Graphics Tablets

[JeffreyK]

I was just wondering who in the Audience uses graphics tablets? If so what kind do you use and what do you think of it? Would you recommend it to someone who does not have one?

[keithbales]

I have a graphics tablet, it's a Medion, bought it cheap, it is a large work area though. I tend to use it on finer work but most of the time I am happy with the mouse.

I got the tablet for £30 new which was a steal, so I am always going to get value for money from it.

Keith :cool:

[emiliejay]

I too was thinking of getting one, but would like to see some opinions on it first. I would think you would have more control using a pen vs a mouse.

Cheers, Emilie

[jimellsworth]

I have a wacom intuos 2
It's just the right size, i thought one that was to large would require to much hand movement, since they are absolute position.
The wacom is good precision, no jitter, and responds to pressure (wide brush stroke for more pressure) which I don't use much.
plug and play, no problems.
It is much more fun working projects with the tablet.

My input, go for it!!

Jim

[CathieT]

That is gonna be my next purchase .... given that I mouse with the right hand (due to everyone else in the family being right handed!) but am actually left handed and figure it would be comparable to editing with a pen in the correct hand as opposed to editing with a leg of ham in the other hand!! lol

I'm with Jim - go for it!!

[keithbales]

Definitely work a purchase if you can get one at a decent price. I did already have one that I got free with a piece of software and found it was OK but couldn't resist the bigger one.

Keith :cool:

[JeffreyK]

Thanks for all the input, this just may be my next purchase...

[keithbales]

Do take some time to think about the size you want, there are pro's and con's for each.

If you get the big one and don't happen to like it, then we could always use it to carry the coffee and biscuits in the coffee shop lol lol lol

I think you will like.

Keith :cool:

[emiliejay]

Do take some time to think about the size you want, there are pro's and con's for each.

If you get the big one and don't happen to like it, then we could always use it to carry the coffee and biscuits in the coffee shop lol lol lol

I think you will like.

Keith :cool:

Keith, can you give us the pros and cons of each? I have enough tea and biscuit trays lol

Cheers, Emilie

[FL]

I have used a small Wacom tablet for about seven years and have found it very good for drawing and shading self-made images. I have never found a use for anything other than a mouse since I have taken up digital photography but I guess that would depend on your intended use, i.e. lots of shading or spraying etc. However, I cannot fault the tablet itself, it is precise and reliable, hope that this is of some help. :-)

[Thor]

Well, I read this topic a week ago and was thinking of purchasing for a few months. I bought a small Wacom. Didn't want to go overboard before I knew if I liked one (I am known for going overboard lol ). I like it so far. Still getting used to it after using a mouse for so many years. I like the pressure sensative pen, works great for masking. Thanks for the input about tablets. It swayed me to get one!

[musthavemuzk]

i have looked at the wacom on and off now for a few months.
then this week at bestbuy.com they have the smaller one on sale...
but i had other things to buy first.
as i am building my mom a computer for christmas as well as saving for my DRebel.

Monty

[Soopah]

I could not live without mine. I've been using one for years. It does take a little bit of getting used to, but they are the BEST thing, IMO for photoediting. And keep with WACOM. Buy the biggest one you can afford, if you're pretty confident that you'll actually use it. Otherwise, go with the small one, (the Graphire) because it's fine as well. It's just nice to have the extra working space of the bigger one. :)

[Stuart Elflett]

I used a little AceCat with my old laptop - it got stolen along with the rest and was replaced with a Wacom Grapphire... which is 200% nicer, for about $50 more than the cheapy... if you're looking at tablets, look at Wacom, the control is so, so much better with the 'real' tablet...

Cheers,
Stuart

[CathieT]

Waaahhh!! I'm still editing with a leg of ham in my right hand .........................waaahh!!

[Stuart Elflett]

Well ya can't eat a graphics tablet, can ya... :-)

[ap.]

Well ya can't eat a graphics tablet, can ya... :-)
Would that be a vitamin or mineral?

Seriously, like everyone else said, I've never gone wrong with Wacom at the office - in the 8 years I've been using them on and off. They just work and feel right. Got a cheap brand once and now it's in the trash bin. Wish I had one at home, too.

[Ralph Newman]

Thanks Stuart, I have one of those "Cheapies, and it has never worked as well as my mouse. I sometimes get it in my head to plug it in only to end up wondering why I did!! :-)
May keep an eye out for a Wacom at one of the Computer fairs I get to.

[trtjazz]

My wife bought a good one to the tune of $500.00 she just told me she likes it very much. It is a Wacom XD0608U. Now that you have mentioned this I have been wanting to try it with photoshop cs, so I think I will hook it up and give it a go.

[emiliejay]

I have been watching this thread and have heard nothing but good things so this will be my next purchase also me thinks...oh and along with some filters I have been eyeing :). I have looked for the Wacom in stores around here but unable to find it. Anyone know of a good site that sells them and will ship to Germany also. Some places will not ship outside there area while others will ship international.

