Dark cloth with built in rain protection?

Stephanie Brim · Mar 29, 2008

I've been thinking. Springs in the midwest are oftentimes unpredictable. It can be sunny one minute and raining the next.

So...anyone ever waterproofed their dark cloth?

I'm thinking that, since I'm making my own, there has to be a way to do this. I was thinking of using some sort of waterproof material on one side and then the normal cotton fabric on the other.

Any ideas?

PhotoJim · Mar 29, 2008

It should work. The only thing you're going to have to watch is to wipe down the outside of your cloth after each use. Otherwise, all that water that didn't soak in (less what dripped off) will pour into whatever you put the cloth into.

I find that unless it's really wet, a non-waterproof cloth is alright. In really heavy rain it would be a different matter, though.

bfurner · Mar 29, 2008

One problem with the waterproofed dark cloth might be its breathability. When summer rolls around and you are shooting on a 90+ deg day you may wish you had something a bit airier when you are under a really hot dark cloth.

Take a look at the BlackJacket. I have had one for a little over a year and like it quite a bit. It may not be totally waterproof, but will protect your gear in light rain.

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

Stephanie Brim · Mar 29, 2008

There are reasons I'm making my own. One is that I don't have more than $25 to put out for this at this time, and I found some discounted thick black cotton fabric that would work really well for $4 or $5 per yard.

Jim Noel · Mar 29, 2008

If I was to make a waterproof dark cloth I would only use Goretex because it breathes. It is somewhat expensive.

An alternative is to make the outer layer of a dense white material and spray it with a water resistant material. such as silicone. This should make it more usable in all kinds of weather.

JBrunner · Mar 29, 2008

Stephanie Brim said:
There are reasons I'm making my own. One is that I don't have more than $25 to put out for this at this time, and I found some discounted thick black cotton fabric that would work really well for $4 or $5 per yard.

Hi Stephanie,

Heres my suggestion, having used and gone through allot of things.

Make your dark cloth as functional as possible. That means breathable, trust me, you don't want a jungle under there fogging up your GG and dripping sweat in your eyes while you're tryng to compose and focus a masterpiece. It can be plenty bad enough with one that "breathes" Make it two layers, black for the inside and silver or white for the outside (white on the outside makes a huge difference), with some weight in the corners so it doesn't blow around as easy. Some people use velcro in such a way as to be able to stick the the dark cloth together around the "hole" over the GG.

To protect your camera from weather, get a small, cheap, lightweight, and waterproof tarp and a couple of office clips to hold it gathered. The cheapest, smallest, (and cheesiest) of the blue colored tarps at the big box home store is what I use. They fold small, I carry a couple for "whatever" in my jeep.

If you sneeze under there, well, that can be a problem.

Stephanie Brim · Mar 29, 2008

Yeah, I saw that video.

Good suggestions. I do like the waterproof spray idea, and the tarp idea is actually nice, too.

Palantiri7 · Mar 29, 2008

The Ebony darkcloth I use is waterproof, and very lightweight. It is, however, immensely expensive.

waynecrider · Mar 29, 2008

I've got a dark cloth you can cut down. Rain proof is another matter that a spray product might handle.

Did you get my email or PM. That enlarger is too small.

winger · Mar 29, 2008

I made one using a relatively dense, but lightweight black cloth for the inside and that fabric for covering ironing boards on the outside. It's basically a big rectangle that fastens along a side with velcro and has a cord through one end to tighten it around the back of the camera. I don't know how waterproof it might be, but it's got some resistance to water. It hasn't been that hot to use, yet, either. It does mess my hair up though. I think the materials cost less than $20 and I have some left. PM me if you're interested in the leftover pieces (they might be enough to make a whole one).

Mark_S · Mar 29, 2008

Mine is a waterproof, light colored material on the outside, a dark material on the inside, with an elastic neck that goes around the GG. When it is moist out, I just poke my head through the elastic opening and wear it as a cape.

photomc · Mar 29, 2008

Go with what you were thinking about and make your own for now, better to spend the money on film/chemistry. For a cheap waterproof, nothing like a plastic trash bag (one that lets you close the top) to cover said camera as rain gear...plus it will stay on better than the darkcloth. Works great and is a cheap work around, until a later time, when you feel you have the money to spend on one of the nicer ones...it's what I used to do. Now - I have a BlackJacket, and love it.

smieglitz · Mar 29, 2008

I bought some aluminized nylon from Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics to make a portable darktent. I also used some of the material to make a darkcloth for my 11x14 camera. The darkcloth is essentially a large tube of this fabric with a drawstring on one end. I get inside the thing and let it fall over my back in use. Lots of room inside to move my arms around and a simple matter to reach outside to get at the camera controls. Best darkcloth I've ever used.

It is lightweight and collapses to almost nothing. Silver on the outside and black on the inside, water-repellent (perhaps even waterproof). I've used it to stay dry and cover my camera in the rain.

How large a piece do you need? I may have some left over from the bolt I bought if you want to try it.

Joe

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 29, 2008

You could just carry an umbrella, which is also handy for shielding the camera from the wind.

Palantiri7 · Mar 30, 2008

Joe has just given me ideas for my new portable outhouse...

MurrayMinchin · Mar 30, 2008

All those ideas are pretty good for an occasional dinky sprinkle, but here's what I do for real rain forest chucking down buckets of rain situations

For the camera I use a small rain poncho over my focusing cloth; one that when the 'neck' is snapped shut around the lens standard the poncho extends over the lens, the camera, myself, and the rest of the focusing cloth. I also carry a small tarp that get tossed onto muddy ground for my pack to sit on that's also big enough to wrap over the pack; this way I can rummage through the camera bag for stuff without everything inside getting wet from above, and my pack doesn't absorb 5 pounds of water while it's on the ground.

Murray

smieglitz · Mar 30, 2008

Palantiri7 said:
Joe has just given me ideas for my new portable outhouse...

Dead Link Removed Rory. "...supports 800 lbs"

Joe

Palantiri7 · Mar 30, 2008

Thank you, Joe. Looks like that will work just fine for my pet elephant.

Bandicoot · Mar 31, 2008

I remember in the past seeing adverts for military surplus Goretex ponchos that were pretty cheap. Don't know if one of those would work as a darkcloth, not having seen one, but I seem to recall they sold for less than the cost of the fabric new.

Just a thought,

Peter

michael9793 · Mar 31, 2008

The best out there is the ebony cloth it is water proof and you can use there bracket which allows you to even have it 4-5inches over the lens so you can protect it and photograph. if you don't own a ebony you can use a hot flash connector from a old 35mm camera and mount it on the front standard and then the clamp bracket can go on that. check out the ebony accessories for details.

Dark cloth with built in rain protection?

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