Use of the dark cloth

[MarkL]

I don't use a dark cloth with 4x5, I use a fold-out hood.

I'd like to get me one of those. Do you know of one that can be attached to a wooden field camera?

[Jose LS Gil]

I never use a dark focusing cloth while shooting night shots or in a dark studio.
If the cloth causes your camera to topple over with a light wind, I would suggest investing in a larger tripod.
One of my focusing cloths has a white side to help me and the camera keep cool on hot sunny days. One other focusing cloth has a rubber (vulcanized) coating, good for damp days.
You can probably get away with a dark t-shirt, but it will not be as dark. Many photogs just use a dark coat draped over their head while focusing. There is no written rule as for what you should use. What works great at one place, might not be as comfortable at the next site. The whole point is to be as comfortable shooting as possible, so you can concentrate on getting a great photo and not spend time fussing with the equipment.
If your film holders have light leaks, either fix them or replace them. Why ruin the great-once-in-a-lifetime-photo, due to a bad film holder?
Thats just IMHO.


Jose

[mfratt]

I've never used a folding focusing hood, but I'd really like to give one a shot. I find that securing my dark cloth on the camera and preventing it from sailing in the wind is quite a hassle in some circimstances. Though, in an ideal situation, I really enjoy being under the darkcloth and feel it definitely has its place over the focusing hoods

[Jose LS Gil]

The foldout focusing hood are usually found on Speed and Crown Graphic cameras. They do a good job too. My old Graphic View also had a metal hood, but it clipped in and one of the clips broke off. These are very fragile compared to the Speed and Crown Graphic's hood.

Mfratt, if your focusing cloth is falling off or flapping around. You can add weight to the corners of the cloth by adding large washers (sew them in a corner). Also, you can put some velcro on one side of the cloth. You can then wrap the cloth around your camera and secure it with the velcro. Try using clothe line pins, when you wrap the cloth around the camera, but they tend to come off easily. Better yet, use the small plastic clamps to hold the focusing cloth around your camera.
Some have velcro added to the camera's rear standard and attach the focusing cloth that way. But then you will have one side of velcro stuck on the camera's rear standard

[mfratt]

My dark cloth actually came with velcro on one side, but its still not much use when its blowing over my head! I'll have to try sewing some weights into the corners, especially since I'm one who like to be out in rather nasty (as most "normal" people would consider it) weather.

[fschifano]

I suppose a good way to test this would be to sacrifice a sheet of film, load it into the camera and pull the dark slide. Either leave it in direct sunlight for ten minutes or so, or spend some time passing a powerful flashlight around every crevasse of the camera and film holder. Develop the film to see if theres anything other than a blank negative.

Oh no, don't sacrifice a sheet of film for this. A cheap piece of enlarging paper cut to size to fit the holder will work just fine for this test. Trust me. I check my holders regularly like this using the cheapest paper I can find.

[z3guy]

I wouldn't sew weights into a dark cloth! I have one that came that way and when it gets windy they can blow around and break the GG or damage the lens. Don't ask me how I know these things, but I have seen it happen.

Paul

[holmburgers]

For what it's worth, I use a bath towel that has elastic sewn around the waist. My mom bought it for me when I was in the dorms at college and although I've never used it for that, it's been a decent dark cloth.

[Jose LS Gil]

Oh no, don't sacrifice a sheet of film for this. A cheap piece of enlarging paper cut to size to fit the holder will work just fine for this test. Trust me. I check my holders regularly like this using the cheapest paper I can find.

Frank, that is a very good idea. Specially if you are using 8X10 format or larger.

[Jose LS Gil]

I wouldn't sew weights into a dark cloth! I have one that came that way and when it gets windy they can blow around and break the GG or damage the lens. Don't ask me how I know these things, but I have seen it happen.

Paul

You can add weight by sewing in little sand baggies, if metal weights are a problem.
I would suggest magnets, but they don't work too well with wood cameras