Uncle Sam's umbrella

[nemophoto]

I'm looking for a new umbrella scrim to use on shoots. Many years ago (I've been shoot over 35-years), I use to have a fabulous one called an Uncle Sam. The reason was because there was a custom umbrella maker in NYC who came up with the idea of putting a 1-shot scrim on a heavy-duty (basically patio-type) umbrella. It was virtually indestructible and lasted for years. Sadly, it died. And even more sadly, Uncle Sam closed up shop at least a decade ago.

Fast forward to now. The only umbrella on the market like that is a crappy one from Photek. I have to buy a new one almost annually because they invariably break, snap, or something. (My current one died in a light wind in Miami a couple weeks ago. A metal piece for the tilt just snapped off. Cheap metal fatigue.)

Has anyone come across a source for an umbrella like the old Uncle Sam's? Needless to say, I look to the old-timers like me who remember it, but maybe one of you "youngens"  have found something along the way. Thanks for the help.

Nemo

[RobertJ]

I gotta admit, I've never heard of an "umbrella scrim" until I just looked up what you were talking about.  I just call them umbrellas, and I also don't use them.

However, I do have a bunch of rectangular and square scrims from different companies with different fabrics for diffusion, reflection, and subtraction.

The most practical ones are the Chimera metal frames that fold up.  They're 5/8 inch thick, so the frame itself goes right into the grip head.  They have fabrics, or you can tape on any gels, like Rosco diffusion.  They range from 24 inches square, to 42, 48, 42x72, 42x82, and 6x6 foot.

[GregShapps]

Uncle Sam's is still around.  The umbrella is no longer on their site but give them call.

http://www.unclesamsumbrella.com/metro.html

[nemophoto]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I use things like the 6x6 scrim Jim, but it's not that easy to use in certain conditions. Also, very hard to get right over a model at high noon. The umbrella is nice and mobile. I started using them in the early 90's after I saw a few German crews use them on the beach.

As for Uncle Sam, that's actually like a daughter or something. The guy who actually made them retired or something when they got rid of the downtown store. But, that said, maybe i'll call them and see if they still do them. Last time I called (about 5-6 years ago, the answer was "no".)