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Thread: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggestions?

  1. #11

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    What are those weights going to do when the wind tosses them into your ground glass?
    As Chris, i use two t shirts and have for 10+years.

    If you wanna make your own, get this:http://www.cinegearstore.com/product...-Per-Yard.html

  2. #12

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    The BTZS is good because it is secure and dark. It is not so good because it is impermeable so it gets very humid in there and requires a little wrestling to remove it between film holders.

    Sounds like you need a conventional dark cloth. I have not found a perfect one. Although I don't own one, I would consider an Ebony dark cloth unless you want the DIY options.

    https://www.badgergraphic.com/store/...t_detail&p=671

  3. #13

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Quote Originally Posted by vinny View Post
    What are those weights going to do when the wind tosses them into your ground glass?
    One thing I was thinking about was to sew some lead shot into the borders of the fabric. This would make the border a bit heavy without having individual points of weight.

  4. #14

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    I bought some light weight black ultrasuede fom a fabric shopa few years ago and have been using it since. It was very very inexpensive.
    you still will probably need some sort of lens for critical focussing. I bought a slide viewing loupe, popped off the back and mounted it on black card paper. This covers my 8x10 and means I dont need the cloth except for composition.
    for my 4x5 I used a lens out of an old 50mm lens mounted in the top of an orange juice container - fits 4x5 perfectly!

  5. #15
    Robert Oliver Robert Oliver's Avatar
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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Bought a cheap blackout curtain from Target for my 8x10. clips onto camera. Black on one side, white on the other.
    Robert Oliver

  6. #16

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Don't sell or throw away your BTZS hood. I started out in LF photography with a classic "blanket" dark cloth bought from Zone VI Studios I think. Heavy, hot, inconvenient to take on and off then folding and stuffing into back pack where it took up a lot of room. I switched to the BTZS hood almost 20 years ago and never regretted it. It's smaller,lighter, easier to take on and off, and takes up much less space in the backpack than the traditional dark cloth I used.

    You may be perfectly fine with an alternative to the BTZS hood of course. I'm just suggesting that you might appreciate the hood more after trying alternatives.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  7. #17

    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Quote Originally Posted by jeroldharter View Post
    Sounds like you need a conventional dark cloth. I have not found a perfect one. Although I don't own one, I would consider an Ebony dark cloth unless you want the DIY options.

    https://www.badgergraphic.com/store/...t_detail&p=671
    I have this one and it is perfect for my needs, lightweight, coated white side, logical use of Velcro and can easily fit in my pocket when folded. It's probably the only Ebony brand thing I will ever own but it does work very well.

  8. #18

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Just ONE word.....Harrison Classic Darkcloth.

    Lightweight, but heavy enough for a breezy day, compact, COOL, rainproof, velcroed (if you want to stick it on the back of your camera), quality through and through, including the heavy duty nylon storage bag. Use the Harrison one time and you'll kick yourself for using horseblankets and t-shirts all those years!

  9. #19

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Quote Originally Posted by Cletus View Post
    Just ONE word.....Harrison Classic Darkcloth.

    Lightweight, but heavy enough for a breezy day, compact, COOL, rainproof, velcroed (if you want to stick it on the back of your camera), quality through and through, including the heavy duty nylon storage bag. Use the Harrison one time and you'll kick yourself for using horseblankets and t-shirts all those years!
    Where does one purchase a Harrison and what does it cost?

  10. #20

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    Re: I'm going to stop using a 4x5 BTZS focusing "tube" and get a dark cloth. Suggesti

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Ellis View Post
    Don't sell or throw away your BTZS hood. I started out in LF photography with a classic "blanket" dark cloth bought from Zone VI Studios I think. Heavy, hot, inconvenient to take on and off then folding and stuffing into back pack where it took up a lot of room. I switched to the BTZS hood almost 20 years ago and never regretted it. It's smaller,lighter, easier to take on and off, and takes up much less space in the backpack than the traditional dark cloth I used.

    You may be perfectly fine with an alternative to the BTZS hood of course. I'm just suggesting that you might appreciate the hood more after trying alternatives.
    OK. Then am I using my BTZS wrong?

    Must I remove it each time I want to load a sheet film holder? That is my biggest complaint. I was thinking about this last night. Maybe what I should do is split open the Velcro then flip the tube up over the bellows prior to loading the film holder. Of course that means the bellows has to be pristine inside otherwise I would be stirring up a dust storm.

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