why is chimping considered bad?

eddie1960 · 02-13-2011, 05:06 PM

i still like kodachrome, but that's gone
velvia too, but that has as much to do with not doing any post for the colours just SOOC
and b/w which i've largely found until very recently to be piss poor in digital
there is something to be said for picking a film and knowing exactly what to expect
the flexibility of digital is a boon though

I've not shot with an S2, but do wish Fuji had put the foveon sensor in the X100, that would be very cool

Gashog · 02-13-2011, 05:59 PM

Yeah, there was buzz about a Foveon/Super CCD hybrid a few years ago. A pipe dream. Besides, the CMOS have gotten so good, it's reaching the point of diminishing returns. The resolution from FF has made routine, the masking of veins in the eyeballs! From 5 feet away!

zuikoholic · 02-18-2011, 10:54 PM

'Chimping' in the context of, say, shooting live music (one of my main areas) means you will miss The Shot. If you're watching the back of your camera, you're not watching the performance. Which is where your timing/artistry/skill comes in. Capturing the moment. Spray and pray doesn't work for me: I'm an atheist.

The beauty with the K5 is that you can turn LCD review off altogether. Combined with good high ISO performance (i do not miss my 5D or 5DII, honestly), a good knowledge of the subject matter and how to meter for it means I can do just that, and shoot *exactly* like I used to in the film days - instinctively, while watching the performance - but with the added bonus of knowing i *can't* run out of frames. best of both worlds.

In the film days, you *couldn't* chimp at all. You just focussed on what you were doing. That's professionalism, and why 'chimping' is often derided. You don't shoot and edit at the same time; shoot first, edit later.

Having said that, I can understand why some wedding shooters would chimp a bit at the start of a shoot, say while guests are arriving, to guage light level and white balance etc. Then again, RAW obviates a lot of that. If you shoot JPG to save space, you are possibly not very serious about your photography, as a huge portion of the info isn't even in the file.

For the publications I shoot for, nothing reproduces above A4, so shooting JPG is fine (I'm also confident about my metering). If i shot weddings (UGH) it would be RAW all the way.

RioRico · 02-19-2011, 04:48 PM

I briefly mentioned this in another thread: CHIMPING IS TRADITIONAL.

Until the development of panchromatic emulsions, which "see" all spectra of visible light from violet to red, photographers chimped exposures and development, under a safelight. Pro shooters of a century ago derided and resisted panchromatic emulsions because such prevented photographers from visually judging image density. Pro shooters of a half-century ago embraced Polaroids for taking test-shots that could quickly be inspected for exposure and composition -- look up HASSELROID.

The "chimping is bad" paradigm is a radical know-nothing Tea Party approach to quality photography. Feh.

**DigiMack** · 02-19-2011, 05:07 PM

Originally posted by RioRico

Aye, chimp when convenient. Test-shoot, chimp, adjust, become more perfect. When the action is hot-n-heavy, just keep shooting.

I sometimes chimp for composition, more often chimp for exposure. If you're worried about exposure, bracket. And remember that much can be fixed in PP. If the images are important to you, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THEM!

And ignore any criticisms of your behaviour unless you're loudly flatulent. Hay, that's one way to keep the critics away!

Laugh, and the world laughs with you.
Fart, and you stand alone.

**BigDave** · 02-19-2011, 05:26 PM

If you are shooting an event, say a wedding, why WOULDN'T you check your shots after taking them? Do you want to say to the bride, "Sorry, but your eyes were closed on that shot!"

What if you are using graduated filters? You want to make certain you are getting the correct effect in the image, as the viewfinder may not give the correct indication of what the finished image will look like.

If you do it after every shot, learn to use your camera. Otherwise, I consider it reviewing your work!

a a i b · 02-19-2011, 05:44 PM

Originally posted by acrollet

I've been using a DSLR (k-x) for a bit over a year now, and have just run into the term - even the name itself is very derisive... I feel like I'm improving my skills gradually, especially in working on getting the shot I want the first time instead of taking 17 shots and hoping for the best. However, I feel like the LCD is a valuable tool, giving me instant feedback on whether I got the composition/metering/etc. I was looking for. So, I'm a bit confused as to why the practice is so looked down upon.

