Ideal Dark/Focusing Cloth?

[Frank Petronio]

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 sick things are you guys doing under those clothes? Frame it up, focus, adjust movements, check again... What's that, 30-45 seconds? (With a proper camera of course, not one of those flimsy wooden toys with obscure controls and fiddly movements.)

[Roger Cole]

Linhof Tech III. Basic non-bright, non-fresnal GG. I couldn't see an image at all most of the time with the hood, and mine was a style that didn't come off (easily, that I could tell - got a parts body later and it's made differently.) Fortunately the thing was falling apart anyway. An x-acto knife got it out of the way for good. I found it just a nuisance.

[Leigh]

I guess it depends a lot on the gear.

Most of my lenses are f/5.6. The Maxwell screen on my 4x5 is bright enough with those that I almost never use a dark cloth even in broad daylight. The exception is when sunlight is falling directly on the GG.

- Leigh

[Leonard Evens]

I have a Blackjacket focusing cloth, but I seldom use it. For most routine shooting I use a dark t-shirt. If necessary, I can stick my arms through the arm holes, but usually I don't even bother doing that. The opening at the bottom of the t-shirt is large enough to hang on the rear standard and also stick my head in.

[Maris Rusis]

My 8x10 focussing cloth is 4 foot square, white on one side, black on the other. The white stuff is rubberised curtain "black out" material which is waterproof and sheds a bit of rain. And I have a cloth measuring tape sew into one edge so I don't have to guess those pesky bellows extension numbers.

[John Kasaian]

Home made. That is all.

[Bruce Barlow]

I took a black T-shirt, size XXXL, and sliced into the bottom hem. Threaded a cord, and put a lace-lock in it, so I can tighten it.

For 4x5, the neck goes around the back of the camera, and I drape the rest over my head.

For 5x7 and 8x10, I tighten the lace-lock around the back of the camera, and put my face into the neck of the shirt.

Yes, it's not quite totally black in bright sun. I could splurge on another $2 T-shirt and have 2 layers - no additional lace lock needed, but it seems to work fine, and not as hot as a full cloth.

My sister kindly sewed up the armholes, even though they had been a problem.

Cheap, light, and serviceable.

[Brian Ellis]

I like the BTZS mentioned above by Daniel Stone for 8x10 (and 4x5) because:

They're light-weight and fold up into a small, compact package so carrying them in the backpack is easy
They attach and unattach to the camera with elastic so you don't need to mess up your camera with Velcro strips
They can be opened as much as you want at the bottom to let some air in when it gets too hot or to exhale and inhale without fogging up the viewing screen.

They're more expensive than a tee shirt or something you throw together yourself from a fabric store but considering the cost of everything else you have to buy for LF photography they're a bargain.

[Andrew O'Neill]

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.

[Brian Ellis]

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.

Strange but I never noticed that problem in zero temperatures. Oh wait - I lived in Florida. : - )