Darkroom tent, person-sized

[Brian C. Miller]

There's always some interest in "how do I do X without a dark room." How many of you would be interested in a darkroom tent for your kitchen or bathroom? I mean something you could climb into and work in the dark, seated on a stool with a small table in front of you. There would be a fan at the top to provide circulation, and of course vents at the bottom. Something that would give you at least 54" of height and 42" of width. You could do tray processing, or even squeeze in an enlarger into it. You could fit a stool and a small table in it, and the enlarger would be on the floor. Of course it would be cramped. But you'd actually have space where you can work.

No, I have no clue what the price would be. I'm just guaging interest.

[bobwysiwyg]

Hmm, intriguing for sure. Price point would be critical to a final decision of course.

[Chris Strobel]

I'm interested

[jeroldharter]

Some unsolicited thoughts:

Since this would not be something that most people would transport, it need not be too compact. It seems like you could make it modular, for example a left end, right end, and center modules that connect with velcro or something clever. The door could be in one of the end pieces, left or right, and you could have an end sheet to close it off for people who just want a single module. Standard PVC fittings could provide the support. You could probably make it floorless to keep costs down. Along the lower perimeter you could put a 12-18 inch "sod cloth" which helps keep rodents out of bivy shelters but in this case would help keep light out. I would think that the most difficult part would be finding a material that is sufficiently light-proof that is not prone to static or attract dust.

I am sure you could get a lot of ideas (if you want them, of course) by asking here. Seems like there are a lot of people with bathroom or temporary darkrooms.

[Frank Petronio]

All it needs is a piece of duct tape over the eyes, $34.95 eBay Pakistan

[Brian C. Miller]

Jerold, unsolicited thoughts are fine by me! After seeing so many posts, I wondered if anybody makes custom tents. Sure enough, there's a few who really do that. The one I queried requires a minimum order of 200 tents. If it were just for me, I'd rig something collapsible out of foam core board, black gaffer's tape, and Velcro. But I thought that there just might be enough interest, world-wide, that something like this could be produced by an actual tent maker.

[Jerry Bodine]

Frank,
Just some what-if thinking, couldn't the circulation fan in the top cause some swearing (screaming) if your hair (not yours, the user) got caught in the fan? And if the user is not alone, would there not be a strong temptation to tickle the feet and cause sudden upset of trays etc.? Just thinkin'.

[taulen]

Something like this already exists, but used to do something completly different.
Growing tents (espcially made for cannabis) can be used for this purpose, they are compltely light tight, long zippers, and with room to fit inside, there is many different sizes to get hold off... =/

[Brian C. Miller]

Jerry, yeah, I already thought about the fan-and-hair issue. I worked with a server rack that had two fans on the top, and of course I had to work with the cables in the rear. The fan would definitely either have a grill or be outside the tent or just be on the other side on the top. But a top vent with a fan would be a must.

Taulen: Those are inside-out for photography. The insides are bright and reflective, which I guess is great for indoor *cough* hydroponics, but reflective Mylar is not the best for use with an enlarger. I don't think that any paint would reliably stick to Mylar. If the frame is inside the tent then black cloth could be draped down.

(I wonder what my cookies look like now ... searched for "Anarchist Cookbook", "grow tent", hmmm....)

[Mark Barendt]

I have a friend that makes canvas awnings to order, I'm sure there are many such people quite capable of building to suit.