Making a darkcloth

[Rider]

In his book "Using the View Camera," Steve Simmons has instructions how to make a dark cloth. He says:

"Buy a large piece of heavy, black cloth ... fold it over double, and sew the corners together. (page 29)

For the life of me, I could not figure out what these instructions mean. Which corners do you sew together? What is folding over "double"? How big of a cloth should I start with (for 4x5 camera)?

CAn Steve or someone else please clarify what he meant? Thanks!

[Nick_3536]

Fold it in half. Sew the corners that are loose. I think the book includes some info on the size for different formats.

[kjsphotography]

For a 4x5 camera make one at least 4 feet by 5 feet and make sure you have an industrial sewing machine to get through the material. Also good quality material will not be cheap and it will be tough to find light tight material.

[Colin Graham]

Most fabric stores have a drapery liner that is absolutely light-tight, lightweight, and white so it reflects sunlight and heat. It's about 6 bucks a yard or so. I usually line it with black linen. As for the instructions, there are many ways to fold something in half, diagonally, long and short sides; I assume he means fold in half the long way, pick two corners that are mated by the fold and sew them together? But another way to go is to measure the circumferance of your camera back and make a type of tapered 'skirt' with elastic that'll fit around the camera back and seal it up...you can also add a slit for your hands to reach through.

[Brian Sims]

If you are going to pack your camera any distance at all, make a dark cloth out of ripstop nylon. The down side is that it is lite and will blow off your camera in a wind. So, sew some pieces of velcro to the appropriate spots on the cloth. Use the self adhesive velcro to attach to your camera. I also sewed a 14 gage copper wire in the front area of the cloth in a way that allows me to form a kind of awning over the lens. This serves two purposes. It will keep mist and rain off the lens in bad weather (another advantage of rip stop is that it is waterproof). It also acts as a lens shade that I can shape based on the lens I am using and the position of the sun. I made my cloth out of two layers of black and one layer of white. The white outside layer reflect heat on sunny days. The whole thing weighs about a pound less than the heavy fabric version.

[Alan Davenport]

"Fold over double" is tech-speak for "use two layers."

I made my darkcloth with two layers of heavy black cloth (I just picked the tightest weave I could find in the fabric store) and a layer of white. The white layer goes on the outside and (theoretically) reduces heat buildup by reflecting sunlight.

I used some weird Velcro that has both parts -- hooks and loops -- together in each piece; the hooks are buried under the loopy part. Makes the stuff less likely to snag on anything it comes near. Unfortunately, it also makes it much less effective in sticking to itself. I haven't decided if I'll use it again.

[Capocheny]

I just went to an outdoor fabric store and picked up a piece of material that's heavy enough to block out the light. They folded the edges over (1/4") and sewed it together.

When it suddenly starts to rain, I can use it for protecting the camera since it's a waterproof material. If it's wet and muddy out... it can be laid down on the ground to protect my backpack from getting dirty. I usually carry a second dark cloth with me.

And, best of all... it's fairly reasonably priced. Mine cost about CDN$50.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[John Hannon]

I just bought a black t-shirt and a white one (size 3X) and had them sewn together. The opening for the neck fits very well over the camera back and I can put my arms inside the sleeves like the blackjacket.

[Frank Petronio]

My wife has made me two darkclothes but (don't tell her!) I rarely use them. Most of the time I just use my shirt or a black rain jacket. I also mounted the focusing hood from a Crown Graphic to my Sinar. Using a loupe with black sides (to shield it from light) allows me to check the movements.

I think the big elaborate darkclothes get in the way and slow things down.

[Louie Powell]

A darkcloth doesn't have to be totally light-tight. My first darkcloth was a single layer of black denim. It worked just fine. I now use a commercial two-layer darkcloth - white on the outside and black on the inside. It also works just fine. Realistically, its not any better than the black denim.

Paula Chamlee makes the darkcloths that she and Michale Smith use - the one unique thing she does is sew a small piece of red ribbon in the exact middle of two opposing sides (usually the longer sides). The ribbon helps during use and also speeds up the folding process when you're done.