Cheers, Emilie

[CathieT]

I want a graphire 3 ..

[FL]

Hi Emilie, just thought that I would mention that Wacom is a Germany based company so I wouldn't have thought that there would be problems getting their products; Tel: 069-66 568 517. I have had mine for a few years so that number could be out of date.

[emiliejay]

Thanks Frank, when I search for it on the internet to order all I got was US based companies and most didn't ship outside North America. I have looked in several shops and they don't seem to carry them, I guess not a high demand for them to keep them in stock.

Thanks for the number Frank I will give them a ring and see what comes out of it. I also just tagged Wacom's Europe site. Not sure why I couldn't get it earlier.

Cheers, Emilie

[trtjazz]

Here's some quick thoughts on first impressions of this tablet. I plugged my wife's Wacom into my pc running XP Pro. It found it and installed it without having to install the software.

I opened a photo in Photo CS and have been playing with it in different modes, so here's my 1st impressions:
It takes a different hand eye coordination than does the mouse, so that takes a bit of getting used to.
As expected, it works better for some functions not as well for others. Such as the lasso tool, I thought it a bit more cumbersome to manipulate with precision around flower edges, but that may get better with practice.
It worked great for cloning, smudge, blur etc with more precision than the mouse.
It feels better and more natural in the hand than the mouse does.
You can't throw away the keyboard and mouse though entirely, you still need the keyboard shortcuts for choosing things, such as the place to clone from or +/- for the zoom, or deselect (ctrl D)
If you like the feeling of drawing or sketching, I think you will love this.

All in all at this point I think it has great possibilities and will play with it today, because it is raining too hard to go out and shoot. I will try to do something constructive with it to better illustrate the points and post the examples.

[trtjazz]

Ok here's a rather sophomoric sample but I think you can get the idea. Pic on the left is before. I used the darkening and paintbrush and the smudge to blend it. If you like the feeling of drawing, you will very much like the tablet and pen setup. To me that is what it most closely resembles.

[ap.]

All in all at this point I think it has great possibilities and will play with it today, because it is raining too hard to go out and shoot.
Ah, the truth comes out! Everyone knows it never rains in California. Where are you really from? lol (just joking).

[emiliejay]

Hey Terry, Thanks for the great feedback. It really must be raining where you are lol

Cheers, Emilie

[trtjazz]

Andy, :-D and Emilie I lied, got a break in the rain and ran out to snap a few. May go back after lunch as long as the break in the rain holds out. The good thing is on crummie days like these everyone else is in doors and the light is great. Makes for some great deserted sidewalk cafe shots etc.

[emiliejay]

Rainy days make for great photos also...so don't let the rain stop you, just protect your camera. I don't mine the rain. plus you can get good puddle photos after rain. So...get out there

Cheers, Emilie

[trtjazz]

Rainy days make for great photos also...so don't let the rain stop you, just protect your camera. I don't mine the rain. plus you can get good puddle photos after rain. So...get out there

Cheers, Emilie

Well that is somewhat of a problem for me, but I do like to go out after the rains for the reflections in the puddles. Actually I posted one of them in Lscape and Arch.

[dutchalltheway]

I have a wacom intuos 2
It's just the right size, i thought one that was to large would require to much hand movement, since they are absolute position.
The wacom is good precision, no jitter, and responds to pressure (wide brush stroke for more pressure) which I don't use much.
plug and play, no problems.
It is much more fun working projects with the tablet.

My input, go for it!!

Jim

I quote....I to have the Wacom Intuos 2..and love it. takes a little to get used to, but a lot of fun.

[mrrick]

well i know its a bit late but, i have the wacom intuos3 tablet and would not think twice about reccomending it to someone...especially if you do alot of photoshop work, its only logical....no problems at all with it, plug and play just fine, always on point and the pen with the intuos3 is very comfortable and accurate...it also came with a wireless mouse to use on the pad when not using the pen, however i tend to use the original mouse for my routine activities...hope this might help someone ...just my .02cents

[Digital_Dude]

I purchased a Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8 graphics table about 3 weeks ago. I've used it extensively to retouch photos since I've had it and here is my take on it -

-It only takes about a week to get used to.

-Once you're used to it you will find it hard to go back to using a mouse.

-Its awesome for layer masks and creating paths with the pen tool.

-It will help you save time...depending on what task you're doing it may help you save a little bit of time or it may help you save a lot of time. Either way, the comfort and natural feeling of using the grip pen justifies the use of this graphics tablet

-Your index finger will no longer suffer from repetitive clicking.

-It has a long USB cable so you can lounge back in a chair and use it on your lap.

-The tablet and pen are both ergonomically correct...the tablet is about 3/8" thick with a beveled edge and the pen has a rubber grip.

