Graphics Tablet

[Richard Wasserman]

I'm in the market for a tablet and am overwhelmed by all the options. Any suggestions? I'm doing fairly simple Photoshop work and the mouse is causing wrist and arm pain so I thought a tablet would be worth a try. Also, more precision than I have now would be good.

[Lenny Eiger]

I'm in the market for a tablet and am overwhelmed by all the options. Any suggestions? I'm doing fairly simple Photoshop work and the mouse is causing wrist and arm pain so I thought a tablet would be worth a try. Also, more precision than I have now would be good.

Richard, Hi. Get a Wacom, they are the standard and they work very well. I can't imagine being without it...

Lenny
EigerStudios

[Richard Wasserman]

Thanks Lenny, any particular model?

[rjphil]

I have a Wacom Intuos 3, 12" x 12" tablet. I hesitated because of the cost (~$500.00), but now I wouldn't be without it. They make several different size tablets, see if a local Staples or computer store has some you can check out.

[Preston]

I have a Wacom Intuos 4 in the small size. It has a 6.2x3.9 in. active area. I find it works very nicely for 4x5's. I also have space limitations, so the small size is perfect for my situation.

It came with the pen, an assortment of nibs, pen stand, mouse, USB cable, and software. It was quick and easy to set up. $229 MSRP.

I highly recommend the Intuos tool.

I agree with RJ: If you can find some hands-on demos, that would be a good thing, so you can see which size works best for you.

--P

[kedbro]

Wacom tablets are amazing - you wont regret it at all. I would recommend the Intuos 3 (used) or Intuos 4 (used/new). In my experience, the small size (about 4x6) is enough for photographic work, but if you can afford it and have the desk space (an important consideration, the tablets get really big really fast), go with the next size up. I would not recommend any of the large tablets, especially for photography. I no longer use a mouse at all; the tablet is faster, more natural and considerably more comfortable, especially for long sessions.

[drew.saunders]

I've been happy with a Wacom bamboo. I got the touch/pen version, but shut off the touch features after using them briefly. I mainly got the Bamboo because I don't have the space for a full-sized tablet, but I've not found it lacking in control or features for the kind of PhotoShop work I do. I mostly use it for dust-destroying with the spot healing tool, for which the tablet is so much nicer than a mouse. If that's all I ever do with it, then I've gotten my money's worth.

Drew

[neil poulsen]

I tried the Intuos medium, and the system kind of throws me off. I find the hand-eye coordination a challenge with this unit.

If I could afford it, I'd try the Cintiq 12WX. It looks like an excellent system.

[Lenny Eiger]

Thanks Lenny, any particular model?

I have an Intuos 3, but would buy a 4 if it were today. They keep improving it. Mine is a 6x11, so it easily covers the full screen on a Cinema display... I like a little larger one... so there is some relationship of movement on the pad to the screen that makes sense to my brain... One gets used to them all, of course...

Hope that helps,

Lenny

[Frank Petronio]

I find the small cheap Wacoms work nicely, I've had larger and I've used them since 1990 (ADB!) but I don't think I can work delicately enough to make a difference in whether I'm using only 512 steps (the cheap ones) versus the more expensive models that can distinguish 1024 steps.

The larger tablets are more for illustrative work and real drawing where you want to use your entire arm to draw. With the little ones it is more subtle. I suppose the larger tablets could be slightly more precise but most of what I do is soft-edged brushing so precision is more dependent on how far I zoom in on-screen and the size of the brush.

The only way to learn to use it is to remove the mouse and make yourself use only the tablet for a few days. After which the mouse will feel like a clumsy turd. But the first day or two is Hell.

[Brian Ellis]

I've had a Wacom Intuos III for years. For me it was a waste of money, I still use a mouse most of the time. I bought it mainly to be able to use the pen for making fine selections with the lasso tools but as I've become more knowledgeable about Photoshop I rarely make selections that way any more. There was nothing else about the tablet that I found useful.

I'm not so sure about using the pen to relieve your wrist stress. I'm no doctor so I don't know what different muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc. are used with the pen vs. the mouse but when I hold the pen in my hand and use it on the tablet my hand and wrist feel about the same as when I hold the mouse.

Mine is 9x6 or something like that. I got that size rather than the larger size because I figured I wouldn't have to move my arm and hand around as much with the smaller area.

[Frank Petronio]

You mainly want it for the brush tools, they are pressure sensitive and you can greatly improve your burning/dodging, masks, color-only painting, etc. The new selection tool in CS5 works really well with it for hair and distant trees for example.

[Richard Wasserman]

Well, I was at Calumet this morning and they have refurbished medium size Intuis 4 tablets at a savings of about $55.00 over new ones, so I bought one. I don't have it set up yet, but I'm hoping it will work out well for me. Time will tell....

Thanks everyone for your input, it was invaluable.

[Daniel_Buck]

once you get used to it, you'll love it :)

[Peter De Smidt]

I have a 6" x 9" Wacom Intuos3. I like it.

[tbeaman]

My girlfriend is a professional animator/illustrator and is perfectly happy with her little Wacom Bamboo.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Spotting/cloning alone would make it worthwhile versus a mouse but the fine adjustments one can make to adjust contrast of individual eyelashes/hairs (IOW apparent sharpness) make my Wacom invaluable (Intuous 3).

[Richard Wasserman]

It's going to take a while, but I'm learning! I find it much more comfortable than a mouse, my hand and arm pain seem to be diminishing, which was a major goal of getting the tablet. Now I need to learn more of what it can do as well as vastly improve my Photoshop skills.