Or is it mainly a way for people who have been shooting for long enough to know their camera inside and out to make fun of n00bs? :-)

It's not bad, unless it leads you to miss capturing the moment.

baldrick · 02-20-2011, 03:45 AM

I chimp now because I can. In days gone by (film) I could not. Who is the clown that said its bad?

Gashog · 02-20-2011, 06:50 AM

Bob Deutsch, apparently.

Dam old guys!

robgo2 · 02-20-2011, 10:47 AM

After virtually every shot, I check the histogram to see if the exposure was correct. If not, I dial in some exposure compensation. Only rarely, do I actually look at the image on the LCD. To do so breaks the flow of shooting, IMO.

Rob

Chex · 02-26-2011, 10:05 AM

Being new to DSLR's I admit to chimping a bit while I get used to manual mode and making sure I'm shooting what I'm thinking I'm shooting. But when it times come for the action shots and kids etc I throw it to TAv or Tv and let the camera worry about it while I worry about the composition. Then I know I can just check them all over later and I didn't miss anything that I might have by staring at the LCD.

ihasa · 02-26-2011, 05:58 PM

Originally posted by eddie1960

shot this from the hip[ zone focus on an old fed 5 (with an unfortunate light leak - if it wasn't for the light leak this would be a perfect street shot - film no chimping on this one lol reall in my mind a lot of people take rule to seriously. they are there to be broken and sometimes you get that lucky shot that wouldn't happen if you were over thinking it)

I like that shot a lot Eddie. I'm sure the light leak can easily be remedied in PP.

eddie1960 · 02-26-2011, 06:53 PM

Originally posted by ihasa

I like that shot a lot Eddie. I'm sure the light leak can easily be remedied in PP.

thanks

probably can but thats from the crappy 4 bit machine scan at processing, i wouldn't put the time in for that scan, i need to do a hi res scan and then fix it

AtlantaChris · 03-03-2011, 11:01 AM

I'm just now reading this thread for the first time, and I'm absolutely cracking up!
Maybe I'm keeping the wrong company, but I have been shooting since 1979 and I've never heard the term "chimping" before... now that I know what it is, I have a couple of basic observations.
- If you read almost any article in Outdoor Photographer, a VERY respected publication, the Pros that offer tips/tricks will almost always TELL you to check your screen, and your histograms, just to be sure you are getting the shot that you invisioned. If you are out in nature or shooting sports (like I am often), you're only gonna get this scene once.
- If "chimping" is bad, then why do some of us who "chimp" sell so many pictures? OK, there, I said it openly to the universal photo community... I AM A CHIMPER !! Not after every shot, and maybe not after a group of 25, but I'm not going to be shy about looking at my work just because someone else with a camera is nearby!!
- I specifically remember almost ALL of the sideline pros during the SuperBowl "chimping" after every play... these guys are undeniably top-shelf professionals, in a constant-light arena, and certainly they are completely familiar with the cameras/lenses they use. If chimping is bad, then why are those 100 PROs chimping after EVERY play ?? !! ??

I don't care what anyone says. If I have the tool at hand (LCD screen), and want to be sure that the wide-angle vista landscape I'm shooting is exactly what I want, I will respectfully reserve my own right to spray, chimp, burp, fart, or anything else I wanna do!! If you are a "pro", and don't like it when I'm checking my h-grms, please come over and say something.... we will share a couple of bananas and talk it out like old friends, OK?? Do you mind if I chimp on your screen, I'd like to see what you are shooting !! Hahaha!

Mountain Vision · 03-03-2011, 07:19 PM

B/C people want to wow you with there ability to expose.

They are the same people that would brag 34 of 36 slides were perfectly exposed.

Use the damn LCD, its a legit tool for your use. Enjoy it!

