Wacom

Hey I am considering buying this - http://www.wacom.com/en-au/products/pen-tablets/intuos-pro-large#Specifications



Is it worth it and will I get anything out of it? I use the trackpad currently for my iMac or Mouse.

Highly recommend you go for the small NOT the large, because the surface area is directly mapped to the screen, you have to get used to moving the pointer in a different way to the mouse or trackpad.
i.e you can't just lift it up and put it back down to "push" the cursor across the screen , wherever you put the pointer the cursor goes directly to that point - hope this makes sense.
Even with the small you can set it to only use part of the surface and then simply switch into precision mode if needed.

I use the small for PS and yes it does make it easier than a mouse / trackpad. But I still use my trackpad for other apps. In theory the wacom can act as a trackpad in touch mode and use your finger but it is nowhere near as good as the trackpad IMHO, so I have touch mode disabled.


There is a good tutorial here.
How To Use A Wacom Tablet

I have not used one, but I know of lots that use them and love them.

I have a Wacom tablet but I've only ever really found it useful for some graphic design work that I was doing a while back. I could see its uses for pressure sensitive tasks, like blending colors with a brush in photoshop and things like that, but I haven't really had the need. I find it hard to navigate screen menus with it, so you end up using it in conjunction with the mouse. In the end I found that, it was something that I didn't really need. It is fantastic for certain tasks, like brush work or gradient fills, and you can get better results with it faster. There are programmable buttons on them so you can program shortcut keys (but only a few) and this can also make it an efficient way to work once you get used to it. But like i said, it's nice for drawing and design, but I prefer just to use a mouse now for photo editing.

Love, love, love my Wacom tablet. Particularly good for doing really fine, highly controlled edits. For point and click (meaning global edits) I use a mouse. Be prepared for a bit of learning curve with how it feels using a pen/tablet instead of mouse; it takes a little getting used to. Once you get the feel down, though, and you see how much more control you have you'll be hooked.

Also, can *not* possibly agree more with the statement about getting the small tablet. The smaller work-area on the tablet means less movement of your wrist and arm to accomplish the same amount of cursor movement on your monitor. While this may not sound like a big deal, believe you me... It is.

Also, there are cheaper tablets "out there" but the Wacom is the industry standard because it rocks. Hard. Accept no substitute.

....

I love mine! Another huge plus is it is pressure sensitive too! This way you don't have to keep going over certain areas a few times to fill it in. And the accuracy over a mouse is just amazing.

I use the Intuos medium and it's actually a bit large for the Macbook but fine for my desktop.

Worth every penny.

I am thinking of the medium to go with my 27inch iMac, thanks for everyones comments.

I bought my son the Wacom Bamboo VTH470 and he uses it for illustrating and he loves it.

WM

I use a wacom intuos medium, for art. If you want an easier mouse, use a bamboo. Medium/large. Cheaper. If you want your custom functions on a small scroll wheel, get the intuos. If you want to spoil yourself, use a cintiq. The intuos and the Cintiq's customizable buttons are useful. If you're not going to invest in setting up and learning custom buttons, I'd stick to the bamboo.

Price ranges from 60~120 to 250~400 to 1000+ for Bamboo, Intuos, and Cintiqs.

I got the small pro for Christmas. I like it so far. It take some getting used to, but I use it in more in Photoshop.

I have one myself... however I'll sadly admit that I have not used it yet.

I'm also thinking of getting one of these but I'm not sure if I want to pay too much in case I don't use it. For that reason the cheaper alternatives look tempting.

Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet CTL471 for PC / MAC: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

vs

USB Writing Drawing Graphics Board Tablet 3x2.3 inch + Wireless Digital Pen / Compatible with all major graphics application : including Corel Painter , CorelDraw , Adobe Photoshop , Adobe Illustrator , Adobe Fireworks , Macromedia Flash , Comic Stud

hate to rain on the "i love my wacom" parade but I have one (Bamboo) and I don't love it. Tried to get the hang of it, really I did, and it is on my 'to do' list to get back at it and give it another go. but my digital art looks like something a four year old draws with crayola and I never got the hang of using it for photography editing.

when I have lots more time and ready to rechallenge my need to learn I'll give it another go.

Fortkentdad said:

hate to rain on the "i love my wacom" parade but I have one (Bamboo) and I don't love it. Tried to get the hang of it, really I did, and it is on my 'to do' list to get back at it and give it another go. but my digital art looks like something a four year old draws with crayola and I never got the hang of using it for photography editing.

when I have lots more time and ready to rechallenge my need to learn I'll give it another go.

Click to expand...

Here is what I managed with a day - http://nikonites.com/off-topic/28549-scotts-wacom-thread.html#axzz3fo6TzIW7

I have an older Wacom Bamboo and use it constantly, I cannot imagine trying to do indepth editing in PS or LR and Portrait Pro without it. I would recommend a medium or large. I constantly run out of real estate when editing windows and since the brush tools are cumulative in photoshop you just don't want to keep starting. I use it for everyday and do most mouse functions with the pen. It does take some adjusting too but if you stick with it you will be doing some amazing editing, something you just don't have the control to do with a mouse. I need to order a large one for myself.