The Importance of Proper Accessorizing

In a recent entry to this website titled “Out Standing In a Field,” I alluded to using a “dead reckoning” technique of aiming my Panasonic Lumix LX3 during a midnight photoshoot under conditions that rendered the image too faint to be seen on the camera’s live view screen. As luck would have it, my technique worked but it could just as easily not have, resulting in quite a hassle in the field that night. What I did not know at the time was that there exists an accessory for the LX3 that could have very effectively solved my composing needs that night – the Panasonic DMW-VF1 External Optical Viewfinder

This optical viewfinder attaches directly to the hot shoe of the LX3 and allows the user to compose the shot without referring to the live view screen. As the optics in the viewfinder are matched to the LX3′s 24mm configuration, while not allowing the photographer to see the exact image as it would appear through the camera’s lens system itself, it is still a one to one match-up that is reported to be quite useful for landscape work; particularly in low-light conditions such as those involved in photographing atmospheric phenomena from the middle of a dark rural farm field at midnight.

The astute reader might have noticed that in the previous paragraph I used the phrase “reported to be” rather than the simple verb “is” denoting personal experience. That’s because these little devices are about as difficult to find as any camera accessory you’d care to name. Even Panasonic’s own website lists them as being out of stock (and with an MSRP of $229.95, roughly half the price of the camera itself, the chance of my buying one anyway is rather slim – not because I don’t think it’s worth it, it’s just the food-family-shelter heirarchy of needs prevents it).

Nevertheless, while I can continue to dream about accessories I’d love to add to my photo kit, better heeled LX3-using photographers than I might still benefit from knowing of this optical viewfinder’s existence. In addition, enthusiasts of the LX3′s larger relation, the GF-1, might find a recent article published on The Online Photographer about the use of Voigtlander optical viewfinders for that particular camera to be of interest.