total cost was under $30 for my 8x10 darkcloth.

[aphexafx]

Matt,
They already have. The're called folding focusing hoods.


lol, you're right. I've even seen them! I don't know what I was thinking!

Ex: http://www.adorama.com/TY180808.html

Hell, I HAVE one built into my Mamiya. Thanks. :o

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Well, I shoot 11x14 and 8x20 so I use a cloth that I made myself. I used a white twin sheet and a piece of black velvet that works great. It can keep you warm in a pinch. It is also nice for a drape or something soft for models to sit or lie on for nude figure studies.

Jim

[Aender Brepsom]

I use an Ebony dark cloth (the small one). It is attached to the rear standard by velcro. In bright sunshine, it may not be dark enough for everyone's taste, but after having tried various other models (BTZS, Harrison, self-made, ...) I have decided to keep the Ebony cloth as it is so light and doesn't take up much space in the bag.

That being said, I mostly use a viewing bellows with my Ebony.

[Steve Gledhill]

I use an REI multi towel. If one isn't large enough then sew two together. They're very very light weight and pack very very small. They don't quite block out 100% of the light. Use a double thickness if you want total blackout. Whichever way, it's small and light. And they can soak up a great deal of rain water well before letting any get into your camera.

[Joe Smigiel]

I made a large tube out of aluminized nylon and incorporated a drawstring around one end. It is about 50" long, black on the inside and reflective silver outside. It doubles as a reflector/subtractor in the field.

This stuff is lightweight and smashes down to a small volume for transport. It is also waterproof and I just slip it over the camera if I get caught in the rain. I slip it over the back of the camera, draw it taught, and then crawl inside. It's the easiest and most efficient darkcloth I've ever used.

Here's a pic of it on my 11x14 Burke & James.

http://my.net-link.net/~jsmigiel/images/technical/collodion/darktent/Tent010506a72.jpg

I made a portable wetplate collodion darktent out of the stuff as well. (It's not totally opaque though, so 3 layers had to be used for the tent.) It was purchased through Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics.

Joe

[Alan Davenport]

I made my darkcloth. It's sized so the short dimension is will go around the rear standard of the camera. The long dimension is about 1 meter or so. Then it uses a weird Velcro-type tape, that has both parts of the Velcro mixed together-- the hooks are sort of buried under the fluffy loops so it doesn't snag on things. The downside is that it also doesn't grip itself as well as I'd like, but it works. I ran the Velcro about 1/2 meter along edges so the cloth closes into a tube.

I made the cloth from a heavy denim-like fabric, two layers of black and a third layer of white on the outside.

It's not really light weight, but it sure is dark inside.

[gevalia]

I found it hard to use the hood on my Chamonix, there always light coming from the space between the back standard and the bed.

I had the same problem with my Chamonix. When I use my darkcloth, I put a big rubberband over it and around the rear standard. Light tight and free.

[aphexafx]

I just recieved a SunShade 40" x 40". It's light. It's huge. It has an elastic banded end to fit right over the rear standard, with velcro to keep it snug. I can't imagine why I would ever want anything else. Oh, and it was cheap. Like, $20 to my door.

[Drew Wiley]

I've commented on this several times before. I prefer black Goretex. It's lightweight,
very durable, waterproof, breathable (comfortable), and lint-free.

[Songyun]

I've commented on this several times before. I prefer black Goretex. It's lightweight,
very durable, waterproof, breathable (comfortable), and lint-free.

where can I get black Goretex?

[RooX]

where can I get black Goretex?

Goretex itself, is actually a very fragile membrane that cannot be used for this application on its own. It would be laminated in between two separate layers, usually an out layer or ripstop nylon, and usually a special inner layer (rather tough) of a proprietary fabric from Gore. There use to be a 2 layer, which was an outer layer of nylon, then the membrane followed by a mesh, but you wont find it much anymore.

[Mick Noordewier]

I just recieved a SunShade 40" x 40". It's light. It's huge. It has an elastic banded end to fit right over the rear standard, with velcro to keep it snug. I can't imagine why I would ever want anything else. Oh, and it was cheap. Like, $20 to my door.
Matt,
Who supplies SunShades? Can you post a link?
-Mick

[aphexafx]

Mick, I meant to put "Sun Shade" in quotes, not concatenate it into SunShade like a brand name, heh. These are the generic nylon dark-cloths that seem to come from Japan and Hong Kong on eBay.

This is the listing where I got mine: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=370162455062&Category=29981

It says "used" (just noticed that) but mine was brand new, factory creased, and sealed. The nylon is slick black on the outside and red on the inside like a parka or light ski pants.

