TZ10 - Viewfinder attachment requiredd

[myosotis]

Hi Everyone,

I wonder if you can help - my friend has a TZ10, but has great difficulty shooting in sun.

Is there a viewfinder attachment available for this model, and where can she purchase in UK.

Thanks in advance

Chris

 

[Erik Ohlson]

Hi Everyone,

I wonder if you can help - my friend has a TZ10, but has great difficulty shooting in sun.

Is there a viewfinder attachment available for this model, and where can she purchase in UK.

Thanks in advance

Chris

There IS a solution to your problem, it's called a "Clearviewer" and can be found by using google search: "clearviewer".



The left hand shades the LCD - and so does the right hand when actually shooting a photo - the two hands make a nice, dark tunnel, and when your eye is brought up to the viewing lens, the LCD becomes a huge "Virtual EVF" with an image that appears about the size of a 4x6" print: you can see everything, details of your subject, focus, and all the little icons.

It folds down very small and mine rides in my right trouser pocket attached to my ZS25 all day, every day.

IMHO it's FAR better than any "EVF" built-in or add-on - it is simply the best thing that I know of that can happen to any "P&S" camera, it's like the camera becomes a whole different type: a "Large EVF Eye-Level Camera".

I won't leave home without it.

Unfortunately, I've heard of no retail source anywhere - it's ordered from the guy (a contributor to this forum, but not me) who makes them: he'll make one to fit whatever camera you want, since the tripod screws are in different olcations on different cameras. The "Premium" model is actually a bit better - shows the corners better, but id the cost of shipping is holding you back, the standatd model costs enough less that it would probablt "pay for" shipping.









--
"Measure wealth not by things you have but by things for which you would not take money"
www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/ [email protected]

 

[rolandb]

I 100% agree with Erik,,

Have them on both my TZ35/ZS25 & LX5 and they completely transform the using of the camera, worth every penny

Roland. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolandb52/

 

[myosotis]

Thanks - I will pass info on to my friend

Chris

 

[Felix E Klee]

How about stabilization?

A viewfinder serves two purposes for me. One is composing, the other is stabilization by pressing the camera against my head when making a picture.

 

[Erik Ohlson]

How about stabilization?

A viewfinder serves two purposes for me. One is composing, the other is stabilization by pressing the camera against my head when making a picture.

The clearviewer IS pressed against the head and left hand, which adds some stabilization to the already great Optical Stabilization.



Sorry - in this photo, my thumb sticks out a bit, but my nose pushes it forward, resting between the thumb and the finger. ;-)

The right hand, when brought forward to press the shutter button and/or zoom, completes a "tunnel" which shades the screen from glare: the camera becomes "part of" the eye-hand unit, and the screen image looks like a transparency almost as big as a 4x6" (100x150mm) print.

An added advantage to this head-camera link is that when shooting frames for a stitched Panorama, the head/ camera unit easily keeps the frames centered around a "nodal point" - the user's neck - when shooting the same scene at arm's length without the Clearviewer, the camera moves enough between exposures, to distort the perspective.

This 5-shot Panoramic, taken in very close quarters in a museum in Kyoto, Japan, may have been impossible with the camera at arm's length:

(observe at "original size")

--
"Measure wealth not by things you have but by things for which you would not take money"
www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/ [email protected]

 

[Felix E Klee]

Thanks Erik for your thoughts, illustrated with nice pictures!

I am still somewhat skeptical, guess I would need to try it out.

[...] when shooting frames for a stitched Panorama, [...]

For panorama I have my Theta, which only needs one exposure. ;-)

 

[Erik Ohlson]

Thanks Erik for your thoughts, illustrated with nice pictures!

I am still somewhat skeptical, guess I would need to try it out.

[...] when shooting frames for a stitched Panorama, [...]

For panorama I have my Theta, which only needs one exposure. ;-)

To "try it out", any lens of about 50mm focal length held between thunmb and hand will show what it looks like - a 50mm film SLR lens for instance.

Before I found out about the Clearviewer itself, I was using this, an old Kodak slide viewer with the white plastic diffuser removed, but it had to be carried separately and held in place when using it.

Having a device where someone has solved all the problems of mounting the lens is - to me - well worth buying it. I could have just kept on using this





I did a quick look at eBay - here are several slide viewers which would work to see what the image would be like - there is even a Kodak one like mine with the white plastic diffuser still in place:









The Clearviewer's lens (particularly the "Premium" model) is designed to show the camera's screen as clearly as possible with a compact device.

Anyway, it works for me - I will not leave home without it, my camera with it is always in my pocket, all day, every day.







--
"Measure wealth not by things you have but by things for which you would not take money"
www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/ [email protected]

 

[Felix E Klee]

Thanks for the idea. In fact, I have some stereo viewers in Germany. Only at the moment I'm in Spain, so they will have to wait until December.