Dark cloth or towel?

[Scott --]

Okay, this may seem a troll, but I'm completely serious: I've used either a towel or old jacket as a dark cloth since I first started in LF photography. I'm considering now a "real" dark cloth (BTZS) for 4x5, but having never used one, I'm asking for opinions on the benefits of a dedicated dark cloth versus a towel thown over my head.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Scott

[Bruce Barlow]

A $3 black T-shirt from Wally World. Fit the neck over the back of the camera, get an XXXL whether it would fit you or not. It's big enough for 4x5, and stops light from coming in the front around the camera, or from below.

I snipped the hem, and threaded a cord around the bottom with a lace-lock. I can now put that on the back of my 8x10, tighten it up, and put the neck on my face. Voila! Cheap, light, small, and wonderful. Yes, a little light comes in the fabric, but not enough to harm its usefulness. Buy two shirts and double up if you want, and you're out $6.

Oh, and my sister sewed up the sleeve holes, which were never a bother, less so now.

[Bob Salomon]

Have you ever seen an opaque towel and one that didn't shed tiny threads?

[Drew Wiley]

No need any more. Now they have a Photoshop app that simulates lint patterns.

[Scott --]

You guys are a hoot...

[ROL]

Oh boy! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAwIWZ9H3ZU)

[Roger Thoms]

Blackjacket, wasn't happy with the 8x10 Hybrid I bought, nothing wrong with it just didn't need the darkslide pockets and wanted a the lighter more compact Original. Keith really stands behind his products and sent me a Original at no charge. This was 8 months after I bought the Hybrid. Definitely above and beyond the call of duty. As a result I also ordered a 5x7 Blackjacket for my girlfriends camera and no doubt I buy more in the future.

So I guess I'm in the darkcloth camp or more specifically the focusing hood camp.

Roger

[BrianShaw]

Have you ever seen an opaque towel and one that didn't shed tiny threads?

Good point... I suppose I should get rid of the piece of velvet cloth I use as a dark cloth one of these days.

[Drew Wiley]

Black Goretex. Lightwt, tough, breathable, no lint, waterproof, easily rinsed or shaken off and will air dry fast.

[Daniel Stone]

I use a piece of rubberized nylon. Very lightweight and easy to stow in a pocket even. I used it with my 8x10 system, and plan on using it now with 5x7.

Black goretex works great too, it also works well so you can spread it out on the ground if you need to wait around for a while until the light is right/good. Or if you go out with your better 1/2, they can carry the picnic lunch in their pack, and you can carry your camera. Dark cloth can act as the picnic blanket(of sorts ;)).

Dan

[Andrew O'Neill]

I've had my BTZS hood for over 12 years. Nice and dark inside. Compact. Draw backs: Gets VERY stiff in sub zero temps. All the cream coloured rubberized outer coating flaked off over the years... but now that the outer coating is gone, it doesn't stiffen up in freezing weather anymore!

[sanking]

Blackjacket, wasn't happy with the 8x10 Hybrid I bought, nothing wrong with it just didn't need the darkslide pockets and wanted a the lighter more compact Original. Keith really stands behind his products and sent me a Original at no charge. This was 8 months after I bought the Hybrid. Definitely above and beyond the call of duty. As a result I also ordered a 5x7 Blackjacket for my girlfriends camera and no doubt I buy more in the future.

So I guess I'm in the darkcloth camp or more specifically the focusing hood camp.

Roger

I am also in the "focusing hood" camp and like both the BTZS andd Blackjacket hoods. I have one of both types for 5X7, and in the past owned both types for 7X17. Would not hesitate to recommend either brand.

Sandy

[Joe Smigiel]

I made one out of the material I think Blackjackets are made from. It's just a big tube with a drawstring on one end to attach around the camera. The material was 9'x12' originally. It's the best darkcloth I've ever used. No slipping off the shoulders, I can probably stuff it in my back pocket or throw it over the camera and myself in the rain, etc. Here it is on my 11x14. The collodion darktent shown is made out of the same material.

http://my.net-link.net/BA/D5/jsmigiel/images/technical/collodion/darktent/Tent010506a72.jpg

I'll never go back to a small, heavy, hot, thick darkcloth after using this one.

[Brian Ellis]

A fair amount of light will get through the towels I'm familiar with unless you're in dim light - which of course will make the viewing screen harder to use. Maybe not always a lot of extraneous light but some.

