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After 20+ years with the same darkcloth I feel the need for an upgrade - has anyone any experience of one of our sponsor -Blackjacket's- product?
Do I order it through the UKLF or direct and do we merit a discount (and before Paul O gets in - yes - even us Linhof users)
Ian

Take a look at the BTZS focus hood http://www.viewcamerastore.com/product_ ... ucts_id=32. This is the best hood I have found as it has velcro on the bottom, to open it more or less, and a shaping at the head end which tends to hold the hood on your head rather than have it fall between your eyes and the screen.

Second the BTZS hood, had one for a few days now and quite like it, well made and light. Took about 12 days to come from the US and cost £25ish pounds+£5 p+p

Gari

Great - thank you both - will order one (presume it will fit a Linhof.....!)
Begs the question as to why we have Blackjacket as a sponsor or is there something I don't know........
Ian

Some people prefer the blackjacket darkcloth....
The arms on the side make life quite easy. We have a couple of them to try at the workshops, so if you are prepared to wait...

I bought a hybrid one and I absolutely love it. One of the best investments I have made last year (apart from maybe the Nikon 120 ED AM for USD 300).

Marc

Ian Biggar wrote:After 20+ years with the same darkcloth I feel the need for an upgrade - has anyone any experience of one of our sponsor -Blackjacket's- product?
Do I order it through the UKLF or direct and do we merit a discount (and before Paul O gets in - yes - even us Linhof users)
Ian

There will be a comparison review of the following 4x5 focusing hoods in the upcoming 3rd issue of MAGNAchrom:

• BTZS Focus Hood
  BlackJacket Focusing Cloth with sleeves
  GnassGear Focusing CLoth
  Ted Burford's Custom Focusing Hood

While the review has literally just started this weekend, I can say that they are all good products and each has its pluses and minuses. Much of it depends on your particular camera and shooting style. (For example: not all of the above work particularly well with my Linhof Technikardan back). Conveying this in a magazine article is daunting but I aim to give it a try.

The 3rd issue should be out on Feb 14th

A friend has a Gnass Gear and he is more than happy with that, I liked it too, the fabric is soft,making it easy and comfortable to use. I didn't get one simply because it is a more open design and as I have the darkest screen in the world I needed all the "dark", a darkcloth could provide!!

Gari

Couple of things - thanks to all who made comments - I look fwd to "The Test", Michael - keep up the good work.
Due to a tech error (honest, guv!) my purchase of the Bitz cloth did not go through so I am still in the market and I just read your review on the other LF website Paul O - thanks for that. (Are you still coming north of the border sometime?)
Question - are the ones that the group have for sale or do they belong to kind hearted individuals who let greasy haired photogs stick their heads underneath ?

Thanks
Ian

Hi Ian,

From my experience of darkcloths:

Basic sheet of single layer material - lightweight and great for inside work where there might be low light levels - churches etc. I added some velcro to mine and it makes it a bit better in the wind. This is my normal choice unless it's windy (why bother anyway when conditions are like this) and / or rainy.

Camera Essentials / Harrison darkcloth - I have the one for 4x5 that's something like 48" x 52" and it's massive - Batman impressions are easy as it goes down my back almost to my knees! Waterproof and fairly windproof but I found that in a wind, it blows up like a sausage between the inner black and outer silver layers It has strong velcro sections on it which allow you to fasten it around the bellows and also around the front tripod leg (assuming it's pointing forwards.) This is a neat idea for keeping it in position but I find it restricts your movement under the darkcloth and "holds" the camera fairly rigidly.

Morco horse blanket - bought in a rash of spending at last year's Focus. Is more light-tight than my single sheet but the weight is a lot more and it's relatively inflexible (maybe needs washing a couple of times.) I took it out and had a go but found that as I moved my head away from the g/g the weight of the cloth dragged back the camera and tripod (you, know, these light and flimsy Ebonys ) Your brick outhouse of a Linhof may be more solid at resisting movement...

The only plus of the Morco one is that it's black & red - Dracula impressions possible

Andy

PS I hadn't forgotten about your PM before / over Christmas - I just want to finally get out and try a few things with the camera to see whether an angle finder would be some use or it's just lugging around another gadget for the sake of it and never using it...

I used to walk around with a Dracula Kit as well. The weight is a real pain.

I now use that one when I'm in the studio, which is relatively rare, nowadays.

Marc

I still stick to the simple solution: I picked up a very dense black Levi's T-shirt at a sale a few years ago. The neck fits snugly around the back of 5x4" and 7x5" cameras; I reverse it for 8x10" and up. The short sleeves allow easy access with a loupe for exact focusing. The arm hole I'm not using simply flaps closed on its own accord.

If it's good enough to stand in sunlight and focus on a dark forest scene with a 90mm f:8 on a 7x5" camera, I'd say that it's good enough for me!

I'm will Ole on this one, a simple dark tee shirt works well for me.

I was once advised that an old fleece type top was the ideal solution as it is a bit darker than a tee shirt and therefore better for open landscape shots. It would of course need to have the sleeves removed.

Tee shirt can also double as a neck warmer in the winter, especially in the highlands.

Dave