Darkcloth acting as a Sail

[Martin Aislabie]

I have just had a few days in the North Yorkshire Dales with my 5x4

As the time went on I became increasingly frustrated with my Darkcloth


Firstly, in a strong breeze it would flap around a great deal

Secondly, it would inflate itself and become extremely difficult to fold up

Thirdly, if it was just laid on the ground it would take off and blow away

And last but not least, in one particularly windy location, while I was using it as a cover in a heavy rain shower, it managed to blow the complete Camera and Tripod over – definitely NOT recommended :shock:

It is a perfectly reasonable and manageable Darkcloth in the much more sheltered Warwickshire.

It just is outside its operating environment in the Pennines

Clearly, less sail area is required.

Has anyone a Darkcloth they would recommend that works effectively in strong winds.

I would prefer it to be rain/shower proof too

Thanks

Martin

[RH Designs]

Most of us are outside our operating environment in the Pennines ;).

Not being an LF user I can't really offer any suggestions, it's one of those things that I've always thought might be a problem with LF. It'll be interesting to see if anyone else has a solution.

[Phil]

Martin - not the most ideal solution and certainly not weather-proof, but two t-shirts one inside the other are fairly bulk free and if stick your head through the neck hole, they're not going anywhere. I haven't got round to elasticating the hem yet so they are difficult to keep on the camera - they do however make a lovely neck-warmer in colder weather ;)
Jack Dykinga's book, has lots of pretty decent tips for all weather photography.
Phil

[Jon Butler]

Martin,
I know exactly what you mean they are a pain in windy conditions.
Since I lost my Ebony cloth last year I've just used a black T-shirt and it works just fine for me.
I fit the neck over the back of the camera and poke my head up the waist but when it's really windy wear the T-shirt around your neck and just pull the waist over the camera back to view.
I used the T-shirt just to get over the loss of my D/cloth to start with until I could replace it but the T-shirt works as well or better than any I've used and lost, so it's a T-shirt for me.

[dsallen]

When I worked with large format (very many years ago) I made my own darkcloth - with two oblong pieces of black material sewn along the top and right-hand side (away from the camera back) with bottom sewn with a gap in the middle (big enough to get my head in) and the side facing the camera being open with a strong bit of elastic sewn into it. Darkcloth was secured to camera with the elasticated end, head in the hole in the bottom, move head backwards to tension and combat wind. Rain protection was an old cycling cape with a hole that fitted over lens. Lens was protected with a cheap UV filter that allowed focussing and was removed immediately prior to exposure. Worked very effectively even with raging winds and seas at Hartland Key.

[Neil Smith]

I now use a Blackjacket Focusing Cloth after buying it from another FADU member, no focusing cloth is perfect in extremely windy conditions but it is a huge improvement on a standard cloth and it is weather proof, so I often use it to protect the camera while it is still connected to the camera, only problem is there is no UK seller but the link below is to the US supplier.

http://www.quietworks.com/FRAMES_FILES/BJ_SPECIFICATIONS/BJ_NEW_HOME_FRAME_.htm

Neil

[DougHowk]

For my 4X5 Shen-Hao I'm switching to a hood (looks like those on Crown Graphics). For 8X10 & ULF I admit to getting frustrated with the lighter weight darkclothes flapping all around (hard to even see the corners); but they're a necessity since my larger cameras/filmholders are prone to light leaks. Do have a heavier one that will take out on next breezy day.

[DaveP]

Martin - not the most ideal solution and certainly not weather-proof, but two t-shirts one inside the other are fairly bulk free and if stick your head through the neck hole, they're not going anywhere. I haven't got round to elasticating the hem yet so they are difficult to keep on the camera - they do however make a lovely neck-warmer in colder weather ;)
Jack Dykinga's book, has lots of pretty decent tips for all weather photography.
Phil

I also use the double-tshirt trick, but on mine i did sew a thin bungee drawcord into the hem so its elasticated yet adjustable. Used 2 primark shirts, must have been about a quid fifty each. Hand holding the loupe goes in an armhole for focussing. Frankly i wouldn't dream of using a big flappy old fashioned sheet, it'd be a nightmare.

You could easily weatherproof the above by sewing a sheet of pertex or similar to the outside, or substituting the outer tshirt with a cheap single layer windproof top from Decathlon or something like that.

[Dave miller]

I use a BZTS dark cloth (http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=162), not cheap but well made.

[Adrian Twiss]

You may also want to look at Mike Walkers dark cloth http://www.walkercameras.com/a_darkcloth.html

Best described as "compact and bijou" but behaves itself in the wind. It also has a handy gap at the bottom so you can get your loupe in to focus.

[Paul Mitchell]

I can also recommend the BZTS darkcloth or if you're really feeling flush then there's this http://www.naturallyparamo.co.uk/Garments/Accessories/19761-/Páramo-Dark-Cloth

Paul

[Phil]

I can also recommend the BZTS darkcloth or if you're really feeling flush then there's this http://www.naturallyparamo.co.uk/Garments/Accessories/19761-/Páramo-Dark-Cloth

Paul

That's a crazy price for a bit of fabric (must be the Joe Cornish link).
It beats me why no one has ever attempted to make one from Ventile
http://www.ventile.co.uk/
It's cotton, soft, breathable and pretty damn lightproof. It will get stiff when wet, but dries quickly and is actually incredibly weather-proof; a ventile jacket is a wonderfully comfortable thing to wear . . . hmmm - I've nearly talked myself into having a go :)
Phil

[Argentum]

Reflex Viewer was my solution. Makes life easy. You just gotta leave your eye on it for a while to adjust to lighting. But if you want a real sail cloth I have a paraglider you can buy and then you can do some ariel work.

[Martin Aislabie]

You may also want to look at Mike Walkers dark cloth http://www.walkercameras.com/a_darkcloth.html

Best described as "compact and bijou" but behaves itself in the wind. It also has a handy gap at the bottom so you can get your loupe in to focus.

I had wondered about a Mike Walker Darkcloth

Seems to have a small sail area - which would be good in windy conditions

Do you know if it is waterproof/shower-proof ?

My preferred landscape lighting seems to be sunshine and showers - so inevitably there is a change of getting wet.

While I am fairly waterproof I cannot say the same for my camera and lenses

Martin

[Adrian Twiss]

I had wondered about a Mike Walker Darkcloth

Seems to have a small sail area - which would be good in windy conditions

Do you know if it is waterproof/shower-proof ?

My preferred landscape lighting seems to be sunshine and showers - so inevitably there is a change of getting wet.

While I am fairly waterproof I cannot say the same for my camera and lenses

Martin

I can't give you an answer on that as I have yet to use it in the rain. Its also impossible to tell by the feel of the material. I do know that its not machine washable (not that that's of any help)

[Paul Mitchell]

I know my BZTS is waterproof but still prefer to use a black bin bag and a big bulldog clip for when it rains. It also come in handy for when I have to rest my rucksack on wet sand.

Paul

[Trevor Crone]

Martin, one of the reasons why you really should consider the Ebony focusing hood. I know they are expensive, however there is the cheaper Robert White version with built-in screen magnifier. I leave mine attached to the SW45 at all times and has probably been the most useful LF accessory I've purchased. I just wished they made one for the 8x10....they probably would for a price:rolleyes: