Darkcloth "features" & pitfalls ??

[Calamity Jane]

I have been using a 4 foot square of black cloth as a darkcloth with my 4x5 monorail and find many annoyances with it! Soooo, it's time for something different.

It would be convenient to have the darkcloth attached to the camera and I have heard some people use velcro. If it's a breezy day, you don't want the cloth fluttering in the wind during the exposure and the velcro I have seen is pretty tenacious so it would be hard to remove without risking shifting the camera.

I thought about putting two screws in the top of the camera and a couple of eyelets in the darkcloth so it would just hook in place (maybe with some elastic to hold the cloth closed around the rear frame). Anybody have a better way?

I was also thinking of sewing the camera end of the darkcloth into a tube (only for about 6") to eliminate the light leaks under the rear frame. Does it work?

[I am too cheap to pay $$$ for a "professional" darkcloth that I can make myself, but I'm not above stealing good ideas from others! ;-) ]

Any and all ideas on the ideal darkcloth design are greatly appreciated!

Good light to all!

[CXC]

Before you spend a penny or a minute of your time, try a t-shirt. Preferably black. The neck opening is just right to be streteched over the back, then stick your head in from the bottom. Since I learned of this technique I use nothing else.

[Frank Petronio]

I second CXC's jacket-T-shirt idea. Attaching a darkcloth to a camera is an accident waiting to happen - catch it and you pull the whole thing down.

I think a lot of people spend way too much time under the damn things anyway. Previsualize, get in, get out. You're not camping!

[Jim Rice]

Frank and CXC are on the right path, that being elastic. Make your darkcloth somewhat tubular and add elastic at the camera end just enough to fit the rear standard of your camera. This idea is, of course, stolen from the BZT people who in their turn, no doubt, stole it from someone else.

[Jim Rice]

I might add that on my old beater Master View velcro worked like a charm. I just couldn't bring myself to do it to the Wiz. Nice cameras have their disadvantages.

[Ted Burford]

I am selling custom made focusing cloth for 5X7, 4X5 and 8X10 cameras.

The advantage of this one is it has elastic at the camera end to fit around the back of the camera, and Velcro at the bottom to keep the light from coming in at the bottom. It is open at the back to get your head in to see the ground glass and focus the camera. It is made of light weight fabric that is black on the inside and silver on the outside, so you could also use it as a reflector for small objects. The silver side feels like it is made from a rubberized coating.

The bottom is held closed by Velcro, so it is easy to open it a bit to put your hand in with a loupe for critical focusing.

I am selling these on eBay and my user ID is ted.b

[Ralph Barker]

While we're sewing ideas, so to speak, how about sewing that black t-shirt inside a white one. That way, the white exterior reduces heat build-up on sunny days, and the double thickness further reduces light transmission.

The double-T concept could even be extended for the more fashion conscious: forest cami for nature lovers, urban cami for street shooters, etc. The possibilities are almost endless! Unfortunately, none of these designs solves the problem of "dark-cloth hair". ;-)

[Jim Rice]

Surely I must suffer from 'dark-cloth hair' as badly as anyone here. After all, I have so much of it. ;-)

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you're leaving the darkcloth on the camera during the exposure, I'm guessing you're the sort of person who thinks of the darkcloth as something to be attached to the camera, that you get under to see the groundglass.

I think of the darkcloth as something to be attached to me, so I usually have it folded in half and draped over my shoulders like a cape, and then I flip it over my head and the camera when I need to view the groundglass. It has velcro at the camera end if I want to wrap it around the camera and close it up at the bottom to keep the dark in.

[Leonard Evens]

I endorse the "T-shirt" solution, but you should get a dark, fairly heavy one. I get mine from Land's End, and they work quite well. They do let a small amount of light through, but it is not usually enough to bother me. Some people even manage to put their hands in through the sleeves, but I've never managed that. I put everything, hands and head, in through the bottom opening. In muggy weather, I often arrange the btoom so my nose and mouth are outside, and that avoids fog on the gg.