Impressed so far.

[I @ M]

I asked for a sample square of a polypropylene backdrop to be sent up a while ago and after seeing how it seemed to defy creasing ( or at least iron itself back into shape ) I bought a roll of white.

I have used it once, yesterday , deliberately with no lighting on it and it seems to take on a very even ( almost neutral grey ) colour and texture and doesn't impart a colour cast. I will experiment more with lighting on it this weekend to see how it spreads light.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9582534/B%20A%20and%20A10-21-2010%2013-07-40.JPG

[old dog]

looks pretty good Andrew...no creases sounds very good to me. I bought some black velvet type material but alas, it does crease a bit.

[I @ M]

Graeme, I deliberately creased the 50mm square sample very very harshly and it "sprang" back into shape sitting on the desk over night.

It is even a lot more forgiving than paper and doesn't seem to be as reflective.

I forgot the details on where I got it from before. ------- http://www.vanbar.com.au/catalogue/index.php?item1=STUDIO&item2=BACKGROUND&item3=SYNTHETIC&brand=

[Kym]

thanks! Looks good, how does it perform with proper lighting?

[Lani]

That looks extremely interesting Andrew, I have been considering vinyl, but this is a lot more affordable.
What does the durability seem like?

[I @ M]

Kym, I haven't tried it with light full on to it yet, from the one or two shots that I took with some light spilling onto it the material seems to diffuse it well.

Lani, the pictured sample measures approx 65 x 55 mm and that little piece has been screwed up, folded in 4, rubbed on a dirty floor, then cut with scissors and torn by hand. :D

After sitting by itself for a while it seems to return to somewhere near original shape. It also takes a fair amount of effort to tear it by hand ( just before the photo was taken ) along the line of the scissor cut.

Think of an indestructible "chux" dish washing cloth that is quite "stiff".

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9582534/backdrop10-23-2010%2011-25-30.JPG

[elyshiamadison]

That looks like an affordable and great background..... might have to get some to test as well! Whats the weight of it like? Nice and light or quite heavy?

[I @ M]

It is quite a bit lighter than a roll of background paper the same size. It is no effort for me to lift it, the aluminium core and roller assembly into place with one hand, a roll of paper generally requires two hands.

It isn't the ideal solution for a backdrop / flooring but it does seem to offer a fair bit of bang for buck so far.

[Rattus79]

I actually located a company in cairns that has chromakey fabrics of various thicknesses held in stock the other day. I'm waiting for them to get back to me with a price. I dunno if they're going to make me get a full roll or not. Hopefully they'll do cut lengths for me.

fabricsplus.com.au (I think)

[elyshiamadison]

I think for the very low usage that I would be doing - it would be more than sufficient :) And much better than the remnant t-shirt fabric I have been using!
Might put in an order on Mon.

[I @ M]

One thing that I forgot to mention is that if you try to order this item from Vanbar's site as I did the freight cost applied is RIDICULOUS and I rang them and insisted on ordering over the phone with the full amount including freight stated.

The difference between their proper freight rate and the internet calculator is around the $120.00 mark :eek: It cost me $35.00 Melbourne to here ( fair price ) but obviously other locations will be more or less depending on distance.

[elyshiamadison]

Geez! That is a huge difference ;)

I went through to the end stage of ordering last night - 3mtrs of background (I really don't need a full roll!) and one flash diffuser, freight was $15 (not too bad) but if I wanted aus post was $30....

[I @ M]

As a follow up to the background testing I photographed a young lady, Miriam, today and concentrated on getting lighting correct on her and the backdrop using only two lights.

Using a main light and fill light set to spill some light on to the backdrop it retains a fairly diffused nature.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9582534/Miriam10-28-2010%2009-03-52.JPG

Turning one light into a purely backdrop light and cranking up the power to "blow" the background while using another to "fill" the subject from the front proved the case for this material. I had to apply very little processing to the backdrop section to keep the whole lot looking clean ( the exposures weren't perfect to start with) and it seems to keep a fairly true colour to it all through the shot.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9582534/Miriam10-28-2010%2009-22-13.JPG

[elyshiamadison]

Nice!

Mine arrived today - I went with grey.... we'll see if it's capable of being used for high key, like This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDGn4VzEOlU)

It's an odd texture, not something I would have thought would work for a background!

[elyshiamadison]

I @ M I posted my pics over in This thread (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?67907-Turning-a-grey-background-almost-any-colour&p=712247#post712247) Seeing as what I was trying to achieve was the different colour backgrounds.

So far I LOVE the background - and your right it's incredibly light! I do think though I will order another in Black - just so I can play with coloured flash gels on the backgrounds and get good deep colours ;)