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02-13-2011, 05:06 PM	#61
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	i still like kodachrome, but that's gone velvia too, but that has as much to do with not doing any post for the colours just SOOC and b/w which i've largely found until very recently to be piss poor in digital there is something to be said for picking a film and knowing exactly what to expect the flexibility of digital is a boon though I've not shot with an S2, but do wish Fuji had put the foveon sensor in the X100, that would be very cool

02-13-2011, 05:59 PM	#62
Gashog Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NY Photos: Albums Posts: 523	Yeah, there was buzz about a Foveon/Super CCD hybrid a few years ago. A pipe dream. Besides, the CMOS have gotten so good, it's reaching the point of diminishing returns. The resolution from FF has made routine, the masking of veins in the eyeballs! From 5 feet away!

02-18-2011, 10:54 PM	#63
zuikoholic Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Melbourne Posts: 145	'Chimping' in the context of, say, shooting live music (one of my main areas) means you will miss The Shot. If you're watching the back of your camera, you're not watching the performance. Which is where your timing/artistry/skill comes in. Capturing the moment. Spray and pray doesn't work for me: I'm an atheist. The beauty with the K5 is that you can turn LCD review off altogether. Combined with good high ISO performance (i do not miss my 5D or 5DII, honestly), a good knowledge of the subject matter and how to meter for it means I can do just that, and shoot exactly like I used to in the film days - instinctively, while watching the performance - but with the added bonus of knowing i can't run out of frames. best of both worlds. In the film days, you couldn't chimp at all. You just focussed on what you were doing. That's professionalism, and why 'chimping' is often derided. You don't shoot and edit at the same time; shoot first, edit later. Having said that, I can understand why some wedding shooters would chimp a bit at the start of a shoot, say while guests are arriving, to guage light level and white balance etc. Then again, RAW obviates a lot of that. If you shoot JPG to save space, you are possibly not very serious about your photography, as a huge portion of the info isn't even in the file. For the publications I shoot for, nothing reproduces above A4, so shooting JPG is fine (I'm also confident about my metering). If i shot weddings (UGH) it would be RAW all the way.

02-19-2011, 04:48 PM	#64
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	I briefly mentioned this in another thread: CHIMPING IS TRADITIONAL. Until the development of panchromatic emulsions, which "see" all spectra of visible light from violet to red, photographers chimped exposures and development, under a safelight. Pro shooters of a century ago derided and resisted panchromatic emulsions because such prevented photographers from visually judging image density. Pro shooters of a half-century ago embraced Polaroids for taking test-shots that could quickly be inspected for exposure and composition -- look up HASSELROID. The "chimping is bad" paradigm is a radical know-nothing Tea Party approach to quality photography. Feh.

02-19-2011, 05:07 PM	#65
DigiMack Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 169	Originally posted by RioRico Aye, chimp when convenient. Test-shoot, chimp, adjust, become more perfect. When the action is hot-n-heavy, just keep shooting. I sometimes chimp for composition, more often chimp for exposure. If you're worried about exposure, bracket. And remember that much can be fixed in PP. If the images are important to you, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THEM! And ignore any criticisms of your behaviour unless you're loudly flatulent. Hay, that's one way to keep the critics away! Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Fart, and you stand alone.

02-19-2011, 05:26 PM	#66
BigDave Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Hudson Valley, NY Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,626	If you are shooting an event, say a wedding, why WOULDN'T you check your shots after taking them? Do you want to say to the bride, "Sorry, but your eyes were closed on that shot!" What if you are using graduated filters? You want to make certain you are getting the correct effect in the image, as the viewfinder may not give the correct indication of what the finished image will look like. If you do it after every shot, learn to use your camera. Otherwise, I consider it reviewing your work!

02-19-2011, 05:44 PM	#67
a a i b Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Brooklyn Photos: Gallery Posts: 315	Originally posted by acrollet I've been using a DSLR (k-x) for a bit over a year now, and have just run into the term - even the name itself is very derisive... I feel like I'm improving my skills gradually, especially in working on getting the shot I want the first time instead of taking 17 shots and hoping for the best. However, I feel like the LCD is a valuable tool, giving me instant feedback on whether I got the composition/metering/etc. I was looking for. So, I'm a bit confused as to why the practice is so looked down upon. Or is it mainly a way for people who have been shooting for long enough to know their camera inside and out to make fun of n00bs? :-) It's not bad, unless it leads you to miss capturing the moment.

02-20-2011, 03:45 AM	#68
baldrick Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bulli, NSW Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 67	I chimp now because I can. In days gone by (film) I could not. Who is the clown that said its bad?

02-20-2011, 06:50 AM	#69
Gashog Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NY Photos: Albums Posts: 523	Bob Deutsch, apparently. Dam old guys!

02-20-2011, 10:47 AM	#70
robgo2 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Mexico Photos: Albums Posts: 1,125	After virtually every shot, I check the histogram to see if the exposure was correct. If not, I dial in some exposure compensation. Only rarely, do I actually look at the image on the LCD. To do so breaks the flow of shooting, IMO. Rob

02-26-2011, 10:05 AM	#71
Chex Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: The 'Stoke, British Columbia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,678	Being new to DSLR's I admit to chimping a bit while I get used to manual mode and making sure I'm shooting what I'm thinking I'm shooting. But when it times come for the action shots and kids etc I throw it to TAv or Tv and let the camera worry about it while I worry about the composition. Then I know I can just check them all over later and I didn't miss anything that I might have by staring at the LCD.

02-26-2011, 05:58 PM	#72
ihasa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: West Midlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,066	Originally posted by eddie1960 shot this from the hip[ zone focus on an old fed 5 (with an unfortunate light leak - if it wasn't for the light leak this would be a perfect street shot - film no chimping on this one lol reall in my mind a lot of people take rule to seriously. they are there to be broken and sometimes you get that lucky shot that wouldn't happen if you were over thinking it) I like that shot a lot Eddie. I'm sure the light leak can easily be remedied in PP.

02-26-2011, 06:53 PM	#73
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	Originally posted by ihasa I like that shot a lot Eddie. I'm sure the light leak can easily be remedied in PP. thanks probably can but thats from the crappy 4 bit machine scan at processing, i wouldn't put the time in for that scan, i need to do a hi res scan and then fix it

03-03-2011, 11:01 AM	#74
AtlantaChris Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Atlanta Photos: Gallery Posts: 28	I'm just now reading this thread for the first time, and I'm absolutely cracking up! Maybe I'm keeping the wrong company, but I have been shooting since 1979 and I've never heard the term "chimping" before... now that I know what it is, I have a couple of basic observations. - If you read almost any article in Outdoor Photographer, a VERY respected publication, the Pros that offer tips/tricks will almost always TELL you to check your screen, and your histograms, just to be sure you are getting the shot that you invisioned. If you are out in nature or shooting sports (like I am often), you're only gonna get this scene once. - If "chimping" is bad, then why do some of us who "chimp" sell so many pictures? OK, there, I said it openly to the universal photo community... I AM A CHIMPER !! Not after every shot, and maybe not after a group of 25, but I'm not going to be shy about looking at my work just because someone else with a camera is nearby!! - I specifically remember almost ALL of the sideline pros during the SuperBowl "chimping" after every play... these guys are undeniably top-shelf professionals, in a constant-light arena, and certainly they are completely familiar with the cameras/lenses they use. If chimping is bad, then why are those 100 PROs chimping after EVERY play ?? !! ?? I don't care what anyone says. If I have the tool at hand (LCD screen), and want to be sure that the wide-angle vista landscape I'm shooting is exactly what I want, I will respectfully reserve my own right to spray, chimp, burp, fart, or anything else I wanna do!! If you are a "pro", and don't like it when I'm checking my h-grms, please come over and say something.... we will share a couple of bananas and talk it out like old friends, OK?? Do you mind if I chimp on your screen, I'd like to see what you are shooting !! Hahaha!

03-03-2011, 07:19 PM	#75
Mountain Vision Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: America's First Wilderness Posts: 529	B/C people want to wow you with there ability to expose. They are the same people that would brag 34 of 36 slides were perfectly exposed. Use the damn LCD, its a legit tool for your use. Enjoy it!