Muslin or Paper Background?

Gypsy_Biker

Gypsy_Biker

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I see that Lencarta have their background supports back in stock, I've been thinking of getting one of theses. But what background?

I did a search and saw lots of threads on backgrounds, but not an answer to this question.
So what are the pros and cons of using muslin or paper? I'm interested in grey if that makes a difference.
 
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Paper Pros - cheap, disposable, no ironing !
Paper Cons - creases, tears, fragile !

Fabric Pros - washable, longer lasting. tougher.
Fabric cons - CREASES, CREASES and CREASES oh and getting it to hang flat.

I started off with fabric, I now have paper as I hate ironing !
 
don't forget vinyl, we have 2 rolls and they are still in working order after over 15,000 images put through them :)

They are heavy though and around £200 a go
 
Once youve tried vinyl you wont use anything else, I use lastolite superwhite, its awesome.
 
That's the stuff :) we use a 3m by 12m I think. Another thing we have introduced to the studio lately is a product called studiotac, it gives us a slight reflection and stays clean for ages.

50m x 4ft is £200 but would last ages, we coverd the catwalk in it after trying every paint on the planet....
 
Some interesting views...
My experience of this is that
1. Vinyl and paper are both good for blown out white, paper is better than vinyl if it is not going to be blown out. It tends to hang better and is easier to light selectively. Muslin is fine too, as long as it is stretched out properly (no need to iron) to avoid having too many creases - but because some creases are unavoidable, it may need slightly more light on it.
2. Muslin is better than either paper or vinyl for black. Both paper and vinyl are typically too shiny for black. Muslin isn't the ideal material but it's the ideal affordable material.
3. Any material is fine for Chroma key, as long as it isn't too shiny.
4. Paper is by far the best for grey, the creases in muslin can cause problems.

Vinyl is a good all round, economical material, but it doesn't pay to buy cheaply - a lot of the vinyl sold for photographic backgrounds are either far too shiny, or have a textured finish that isn't suitable.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Some interesting views...
My experience of this is that
1. Vinyl and paper are both good for blown out white, paper is better than vinyl if it is not going to be blown out. It tends to hang better and is easier to light selectively. Muslin is fine too, as long as it is stretched out properly (no need to iron) to avoid having too many creases - but because some creases are unavoidable, it may need slightly more light on it.
2. Muslin is better than either paper or vinyl for black. Both paper and vinyl are typically too shiny for black. Muslin isn't the ideal material but it's the ideal affordable material.
3. Any material is fine for Chroma key, as long as it isn't too shiny.
4. Paper is by far the best for grey, the creases in muslin can cause problems.

Vinyl is a good all round, economical material, but it doesn't pay to buy cheaply - a lot of the vinyl sold for photographic backgrounds are either far too shiny, or have a textured finish that isn't suitable.
Click to expand...

Hi Garry
Which vinyl would you recommend? Looking for something I can use in people's homes.
 
PatrickO said:
Hi Garry
Which vinyl would you recommend? Looking for something I can use in people's homes.
Click to expand...

Frankly I don't know - just avoid the cheapies on fleabay and you should be OK. What you need is something that is smooth without being shiny, and which is heavy enough to hold its shape. Vinyl actually designed for signwriting and for sheeting up lorries but sold as suitable for photographic backgrounds, is useless.
 
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