View camera black hood?

Okay I'll say it now I believe that view cameras (the massive square boxes on stands used in the 1850s) classifies as a "classic manual camera" however if I missed something please direct me to the correct forum.

 

Now my main question is, in every time you see these cameras the photographer puts his hesd under a thick black cloak. Why? It may be a noob question but what's the purpose of that hood? At first I thought it was the flash but, wouldn't the flash be aimed at the people having the photo taken?.

With a view camera, the lens projects an image onto a sheet of glass that has been chemically etched on one side so the photographer can see that image. It is inverted & has a low brilliance, so the hood keeps outside light from over powering the image. Aloha, Bill

The 'hood' is called a Dark Cloth.

As Bill said, its purpose is to exclude ambient light and enable the dim image projected on a ground-glass screen to be more easily seen.

 

Incidentally, in the 19th century it would have been more common for the screen to be physically ground using carborundum, than to be chemically etched. Such screens were quite inefficient and very dim.

 

Dark cloths were (are) still used with large format cameras. Monorail and 'technical' 5"x4" and 5"x7" cameras were commonly used in studios until the advent of digital. However, more modern etched viewing/focusing screens incorporate a fresnel condenser, which greatly improves their brightness. A simple folding/erecting hood is then sufficient to allow easy focusing, except in bright daylight where a dark cloth is still needed.

Both of my 4x5 cameras have pop-up hoods, but I often use the one in my avatar with at least an improvised dark cloth(a jacket) if not a proper one.

 

As said, it helps you see the screen in the camera. The glass also tends to be shiny and reflective, so without one you can end up looking over your shoulder rather than through the lens.

 

Using one saves a lot of eyestrain and tends to improve your focusing accuracy(or at least makes it easier to get the focus correct). As a lowly 4x5 shooter, I'm spending $2-10 every time I click the shutter. The 8x10 guys are usually starting with dimmer screens AND every shot costs them 4x that amount.

 

New ones are still available

 

Harrison Silver Classic Dark Cloth - Small 2035 B&H Photo Video

Dark cloths are old technology. There are also in-line and reflex viewing hoods (monocular and binocular). Sinar's binocular viewing hood for their 6x9 cameras is a joy to use, as is, e.g., Cambo's for their 4x5 cameras.

 

That said, a loupe, power to suit the user, can be used to focus under a dark cloth but can't be used with a viewing hood. My Cambo 4x5er has 2x lenses which aren't always quite powerful enough. The usual loupe recommendation -- users' preferences are sometimes quite different -- is around 4x.

Dark cloths are old technology. There are also in-line and reflex viewing hoods (monocular and binocular). Sinar's binocular viewing hood for their 6x9 cameras is a joy to use, as is, e.g., Cambo's for their 4x5 cameras.

 

I very nearly bought a Sinar a couple of weeks ago-in fact it sat in the store for a couple of weeks and when I made up my mind to buy it, they told me it had just walked out 15 minutes before.

 

In any case, it was a 4x5 and did have the binoculars. It was probably the easiest to focus view camera I've ever used.

 

I have a 4x Peak that I use for both slides and GG focusing, and I can use it with the hood in place on both of my cameras. That's a good thing since-unlike my Speed Graphic-the hood is not removable on my B&J.

For anyone watching this thread & contemplating getting into Large Format, get a dark cloth that has white on the outside, black on the inside. . . if it is sunny, your head will stay a bit cooler while focusing. Bill

I forget to mention that binocular viewing hoods have a drawback. They're heavy and will pull the focusing panel out of position. My Cambo 4x5er does this, so does my friend's 6x9 Sinar. I have a Cambo 4x5 monocular reflex viewer, also one of their 4x5 in-line viewers, one of their 2x3 in-line viewers and a Horseman 6x9 monocular reflex viewer. All but the Horseman attach to the focusing panel, none pulls it back.

 

The Horseman replaces the viewing panel, is quite dim. It was a gift, stays home.

The problem of a dim image on the ground glass is not limited to large format cameras. On the early SLRs with waist-level finders (e.g., pre-war Praktica and Exakta) if you stopped the lens down to shooting aperture, you were essentially blind without a dark cloth.

pre-war Praktica

Just to be accurate, that is technically to say "Praktiflex" not Praktica.

While I'm sure the OP has now got it! Consider how often you wish you had a "hood" for your smart phone in the bright daylight?

While I'm sure the OP has now got it! Consider how often you wish you had a "hood" for your smart phone in the bright daylight?

 

Good idea.

Dark cloth and a loupe for me and my Linhof 4x5. The folding hood is nice but it rarely is enough for these tired eyes.