How do you play the Panther?

So I really want the E50M. I'm aware it's not the best tank, but it looks sexy as fuck which is enough for me to want it. At the moment I'm on the Panther I, I free exp'ed the top gun and now have it fully upgraded but I can't seem to get the hang of it. Also apparently it's getting a buff in the future which is a plus.

I can't snipe with it – I get spotted in 2 seconds because of the awful camo values, but I can't really bring it into CQC because it gets penned by almost everything and the 130 alpha just tickles higher tiered enemies. I'm not really sure how to play it honestly, and am currently running at about 1.1k average damage a game but frequently have shockers with only 400 or so damage.

So how the hell do you play this thing?

I'm also aware that the Panther II only gets worse, but I'm willing to go through the pain to get to the E50 and E50M.