Ideal Dark/Focusing Cloth?

[Roger Cole]

The liklihood of me shooting LF in temperatures of 20F much less sub zero are, well, sub zero.

[Jody_S]

The liklihood of me shooting LF in temperatures of 20F much less sub zero are, well, sub zero.

You haven't lived til you've frozen your ass off (feels like literally) standing in 2 ft of snow, -22 on the thermometer, setting up a 4x5 at night... then waiting for a 40-minute exposure.

[Roger Cole]

I'll settle for not living then.

Seriously, after I lost 140 lbs. in 1991-92 I haven't been able to stay warm in significant cold since. I get cold at 72 if I sit still too long. I seriously thought I was hypothyroid but my doctor checked - everything's fine, I just get cold easily.

[Frank Petronio]

Well then, enjoy this Summer!

[Roger Cole]

It's a bit hot - but it beats the hell out of winter!

[mandoman7]

Folding hood on the 4x5 with a proper hood-length loupe. No dark cloth at all most of the time. Throw a jacket or dark shirt over your head if it's too bright out.

What kind of Loupe are you referring to that has the "proper hood-length"?

[Michael Kadillak]

I've been using BTZS for my 8x10 for the past 12 years. Negatives: it stiffens up severly in zero temperatures and the rubberized outer coating gradually flaked off. After a shoot I'd have to pick up the flakes from the floor/ground. Perhaps newer models addressed the flaking issue?
Positives: light weight, rolls up into a small package, nice and dark inside.
Maybe I'll get a new one.

I have used the BTZS focusing cloths for many years in freezing weather all the time (Montana, Wyoming and Colorado) and never had a problem with mine. I have a 12x20 hood that works for 11x14, 12x20 and even 8x20 and one for 8x10 and 5x7/4x5. I have at least three sewn cloths downstairs that don't get much use because no matter what they are sewn out of, they are heavier and more cumbersome than anything else I have used particularly in the wind.

[Len Middleton]

I've often wondered if there might be a way to attach one of those lightweight battery powered fans to a dark cloth.

As hot as it might be under the dark cloth, I am not certain attaching a vibration generating machine is necessarily the way to go...

I guess you could turn it off, but with everything else one needs to remember, I have to wonder...

[Michael Kadillak]

As hot as it might be under the dark cloth, I am not certain attaching a vibration generating machine is necessarily the way to go...

I guess you could turn it off, but with everything else one needs to remember, I have to wonder...

A hot dark cloth is tremendous incentive to learn to get your adjustments done in a series of the count of ten. I actually find that in this regard 8x10 is the perfect format for this objective because it is large enough to not require a loup and small enough to easily reach the camera controls. For smaller formats that are more "challenging" for me I like the reflex viewer.

[Frank Petronio]

What kind of Loupe are you referring to that has the "proper hood-length"?

Wista, Toyo, Horseman, and some eBay-Chinese brands made or still make loupes that are slightly over four inches long, which clear the folding focusing hoods of Graflex, Linhof, Toyo, Wista, and other cameras.