Thin, light darkcloth?

[Sizam]

Hi,
I saw mention of a thin, light darkcloth here a while back and can't find it again, can anybody suggest a nice (thin & light) darkcloth for 4x5, 6x17 work? I'm using a tee shirt right now but too much light comes in through the fabric.

Sam

[Matus Kalisky]

I used just a T-shirt for a long time (not very comfortable) and 2 years ago bought the Blackjacket. And apart from a bit aggressive velcro (it has no "classical sleeves - just velcro opening from the bottom to get your hand(s) inside) it serves me perfectly and is very compact & lightweight.

[Peter Mounier]

My darkcloth doesn't seem to be anything more than a piece of black cotton fabric. It's as light as a t-shirt and as dark as a darkcloth needs to be.

Peter

[vinny]

Modern Studio Equipment in L.A. sells "ultrabounce". It's black on one side, white on the other and opaque. It looks like ripstop. I've seen darkcloths made from it as well.
I personally use two t shirts sewn together one inside the other (black inside, white outside) for both 4x5 and 8x10.

[Sizam]

Blackjacket, thats the stuff I was looking at before, thanks. This is my 2nd tee shirt 'darkcloth' and its just not workin' out.

[Brian Ellis]

The BTZS hoods worked well for me with 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. I'm not sure about 6x17, you'd have to check with The View Camera Store. But they're definitely thin and light. I

[Collas]

The Paramo dark cloth is very effective and is lightweight. I prefer it to the Blackjacket.

Nick

[Drew Wiley]

Black Goretex. Waterproof, breathable and comfortable, extremely durable, and best
of all, no lint. But a difficult fabric to find in this color.

[banjo]

I have a Burke & James dark cloth got on ebay for like $5.00
its light But I had before is just black velt

[DuncanD]

I have a Harrison std size (https://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=670) which is now surplus. I could part with it for $35 all inclusive.

[Thebes]

I'm back to using a black t-shirt with my 4x5 when I'm not using a hood or reflex viewer.
Its compact, cheap, works fairly well, and its much lighter and more breathable than the 4x5 breathable blackjacket I'm selling in the classifieds.

[Steve Hamley]

Ebony lightweight cloth, 105 grams.

Cheers, Steve

[don12x20]

For the Ultimate dark cloth -- See if you can find some black ultrasuede(tm) at a local fabric store.
If you can find someone with a sewing machine - sew some white ripstop onto one side.

[Drew Wiley]

Ultrasuede is heavy, hot, and holds lint and dirt like crazy.

[r.e.]

I use a no-name cloth that I got from B&H years ago, black on one side, white on the other. Plus it has some Velcro, which is mostly useful for attaching the thing around one's neck in a Superman imitation. It is light and thin, but the problem is that it slides around and, in wind, the sliding is rather more pronounced, as in, it's a nuisance. In other words, there is an upside and a downside to light and thin.

Last week, I had a chance to try out a Blackjacket. It stays put, although it is kind of like putting on a nightdress. But all in all, I liked it.

Best solution, which I have recently discovered, is a reflex viewer. Can't believe that I didn't spring for one sooner.

[DuncanD]

Best solution, which I have recently discovered, is a reflex viewer. Can't believe that I didn't spring for one sooner.

I bought a reflex about a year into my LF learning curve. I found it an awkward, fragile obstacle to both visualization and focus (the latter required me to flip the reflex off in favor of loupe).

After a few months of that, I put the reflex away and learned to see the glass. After all, the brain is upside down anyway.

Just my humble opinion.

[Roger Cole]

After years with my old Zone VI "horse blanket" I tried a tee shirt and didn't like it at all. I then spent the eighty bucks for a BTZS focus hood and love it. Tremendous improvement.

Figured the old Zone VI would still be useful when weight and size weren't an issue as I could also sit on it on the ground and use the white side for a reflector. After a bit of sitting on it, the white side had some grass stains. Since it's just heavy cloth it never occurred to me it wasn't washable, so I tossed it in the washing machine with the rest of my (non-white) clothes. Mistake. It is NOT washable. Parts of the black side disintegrated, there's now what looks like a tear in it, it's thin and faded, and the black goo/powder it shed got all over everything else including the white side of the cloth. Fortunately, another run through the washing machine without the dark cloth and a double rinse cycle removed all that black powder the cloth had shed from my other clothes, which are fine. The cloth is pretty much ruined.

If you have one of these, don't try machine washing it. :o

[r.e.]

Hey Duncan,

William F. Buckley once wrote a terrific essay called How I Came to Rock and Roll.

I came to a reflex viewer the opposite way that you did. Spent many years using a dark cloth. Got turned on to the reflex concept by a superb professional large format photographer who showed me, in the process, how metering the ground glass works if one has the right gear.

The way I see it, if looking at images upside down and reversed was what some people crack it up to be, photographers would be lined up for upside down Leicas. But they aren't, are they?

For at least rough composition and focus, I'm with W.F. on this one. Yes, for some a sacrilege, but I'm not into Zen :)

[DuncanD]

Hey Duncan,

photographers would be lined up for upside down Leicas

I've got one :p Come to think of it, maybe that's why the manual is so confusing.

Seriously, I did not mean to disparage that point of view, especially since I shared it for a while. I mean only to offer some thoughts from a different direction to encourage thought before action (another thing I have upside down).

[r.e.]

Duncan,

You aren't disparaging anyone. Just good fun.

Here's a photograph that I made, in 15 minutes, first time using a reflex viewer and a metered back: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=36485&d=1265375502

Had the help of someone who knows what he is doing, but it really convinced me that reflex viewers are not the work of the devil.

Send that request to Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism for their literature. We'll teach you how to use a fly rod. Or take you out in a trap skiff to fish for cod. Or both.

[DuncanD]

I see your point, r.e. That image would have been totally whacky viewed upside down.

[r.e.]

I see your point, r.e. That image would have been totally whacky viewed upside down.

More than you think. This is a fairly small, low resolution jpeg, but you should get the idea. The magnification is about 3:1 and there is some serious swing and tilt going on. Seeing it right-side up made it a lot easier. The metered back was pretty cool too.

Now you know one of the uses that the macro lens that you just you just sold me will be put to.

Seriously, all those people shooting 35mm and medium format are not clamoring for viewfinders that present an image that is upside down and reversed. I figure that there might be a reason for that. Like maybe that we are biologically constructed to see the opposite. The large format photographers who try to turn it into a virtue remind me of monks and hair shirts :)

[don12x20]

Ultrasuede is heavy, hot, and holds lint and dirt like crazy.

Strange

I've had mine since 1991. I created it when I lived in Arizona and regularly photographed in 115 plus heat....no issues with heat.

Just looked at it -- no lint nor dirt. Although it has fallen in the dirt several times on the high desert of Oregon and Nevada, it just shakes out.

Maybe you are thinking of a different material???