Darkcloth

[david_rose3]

This is not a question- just a tip. I was packing my 4x5 field kit

for a trip from Detroit to Yosemite and trying to think of ways to

save weight and bulk (we've all been there). I was folding my Zone VI

darkcloth, which is a great piece of equipment but very heavy, when I

had an idea for a lighter, smaller alternative. I packed my REI

polartech black pull-over instead. The plan was to use it as a

sweater in the cooler air of the higher elevations and also as a

darkcloth by pulling the neck hole over my head and putting the waist

opening over the back of the camera. It saved a lot of weight and

bulk and worked very well as a darkcloth- I almost prefer it to my

regular cloth!

[chris_jordan3]

i've been using a 3x3' swatch of black tee-shirt material as my dark cloth all these years, except when i forget it, in which case i use whatever jacket i happen to be wearing!

 

~cj

[chiba]

My brand new darkcloth is made from two sheets of necktie material (kind of a heavy, silky material). Basically I have two layers, one black and the other white, sewn together at the edges and then across the middle. The white side goes on the outside so I don't cook. It was very cheap, folds up really small, is lightproof and also hangs well. In use so far I find it best to kind of scrunch it between the monorail and the bellows so it forms a tube, although maybe velcro's a better option. I like it a lot, but then again it's not been windy so far...

[paul_coppin]

A tube may not be a bad idea - after playing around with a number of velcroed elasticised variations, I was watching a TV program that was profiling a photography student who was shooting architectural interiors. Her darkcloth was a tube of velvet-like cloth abt a 1-1 1/2 ft in diameter (50cm) that was around the GG (a Sinar if I remember correctly) at one end, and the other end was basically just big enough around for her to easily stick her head into. Considering the flopping around I do with the more traditional blankets, her idea I think has some real merit and I might make one up and see.

[ken_burns1]

On one photographic trip, I somehow managed to forget my darkcloth. Luckily, the weather was cool and I had taken a jacket along. This particular jacket had a high collar that pulls up over your chin as well as a pull cord along the bottom hem to prevent cold air from entering there. All I had to do was zip the jacket up, pull it over my head upside down with my head stuck through the collar. The high collar provided a very efficient light trap. I could then drape the waist opening of the jacket over the camera so that when I pull the hem cord tight it sealed nicely around the camera. This arrangement worked beautifully, but for some reason I still use the darkcloth even if I have the jacket along. This problem, though, was much easier to solve than the time I forgot the tripod.

[adrian_ngasi1]

Go to your local Bed, Bath and Beyond or Linen and Things and get a black laundry bag. You may want to open the otherside and put elastic band on the opening and voila! Very light and very good. I used it in East Africa this summer and I was happy with it.

 

Adrian

[bruce watson]

The people at BTZS already thought of this and made a product very similar to using a pull-over. You can see it at:

 

http://viewcamerastore.com/

 

In the categories (upper left hand corner of web page) click on "BTZS Products" then click on BTZS Focusing Hoods.

 

My 4x5 hood is about the same cost/weight as a fleece, and it works a lot better for me (I like to breath when I do this kind of work). I use it to wrap my camera body in when it's in the backpack. Doesn't flap around in the wind either.

[dimitri]

I too have used similar tricks, but recently I bought an in line viewer. You just clamp it on the GG and do not need to bother with a darkcloth.

Not the best solution (if you need to use a loupe) but makes life a lot easier.