Dark cloth... your input requested

[james phillips]

I have read through the previous posts on this subject and most seem related as to whether one should place weights in the corners or edges to hold them down. Well fortunate for me, my wife has generously offered to make a new dark cloth as a present for my camera. In order to offer her constructive suggestions in regards to size (dimensions), shape and closure type I thought I would post the question here. Does anybody wish to make a few helpful suggestions? Perhaps you already own a commercial item such as the Calumet , Zone VI, or perhaps Ebony and would like to comment on your likes and dislikes of these designs.

 

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Kind regards,

[david_rose3]

I use the Zone VI cloth which is great. It has the weights in the

corners, black cloth inside, white outside, and cotton fabric- all

important features. I briefly used a Calumet cloth that was black

polyester, which made my hair stand on end with static.

[john_hicks]

The only caveat I know of about weights comes from a photographer who got whapped on the noggin a couple of times when the wind whipped his darkcloth around.

[michael_mahoney1]

Check out the tube style darkcloths, BTZS makes one, and you could

probably fashion your own. they fit snugly around the camera and your

head, and keep the ambient light from below out as well. another

positive is their better wind performance. I found an old nylon golf

bag head cover with elastic around both openings, just the right

size, and folds to about the size of a pack of cigarettes. I've also

uesd a t-shirt with an elastic cord put through the waist - worked

very well. My experience with the "horseblanket" style cloths were

not good ones - poor performance in windy conditions, which seems to

be just about all the time where I live, and too much light gets in

from below.

[dave_anton]

I agree with Michael, a tube style dark cloth (with an elastic

draw cord) made for your camera would be my first choice, they block

out the light all the way around.

[gary_frsot]

You are so lucky to have your wife to custom make the perfect

dark cloth. My wife made one for me as well. I too prefer the

elastic style like the BTZS. I will add that mine is white on

the outside to keep down the summer heat and also as David mentions

above, at least the black liner must be cotton to control static.

Make sure to select a black fabric dense enough to block sunlight!

With the tube style, there is no need for weights. I have the bottom

sewn out about 14 inches: Enough to seal out light from below but

still open for ventilation or to avoid fogging the GG.

[dan_smith]

I made one with GoreTex type material in black on one side and fleece

on the other. Really keeps out the wind and in a pinch I can use it

to keep dry in the rain and warm when cool nights & early mornings

come around while I am waiting for the light to get right for a photo.

Just be aware it is warm in hot weather but can serve as a nice warm

wrap when needed as well as a good dark cloth. NO corner weights as I

have seen the wind blow them into a ground glass which then turned

into a pile of glass shards.

Use clips to hold it onto the camera in breezy conditions or sew in

velcro tabs.

[andy-]

With regard to the BTZS type dark cloths, how do you get your

arms in there to focus with a loupe?

[matt_oulman]

Have your wife sew some elastic into the waistband of a heavy/dark Tee

shirt or sweatshirt to fit your camera back.

viola!

Slip the elastic over your camera back, stick your head through the

"head-hole" and arms through the "arm-holes"....

Best dark cloth you can get!

[marcus_leonard]

Matt, this is a truly good suggestion, which answers Andy's question.

In fact, I planned on buying a cloth today, I guess I settle for a

T-shirt. Great. Sorry B&H :) Thanks!

[paul_owen]

Hi Grey Wolf, I use the horse blanket type at the moment, but removed

the weights from the corners! I have stuck velcro on the inside so

that once draped over my head/camera I can seal the bottom and sides

to prevent it flapping in the wind and allowing light in at the base.

The only thing that puts me off the BTZS type is this, how do you

manage to load a film holder without having to take the entire

contraption off your head/camera?? The cloth also doubles as a

blanket for when its nippy!! Regard

[jim_galli1]

I also use a variation of the Tshirt idea but mine is a very dark

navy heavy material sweatshirt. No other mods. I was at Mono lake in

the Eastern Sierra with the Deardorff working my way around the loop

trail at the Tufa area when a nasty little squal blew in and started

snowing on me. Boy was that sweatshirt nice, and any pictures after

that were short ones where most of the contemplation was how quick can

I make this happen and get back into this sweatshirt before I freeze

to death.

[jeff_buckels]

If you're going with the horseblanket design, which I do, here is the

DEFINITIVE AND AUTHORITATIVE AND FINAL answer on weighting: Go to

your neighborhood fabric store. They will probably have these little

lead strings that are made to weight the bottoms of curtains and even

some dresses. They are, you know, about 3/32 of an inch in diameter

"strings" of whatever length. Sew the string into the edges on two

opposite sides of the horseblanket. These are the sides that will

hang down along the front to back line of your camera. Adds a little

weight, of course, but no chance of getting bopped in the face, etc.

Makes the blanket behave really nicely.... A couple other advantages

to the horseblanket style: (1) It's flexible. You can try various

configurations of velcro etc. till you find what you like. The BZTX

(?!) style can only be used one way. (2) It drapes very nicely over

the whole camera body: You drape one end over a darkslide on top of

the front std. to make a dandy lens hood; it masks the bellows re: any

possible light leaks (very few bellows are perfectly light tight); and

it masks the back re: any little light leaks along film back edges

etc. (just move it aside a bit when you remove and replace the

darkslide).... -jeff buckels

[nick_jones]

About the time I was returning a pathetic synthetic "cloth" to B&H

the Sept./Oct. 2000 View Camera arrived with Gordon Hutchings'

article "How to Make a Darkcloth," pp. 64-66, which I highly

recommend. Fortunately my wife and companion shooter Marilyn is an

excellent seamstress and we were able to put together a DC following

Hutchings' suggestions.

