My friend Uwe Steinmueller, an excellent fine art photographer who runs OutbackPhoto.com, just called to tell me about something he’s very excited about. He called himself a “happy camper” and said he’s “relieved” that he’s discovered an acceptable method for using point-and-shoot cameras. Uwe is very much a detail-oriented photographer. He’s an expert on the subtleties of RAW processing and technical landscape photography. If you know him and his photography, you probably think of him behind a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III on a tripod, not with a tiny point-and-shoot camera in his hands. In the past, he’s told me that point-and-shoot cameras don’t allow him to shoot the way he likes. He wanted the convenience and immediacy of a point-and-shoot, but compact digital cameras just didn’t offer him the control he wanted. So it’s notable and exciting that he’s found a solution.

In January we Uwe and I attended a Panasonic Lumix digital camera introduction in Miami. We both really enjoyed shooting with the new Panasonic Lumix ZS3. It’s very compact and has a wonderful 12x, image-stabilized optical zoom lens in a pocket-sized body. But again, Uwe felt that the camera didn’t offer him the control he needs to shoot comfortably. He got a ZS3 to review, anyway and he’s found a solution that allows him to better utilize the ZS3’s 3-inch LCD for more precise framing and steadier shooting. I haven’t tried his method yet. But I’m curious if it will allow me to accurately pan with point-and-shoot cameras that don’t have optical viewfinders. To find out more, read about how he’s using the Hoodman HoodLoupe with a Panasonic Lumix ZS3 / TZ7 point-and-shoot digital camera:

Using The Camera LCD As Pseudo EVF >>

Related Content:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 / TZ7 User Reviews
Panasonic 2009 Miami Lumix Camera Introduction
Digital Cameras Forum
Digital Outback Photo Web Site
Hoodman Web Site
Panasonic Lumix Digital Cameras Web Site