-You can assign macro commands to each button on the tablet so that you don't have to use your keyboard as much. You can also assign the buttons to perform different functions for different programs, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc, etc....


I was a little skeptical about purchasing it at first, but now that I'm used to it I would never use a mouse again when doing photo retouching.

[Digital_Dude]

One thing I forgot to mention....

When deciding which size tablet to purchase I was a little confused and undecided. I went with the 6 x 8 and I'm glad I did. If you go with a 9 x 12 tablet you have to use longer strokes and I really think it wouldn't be efficient for someone doing photo retouching. Even if you're into sketching out art the 9 x 12 would still seem a bit inefficient and less accurate.

The hardest thing to grasp at first about the tablet is that each point on the tablet worksurface (Wacom calls it the "overlay") is equivalent to a point on your monitor. This is much different than a mouse in that when using a mouse you can only go so far with one motion, then you have to retrack the mouse back to one side of the mousepad to go farther in the intended direction. With the Intuos graphics tablet wherever you put your pen point on the worksurface is exactly where the cursor gets placed on the screen. And, it tracks with razor sharp precision.

I hope this helps

[butterfly0505]

I bought a 6x8 Wacom tablet 3 computers ago. Time flies when you're having fun! Anyhow, it has been a lifesaver! I usually just have it on my lap which keeps the hand and arm movements close to my body. Before the tablet, I used to have some carpal tunnel issues when I was putting in long hours. (Now I can work as much as I want and am just trying to figure out how to live without sleep - guess that's another topic) The graphics tablet changed all of the pain issues. Mine came with a cordless mouse that is used on the tablet surface and also has a graphics pen (with an electronic erasoer on one end) Both the pen and eraser ends are great to use with digital photo touchups. I love mine so much that I pack it along when I use my laptop rather than using the frustrating little button on the laptop. My suggestion - go for it - you won't regret it!

[Landis]

OK, I have a question on this. All the information above has been quite enlightening. I have a friend who swears by the WACOM, I think she has the 6x8. What happens to this if you use a Two Monitor setup? I have my main monitor for my color work with my very old monitor next to it where I put all my Photoshop menues to give me maximum working space for the photo itself.

Would the tablet automatically adjust itself to give you the whole width of the two monitors? I would think that if that's what happens you would want the BIG tablet.

Anyone know the answer for that?

[brucep]

I use two monitors and have a Wacom tablet. It does "know" how big your monitor is. Just as when you do a screen capture, you see both monitors as one... so does it. I'd used it with the single monitor, but discontinued using it when I got the 2nd, because it was just too big a reach! I have my keyboard right in front of the two monitors (they're angled towards me slightly) to do shortcut keystrokes all day long. I need a broad area to the right of the keyboard to drag & drop from one monitor to the other. I've adjusted the sensitivity of my mouse to "see" a proportionately smaller monitor, so I don't have to drag over as many square inches as the monitors are. I'm glad I discovered this, as I was about to put in for the company to buy Wacom's new, wider tablet.

Of course what I find comfortable others might not. Maybe your arms are longer (I'm 5'11).

[Landis]

Thanks, Bruce. That's good to know. I'm not sure I'm ready for a tablet yet, but thinking. My arms are longer than yours......buy about an inch. LOL.

[CW]

I agree with Stuart Elflett, i have a hard time using a mouse now due to the fact that i am so used to using the pen tool. Oh yea i have the Intous Graphire 3

[weeprecious]

i have just purchased a graphics tablet tonight and i'm having a little bit of bother with it, it has a button on the side for left and right clicking but it doesn't work quite the same as your original mouse, it's a cheaper brand and i was wondering if this is why? i can see it taking me a wee while to get used to it but i thought that this part should have been easy, any thoughts anyone?

[JMAC]

Hey Sharon, why dont you try and see if you can use the pen for selecting and the mouse for clicking and wheeling down................thats how i use mine!

[Landis]

Sharon. Everyone I have every talked to who uses a graphic pads say it took a while to get used to them, but they would never switch back.

[weeprecious]

thanks Jimmy & Landis Jimmy, there isn't a wheel on the mouse that came with it, that is what i've been doing but i'd like to get the pen to do it so i don't have to keep switching typical woman i know i want it to make the tea as well lol what i relly wanted to know was are they all like that or is it just the one i have because it was a cheaper one? Landis i have no intention of switching back, i paid good money for this and i'm darn well going to use it, thats my non typical side coming out ( a woman who doesn't like wasting money) lol :roll:

[andkiich]

I was wondering about the tablets as well. Had a friend at work let me borrow his. He is looking to dump it cheap. It's a WACOM Graphire3. he only wants $25 for it. So far, I love how it works in photoshop and most of the portrait retouching work I've tried has been way easier than using the mouse.

I think I'll tell him Monday that I'll be buying it from him.