I used the BTZS "hoods" on 4x5 and 8x10 cameras for many years and obviously really liked them. They're compact, take up little room in the backpack and add almost no weight, easy to put on and off but when you put them on the camera they stay on, and the bottom can be left a little open (Velcro) if you want to breathe without fogging the viewing screen. The 4x5 used to cost about $40-$50, not sure what it costs today. But unless it's gone up drastically it's still very inexpensive compared to the cost of film and most photography equipment not to mention travel costs.

[Roger Thoms]

I am also in the "focusing hood" camp and like both the BTZS andd Blackjacket hoods. I have one of both types for 5X7, and in the past owned both types for 7X17. Would not hesitate to recommend either brand.

Sandy


I actually have two BTZS hoods for 4x5 and really like them too. Sandy your right, both great products and both good companies to deal with.

Roger

[Cletus]

Harrison Darkcloths for me. I've tried several others (haven't tried BTZS) but Harrison's are great. Lint free, silver outside to keep you cool, water resistant in case of rain, heavy enough for windy days (although nothing's perfect here!) and can be got for $50 or less on Fleebay usually. I have two Classics and often use them together to blackout motel room bathroom doors when necessary for loading/ loading film holders.

Can't say enough good about 'em.

[jp]

nylon llbean rain/windbreaker for me. Lacking that, whatever I'm wearing for a shirt will do.

[Heroique]

The collodion darktent shown is made out of the same material.

One of those tents would be a nice, temporary shelter from the Michigan mosquitoes!

Me, I use an Adirondack-style windbreaker.

For example, I tighten its waist (w/ cinch cord) around the camera back (a tailored fit!), and slip my head through the zippered neck. When I use a loupe, I zip-open the V-neck a little more so I can fit my forearm inside. (My other arm operates the camera.) Depending on movements, I might have to switch arms or use both. A little clumsy, but I’ve gotten used to it. The windbreaker is light-weight, light-tight, breathable & water resistant. So if it rains, I wear it. Or I might slip it over my camera in hostile environments.

Like many here, I’ve never owned a real darkcloth, but they have their advantages.

[Drew Bedo]

I have a Btzs hood and its great. Among other things, it folds up smaller than a dark cloth.

I also use a dark cloth my wife sewed up from a piece og black velvet and a piece of white table cloth.

[Peter Gomena]

I own a BTZS hood that I use with my Zone VI 4x5. I love that it's compact and lightweight. It's now a dozen years old, and the silver outer coating is flaking off. I don't like the flakes in my camera bag. I also have found that the 4x5 size is too small for my camera. It's probably fine for a Tachihara or similar field camera, but the ZVI is a bit bigger and the hood is difficult to secure to the camera. If/when I replace it, I will buy a 5x7 model.

I used to own a big Zone VI dark cloth. Heavy, bulky, slick polyester fabric that liked to slide off the camera. Gave it away with my 8x10. For my whole plate camera, I have an old, ratty piece of thick black cotton cloth that came with the camera. I use a couple of binder clips to attach it to the camera back. Works just fine. I might upgrade to a heavy black T-shirt one of these days.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Oh, and my sister sewed up the sleeve holes, which were never a bother, less so now.

A bachelor tip - fabric glue. There are types that are hand washable. In the service we would glue our rank to uniforms then hand stitch. With low-stakes things like a dark cloth from a T-shirt, just glue it.

[Scott Davis]

I have had a BTZS-esque cloth darkcloth (I always jokingly called it my camera foreskin because of the way it attached) that worked well enough with a 4x5. I currently own a Calumet "horse blanket" that is light enough and cool enough, and works fine with my 5x7, and can be used in a pinch with my 5x12 if I forget the big dark cloth, but it is still a little translucent. The current go-to is a Sawtooth Designs "horse blanket" that is ALMOST big enough to use on my 14x17. It has the best opacity of any that I've had, and is still breathable so that I don't suffer under it in hot weather. A friend of mine has some rubberized thing that is truly opaque, but he'll emerge from under it in a snowstorm in January with a sweat. I've stayed with the horse blankets because they don't get in the way of operating the camera when it comes time to insert the film holder and take the picture. The problem I found with the hood type dark cloths is that they had a tendency to wiggle the camera when removing them, and if you didn't have the rear standard completely locked down, it would jolt the composition and you'd have to start over.