 

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We needed a big cloth for our 8x10 field, but the bolts at our

neighborhood fabric store measured only 60", so we decided to sew two

pieces together, which was necessary anyway since we couldn't find

the broadcloth recommended by Hutchings. Black 100% knit cotton is

not completely opaque, but it is nice and stretchy. Marilyn sewed 3

and 1/2 sides together, then turned it inside out; the final portion

of the fourth side she sewed all the way through on a sewing machine

("whipping it together" she calls it). The final product is 7 by 5

feet; we use it sideways. The extra length allows adequate room for

pulling and replacing the dark slide under cover. We looked for the

chain bead that Jeff mentioned and couldn't find it, but the sheer

weight of the cloth holds it down under most conditions; if it were

any windier, photography with a big camera wouldn't be possible

anyway.

 

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When folded, the cloth goes into our soft carrying bag on the side

opposite the GG, offering some protection.

 

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This may be a horseblanket, Grey Wolf, but it gets the job done,

although admittedly I am still dealing at this early stage with some

so far undiagnosed light leaks. Good shooting, Nick.

[georges_pelpel1]

I also like the BTZS darkcloth. If you make a custom one I would

suggest that you use a breathable material. The BTZS tube uses a

waterproof nylon non breathable material which is very bothersome in

cold weather as condensation stays inside the bag and covers your

groundglass. Otherwise the design is great with a velcro closing for

hand and loupe operation.

[bob_moulton]

TheBTZS cloths are useful,BUT IMHO the opening that fits about the

camera is too snug. It is a hassle if you move from behind to the

front to the film bag, etc. So I would recommend a cloth shaped

similarly to that one but with a drawstring, not elastic. I cut the

elastic cord out of my BTZS, this after ordering a 5x7 cloth to fit a

smallish 4x5 field camera.Velcro works also, though the drawstring

works better in a tube like the BTZS

For bellows extension, having a cloth tape measure sewn into one side

assists you in determining exposure increases when bellows draw is

long.

As for material. though costly, black ultrasuede, with a white

nylon,cotton, etc--white, free of snags and not fleecy, makes for a

very durable and very blackout darkcloth.

I had one made that will outlast me.

Bob

[ellis_vener_photography]

<I>"With regard to the BTZS type dark cloths, how do you get your

arms in there to focus with a loupe? <P>

-- Andy (akkup@mindspring.com), August 15, 2001. "</I><P>

I hang the loupe around my neck from it's lanyarn and keep it

inside the BTZS "tube." I then grasp the loupe through the cloth.

[dan_smith]

So far we have missed the real questions as to what a true darkcloth

is.

1. What did Ansel use?

2. What did Fox-talbot use?

[tim_atherton2]

" We solved this with a homemade version (when the rubberised

darkcloth prooved too hot for desert shooting): two layers of black

sateen topped with one layer of white, the peices sewn together so

that no stitches pierced all three layers. The whole thing was two

yards square, large enough to clip onto the back of the camera and

anchor around the photographer in high wind. I threatened to wear it

as a cape should we find oursleves in a fine dining situation while

on the road. White cloths based on this model have since become

standard for hot weather work" Charis Wilson as she set out with

Edward Weston on his Guggenheim Fellowship trip ( where Weston also

shot with St. Ansel in Yosemite).

[jorge_gasteazoro]

In regards as to how to put the film holder with the BTZS dark cloth

is easy, the cloth has a velcro strip running along the entire lenght

of the cloth, once you have focused you rip the cloth open and drape

it over the camera, it protects the exposure against pinhole leaks

and you dont have to fight with it in windy situations, unlike the

horse blanket.

My only complaint is the same as everybody elses, I dont understand

why they chose a waterproof material, in winter you get condenstation

in the gg, in summer is about 200 degrees inside the cloth.....but is

definetly better than the horse blanket, I used to have a zone VI,

now I use it as a reflector.....

[paul_owen]

It seems that the general consensus of opinion is that the BTZS tube

is the best design, spoiled only by the choice of material. Is it

worth any of our friends across the pond lobbying Darkroom

Innovations (on behalf of us living outside the US)with a view to

offering one in a breathable material. Although in the UK, I would

happily send an email to them. What is the likely chance of this

happening? Regards Paul

[michael_mahoney1]

Paul - I think BTZS will already customize a cloth for you - you may

want to check with them directly - if not, it's a pretty obvious

pattern they use - a capable seamstress should be able to come up

with the same thing in a different material.

[mark_audas1]

I have the BTZS tube and a more conventional silver/black cloth made

by Harrison (the film changing tent company). The Harrison model has

velcro at one end so you can wrap it around the camera. My preference

is for the Harrison because I found the velcro zipper on the long

axis of the BTZS tube annoying. Personal preference I suppose.

Darkroom Innovations sells the BTZS. Badger Graphics carries the

Harrsion.