This is a plug for the Paramo Dark Cloth, designed by Joe Cornish. There are a few references to it on the forum, all positive but with little detail. I purchased one last winter and I'm happy to recommend it for 4x5 and 6x9.
As Joe Cornish says in the video below, it will also fit digital cameras that have a decent size liquid crystal display, provided that there's enough camera body to hold onto. I've used it with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K in a camera cage, and when I'm sending the Blackmagic's video image to an external monitor such as a Small HD or Atomos. When it comes to viewing external video monitors in sunlight, this is not only cheaper than throwing more and more nits at the problem, it works better. More nits brighten the display, but don't reduce glare or reflections.
I've used a standard Toyo Dark Cloth for a long time. It works fine, but one of the things that I like about this dark cloth is that it blocks light reflected from the ground:
Paramo is a well-known U.K. company that makes and sells outdoor clothing. Joe Cornish, together with some large format buddies, came up with the design and Paramo agreed to produce it. According to Linhof Studio, which appears to be the only online vendor apart from Paramo itself (links below), it "is made ethically in South America by the Miquelina Foundation for disadvantaged women and their families".
Paramo appears to do a run once or twice a year. When I first checked, the dark cloth was out of stock. A Paramo employee got back to me as soon as they had inventory. It is currently in stock.
I paid £88.33 ex-VAT plus £15 for shipping to New York City. Looking at my e-mails, I used PayPal rather than Visa to pay. If I recall, Paramo's online payment system wasn't set up for ex-VAT transactions or shipping to North America. Pleasant, attentive customer service from Paramo, appreciated given that this was a small order that required attention by a real person.
Paramo Link: https://www.paramo-clothing.com/en-g...mo-dark-cloth/
Linhof Studio Link: https://www.linhofstudio.com/product...amo_Dark_Cloth
Joe Cornish has made a video on how the dark cloth works:
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks