What is this business about "chimping" ?

I now check the histogram to but on accasions i do look back at my pics i always miss a good one

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I never chimp

God, that's a great picture! Wish I could find a T-shirt with that image on the front so I could give it to my shooting buddy. He and I always tease one another unmercifully for chimping the LCD.

I am a recent convert to digital and really appreciate the extra tools and information that my XT gives me. Of course, I'm also a computer oriented person and that has helped make my transition easier. Chimping the image on the LCD is one of the important tools to check your shots, just don't let it get in the way so that you miss a shot.

steveathome wrote:
Why is there so much rib digging about "chimping" ?

Whats the problem with checking for composition, basic exposure, the histogram, and also to make sure that you haven't captured that lampost sticking out of aunties head? Whats wrong with checking to get rid of the poor shots to make room for more keepers?

Whats the point of having an lcd screen especially a 2.5" one on the rear of the camera if its not going to be checked?

Surely its all part of digital photography to be able to use this technology to ensure the best results.

I'll carry on checking (chimping) my shots regardless.

It depends on your purpose when shooting. If you're doing an important shoot you should make sure you have good composition, eyes wide open, etc. The only time I look at my LCD screen is for histogram.

Saturday I was shooting at the local zoo and there were 2 younger people with nikon dSLRs and they were "chimping" heavily. When you look at what you've shot at a place like a zoo, you miss what is happening infront of you. I have plenty of CF memory so I'll look and delete when I get home.

Have you ever seen real pros at a photo shoot? I'm talking about guys with $20,000 digital backs mounted on $10,000 cameras with $10,000 lenses taking pictures for multimillion dollar agencies. Not only do they check their shots on location on a nice big, color calibrated computer screens they do it along with the art director and maybe even one of the client's big wigs (if they are unlucky!). The real pros know its all about getting the shot as quickly and efficiently as possible. And yes, during a hectic photo shoot even the most experienced photographer can miss something that would spoil a shot--a shadow, a wrinkle in the background, a bug flying across he models face just as the mirror flips up--all those thing that kept airbrush artists in business in the days before digital.

So chimp away.