Dark Cloth or Hood?

[Gene Crumpler]

Eugene;

The cloth seems to be the way to go. Think I will find a black t-shirt and try it out until I get to Danny's LF workshop in October. There I should get chance to try all these options for myself.

By then I will have a fair amount of experience with the Toyo CF.

Thanks again everone.

[J. A. Berwocky]

With a good fresnel (Wista's come to mind) and longer lenses, the focusing hood is great in most conditions. But you also need a darkcloth. A light, dark jacket does just as well as most hoods, and a black t-shirt is a great idea.

I really like the focusing hood for protecting the GG too. I even like the Linhof one - it flips out of the way easily and it doesn't collapse on me, unlike some others complain about. IMHO the old metal Graphic hoods were the best though.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I use both. You can see more with a cloth, but you can often see enough with a folding hood, once you get accustomed to it.

Folding hoods are quick and handy for places where you might want to keep an eye on what's happening around you. They work better if you have a fresnel. With the folding hood I usually use the long Toyo 3.6x loupe. The Graflex hood is better than the Linhof, but my Linhof hood stays open without any contortions. Sometimes I'll wear a wide brimmed hat and hold it for a little extra shade if the sun is behind me.