I would like to find out which changing bag is best. Quite a while back on this site, a lot of people agreed that one particular brand, who's name I forget, was the worst. I honestly would like something not to bulky. Thanks for the advise.

-- Raven (mtand13@netreach.net), January 05, 2001

Answers

I personally recommend the Harrison film changing tents. They come in three sizes. They are superb in function and finish. In other threads, the Harrisons have been hands-down winners. They can be found at www.cameraessentials.com.

-- Glenn Kroeger (gkroeger@trinity.edu), January 06, 2001.

I faced the same decision about a month ago. After a little research I bought the Harrison tent (Med size for changing 4x5). It is quite small when stored and light enough to backpack. Assembles quickly and just feels better to me. That last one is subjective and I am comparing it to a Photoflex product where my arms never felt comfortable. I purchased from B&H, who seemed to have the most competitive price.

-- Stefan (wefewe@yahoo.com), January 06, 2001.

Raven, The harrison tents are very well built. I haven't tried the photoflex tent so I can't really compare the two, but I've been very happy with the harrison. I bought the 8x10 version and i would recommend this size even if you were to shoot 4x5 (lots of room!).

-- Dave Anton (daveanton@home.com), January 06, 2001.

Total agreement on the Harrison. For whatever it's worth, if you're trying to save room, even the 4X5 version is perfectly serviceable for 8X10. I've used it for that purpose for over a year now without problems. Never a light leak even when used in direct sun.

Nathan

-- Nathan Congdon (ncongdon@jhmi.edu), January 06, 2001.

Does anybody have a link for this Harrison tent? I have the infimous photoflex and I must say I find it ok.for 4"x5" but I've never seen the Harrison so I'd like to have a look, any Idea if any shop in England has it? I've seen a Fuji, very simple and huge when open and small but heavy(ish) when closed. Greetings.

-- Andrea Milano (milandro@multiweb.nl), January 06, 2001.

A search using "harrison film tent" on google.com will return plenty of links. About buying one, note that those tents are used a lot in the motion film industry, so the stores catering to this industry are likely to have it, which might be easier than trying to find a specialty photo store.

I have also seen something called the Shadow box which has a design similar to the Harrison. The Harrison beats the Photoflex hands down for compact storage, which is why I got it for travel. If that's important for you, no hesitation. On the other hand, even the old Photoflex sets up more quickly than the Harrison. The new Photoflex sets up like a folding reflector, ie instantly.

-- Q.-Tuan Luong (qtl@ai.sri.com), January 06, 2001.

I took delivery (this morning) of a Calumet changing tent. It sounds as if it is similar to the Photoflex, in as much as it is made of sprung hoops (similar to the lastolite reflector). This is a well made piece of kit that has a double zip opening and arm holes through the front a la the Harrison. It measures 41x41x54 cms when erected and folds down to 41x54x2cms when folded. It comes in a zip up case and is silver on the outside (again like the harrison). It has a padded base and is lightproof. It cost me less than a third of the price of the basic harrison here in the U.K.!!!!!!! For some reason Harrison tents are very expensive here so I opted for the Calumet. If money were no object then it would be a harrison BUT i am very pleased with the Calumet considering the difference in price I bought it mail order in the U.K from Speedgraphic. Regards Paul

-- paul owen (paulowen_2000@yahoo.com), January 08, 2001.