Anyway, I like them.

[ki6mf]

I have a 3' square Kalt dark cloth got from B&H. Its double layered all black nylon with Velcro at one end to go around the camera. Lightweight, stuffs in a camera bag or pocket and doesn't cost much. They are NOT available year round so check inventory first. Cost around $24.00 too

[Phil O.]

This may draw a few laughs, but I use a regular hand towel for my 4X5 and a bath towel for my 8X10. Both are dark brown in color and have elastic strapping sewn into one of the long sides. The elastic is something I picked up in a fabric store and is what would be used in an elastic waist band. The elastic part attaches the towel to the back of the camera.

Why a towel? It started out as low budget way get on with doing my large format photography until I could afford to buy a factory made dark cloth. But I found that the towel came in handy at times for drying myself and camera gear off when caught out in a rain. When possible, I try to depend on a portable umbrella to keep things dry when the rain comes. I shake out the towel every once in awhile to cut down on the chance of dust or lint getting on a film holder.

When I was starting out back in the 1980's, I took a two day large format workshop with Howard Bond. On the last day we went into a greenhouse to put our teaching to work. Howard saw me with my towel, gave me a funny look and said he'd never seen anything like that before. When I told him how it did double duty, he seemed to find some acceptance in that when he suggested the idea to me of adding the elastic strapping.

[jeroldharter]

It has been a while since I visited this thread but I struggle with the focusing cloth issue also. I have had a regular horse blanket type cloth with weights but that was unwieldy and huge. I have a BTZS which is nice with some cameras (Toyo field) but does not work well with others (Canham, Arca) and is very hot in summer and humid in winter.

I recently bought a Black Jacket focusing cloth. I have not had a chance to field test it but wow. What a piece of work for a focusing cloth. This thing is nice. It has great features for attaching it securely to the camera. It is relatively compact and lightweight. I bought the hybrid model. The cost seems high (compared to a T shirt) but you get what you pay for with this one. I am actually excited to try a focusing cloth? Something seems odd about that but this is a nice piece of gear and worth checking out.

[Paul O]

Blackjackets are excellent and in my opinion as close to the "perfect" darkcloth as you're likley to get. They take time to get accustomed to but a bit of perseverence and they are very natural in their use. I like them :)

[knjkrock]

This seems to be the best thread I could find looking through the archives. Anybody have any new experiences? I need one for 8x10 and 4x5. Not really wanting to DIY. The Harrison look like a good product. There is a saitta on eBay. Wish they were available new. Any experience with the ones from China. I am large/tall so fear the btzw will be tight.

Regards and thanks.

Ken

[neil poulsen]

I got a tube style 4x5 dark cloth off EBAY. It has elastic at one end to fit snug around the back of the camera. There is a Velcro splitter along the length to more easily adapt it to you. Outside is silver and inside black, all synthetic material. Nice aspects are that it packs thinly, and is easy to keep clean.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography (http://www.gordonmoat.com)


I have something similar, but medium gray on the outside, which I prefer. It was designed for 5x7, so it works great on my 4x5 rail camera.


. . . I am large/tall so fear the btzw will be tight. . .
Ken


Up the size a little, as I did. BTZS has them in varying sizes from 4x5 on up. (5x7, 8x10, etc.) I'm considering 11x14 for 8x10.

[John Kasaian]

Quick and cheap? Blackout curtain cloth cut to size.

[Alan Gales]

I use a Blackjacket with my 8x10. Underneath they are as dark as you would ever want. They are a little fussy to use at first until you get used to them. You slip your arms in them. I wear my loupe around my neck so it is easy to use in the Blackjacket.

I used a BTZS for 4x5. Not near as dark as a Blackjacket but a little faster to use.

I highly recommend either. It just depends if your priority is total blackness or speed of use.

[Jim Andrada]

@Ken

I'm on the large side myself and no problem with the various Blackjacket/BTZS type cloths. Now if I could just get a drone that would carry the camera etc and maybe hold the dark cloth as well I'd be ecstatic.

[Alan Gales]

@Ken

I'm on the large side myself and no problem with the various Blackjacket/BTZS type cloths. Now if I could just get a drone that would carry the camera etc and maybe hold the dark cloth as well I'd be ecstatic.

No, no, no. You got it all wrong, Jim. Get one of those drones with a digital video camera. You then fly it over your neighbor's pool the next time they are skinny dipping! ;)

[Kinografx]

X2 (or 3?) for the black t-shirt. A heavy weight one sized xl or bigger, the neck stays put around the camera back, arm hole for holding a loupe, the only thing better is if it has a cool graphic printed on it!