Little quote on chimping...

I chimp too!

Paul Li wrote in post #8320473
I chimp too!

That's IT......my next vanity license plate.!!!!!

I CHIMP 2

DennisW1 wrote in post #8320481
That's IT......my next vanity license plate.!!!!!

I CHIMP 2

YES!

CHIMPFTL
CHMPFAIL
H8CHIMPZ

Oh wait, might get some animal activists angry

i dont get it

DennisW1 wrote in post #8320481
That's IT......my next vanity license plate.!!!!!

I CHIMP 2

I must beat you to the DMV!

40D
I shoot in neutral picture style
histogram set to RGB
highlight alert on
AV mode
I chimp all the time, shooting pics of flowers in full sun, it's saved my bacon

I chimped in my medium format film days with a Polaroid back. It took a couple of minutes to see the image but it was all we had and it was a valuable tool. Nothing wrong with chimping.

POTN'ster dictonary: chimp
to chimp. 1 chimp is the act of looking into the LCD display on a DSLR camera, after taking a photograph, to see if it turned out.
2 chimping, read 1 and add all the time.

That photographer looked at the LCD after taking a photograph. (well duu he chimped)

I tend to shoot street/candid stuff, so chimping is pretty much worthless. If I'm shooting a posed person, I chimp every shot to check the histogram and get an idea of lighting.

I do like the quote though, and I agree, as long as the photographer's not missing great shots looking at the LCD.

Chimping can be good and bad. I use it to see if I got the shot I wanted, check exposure, etc. These are all helpful to my imagery. The disadvantages are that you may miss photo opportunities while chimping and you will wear down your batteries faster. I don't worry about battery life on my 1D3s. The batteries last for a very long time and many images.

If you look around at people gaping at their display, mouth hanging half open, they really have that monkey look, and that's how the name evolved.

Here is a link all about chimping, watch the videos too.

http://www.cwanswers.c​om/8921/chimping

.

Sorry, but I disagree with this. You should really be making that compositional judgement while your eye is in the viewfinder. If you do what Rob suggests, then you're treating your camera just like a point & shoot. If you do that, you'll only take bad photos.

When you take photos, look through the viewfinder. Look at the photo you're about to take, feel the moment, take the photo.

Chimping is done to review the shots you've taken and to make a judgement on exposure/focus. In the case of fast sports photography, to make sure you got the shot.

Pete,

I think you are both right. Once a photographer has achieved a good knowledge of the technicalities, it is all about composition, and looking at the subject as you say.

However many still struggle with the basics. For them the ability to review the image and the histogram is a godsend.

For motorsports I normally start by chimping a few throwaway test shots, tweaking the exposure until I'm happy. I then forget all about it, concentrating instead on composition.

I never Chimp!