Chimping

sevencrossing

Chimping is a colloquial term used in digital photography to describe the habit of checking every photo on the camera display (LCD) immediately after capture.

sevencrossing

http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/4584/screen-protectors#Item_14

Stop Chimping then you dont need to look at the screen ....take pictures dont chimp.
I remember one famous wedding photographer who when taking on a new assistant covered the LCD with gaffer tape..stop chimping take pictures thats what your paid for !!!

Rx4Photo

It's not truly chimping unless you make them sounds ...

oooh .... ooh, ooh, ooh ..... ooooooohhhh ...



|)

spraynpray

In the absence of a settings lock button (I will not gaffer tape my gear :-)), I will always glimpse to check all is well.

I would so love a settings lock button.

WestEndFoto

I often chimp when I want to see if I achieved good focus, particularly with my manual focus lenses or when I am shooting wide open.

sevencrossing

I certainly dont check every photo immediately after capture. but I often start with a few test shots a which will show up "got yas" such exposure bracketing left on, or VR switch off. I will also have a look if there is "a pause in the action" I use the lCD a lot, if using flash

Pistnbroke

The settings lock buttons are called U1 and U2 ..just add some tape to those pesky command dials and its fully locked..you then have 4 presets U1 U2 A and P

retread

Call me a part time chimper. I like to check exposure, focus and so on frequently but not on every shot.

I sometimes catch a dial that got turned putting the camera in of taking it out of the bag.

Wesley

So many would be fked if the LCD screen suddenly stopped working.
Spent some time learning spot metering and carry a small light meter for flash.

snakebunk

I check the histogram after (almost) each burst, but I rarely look at images during the photography.

paulr

"Chimping". You learn something new every day, I wonder what the equivalent word was in "Film Days".

Wesley

"Chimping". You learn something new every day, I wonder what the equivalent word was in "Film Days".

Polaroiding?

Photobug

New word to me..."chimping". Lots of people do it. I only do it if the lightning is weird and I want to check the histogram.

PB_PM

Chimping is an old word in the photography world. I think the first time I saw it used was 2007 or something like that. Personally I see nothing wrong with it. People who say they hate chiming are the same people who say you must always get it right in camera, and that they never do post processing. In other words, a bunch of BS.

While I don't check every shot, I usually do check under variable lighting conditions, or for fast moving subjects after I've taken a set of images. First because, I don't fully trust any auto focus system, and second I don't trust the light meter, whether it be matrix, centre weighted or spot, in any camera to get what I want all the time. Same reason I never use "P" mode, the camera an't smart enough to know what i want in terms of depth of field, or shutter speed. The meter is simply running ageratums based on a set of pictures stored in a database in the camera, then combined with reflected light readings. Until someone can make a camera meter that can read my mind, I'm not going to trust it 100% at any point in time.

Ironheart

In the absence of a settings lock button (I will not gaffer tape my gear :-)), I will always glimpse to check all is well.

I would so love a settings lock button.

What's wrong with gaffers tape? It won't hurt your unit :-)
That is if you spring for the real stuff and not just black duct tape. I have used gaffers on everything from hardwood floors, to upholstery, to just about every type of electronics out there. I even use a small piece to cover the camera lens on my MacBook Pro and mac air. It's never damaged anything.

KnockKnock

If I have the opportunity to re-take a shot, I will review it. Manually. I turn off auto-review. Why not? Worse to get home and find I missed focus or got something wrong that would have been preventable.

Usually with people, I won't take that time. Better to shoot off 5 frames in the time I would have been "chimping" and catch the perfect expression, than to try to get people to wait and then act natural after I fix something.

It does hammer home the importance of stopping and checking your settings before you pull the trigger. So many errors caught later could be prevented. It's the one thing I pat myself on the back for when I get it right and the first thing I remind myself whenever I get it wrong.

Pistnbroke

Retread ,,while I tape up my wifes camera dials ( she takes a whole wedding and does not change a setting) I have my dials covered with a strip of plastic from a drinks bottle ..about 35mm long and 4mm wide ..just push it in each end of the dial wheel. My latest version has a wider strip in the middle about 6mmwide and 10mm long ....You can flick it out with your nail if you have to ..never had to the 4 different apertures of U1 U2 A and P do everyting I need when combined with auto iso.

safyre

You shouldn't be looking at every single photo, but you should be looking at your pictures after you take a series of them to make sure you get the shot.

paulr

I use a lot of manual lenses and tend to use Live View, I adjust the image to what I see not what the camera tells me, with exposure, many times the camera indicates the images are over/under exposed but its not what I need.
By using Live View, what I see, is what I get. Maybe we should call it "LVing".

ThomasHorton

It's not truly chimping unless you make them sounds ...

oooh .... ooh, ooh, ooh ..... ooooooohhhh ...


|)

I agree and to me true chimping involves at least two people. You take a picture and then immediately show it to someone else and they say ohh ohh. To me that is chimping.

Msmoto

I suppose I do things differently, but I have shot hundreds of images not looking at any of them except in the beginning of the shoot, then to view the histogram.

What I do is to double check camera settings on a regular basis during the shoot. Sometimes in action venues I have bumped, changed, altered settings unbeknownst to me, and I like to reset these before shooting a few hundred more.

Chimping must be a subset of Obsessive-Complusive Disorder....LOL )

spraynpray

Why not a switch? Simple enough isn't it? *Click* make a change if necessary then *click* no switches work at all. I would REALLY like that. Fast paced event shooting on green screen isn't the time to under-expose even one shot let alone a dozen or so.

Vipmediastar_JZ

to chimp or not to chimp.

I chimp for initial setup of exposure, composition. Once I get the look that I want I spraynpray then chimp the last two photos and repeat the cycle.

I have changed settings accidentally before including the power settings on the flash remote with my forehead. So chimping is essential.

snakebunk

It seems like most of us chimp, not so much to look at the pictures but to check exposure, file format, focus points and other settings. We can see some of this in the screen but not all of it. What I hope will come out of a future mirrorless camera is a chimp screen, where we can select any information to be displayed between shots. It would be worth a lot to get a short glance at the histogram and selected focus points after the last photo in each burst (I usually shoot 2-5 images each time), someone else may select other information. An aditional chimp lock may also be a good thing.

Best chimps from Sweden!

kenadams

can't see what's wrong with checking how the picture came out. One of the big benefits of digital photography i should say, the instant ability to correct mistakes.

For all those who don't approve, may I suggest the M-A, so you can also look down on those who need a battery or still are amateurish enough to use a light meter... :-D

Msmoto

When shooting a fast paced sporting event, e.g., motorcycles, cars, one might have thirty or more exposures to "chimp" as the action progresses. I notice some of the active pros do chimp, locking the images they want to keep, then when done for the day, erasing the card, leaving only the locked images.....so, they are actually editing in camera to save time post shoot.

And, it is probably a good idea to be checking especially if one is attempting to make a living with photography. My personal technique is to check some images, looking at the histogram to make certain as lighting conditions change I do not miss the loss of light and attempt to shoot action when the light requires lower shutter speeds, more open apertures. And, I shoot at ISO 12,800 with no concern so this means there is very little light when I am up against the wall.

For sure, there can be no negative comments on chomping. It is just a style, personal, and that is about it.