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Hello,

Do any of you use graphics tablets to help you with your photography and editing when you are on the computer?

Im interested to know if they are helpful to work with your images when in adobe lightroom and photoshop and if it makes things easier and quicker when editing?

If yes - any recommendations on a tablet size and model.


thanks.

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Having not used one, here is my thoughts.

Graphics tablet and a pen would give more natural movements, e.g. when dodging and burning, or really any brush movement that is supposed to look more natural.

For PURE precision, I'd stick with the mouse - Most now adays are decent so its a all about which one feels comfertable.

I still use the old biege USB Microsoft mouse...I have 2. although i might switch to my second soon, pads on my current one have worn down to literally nothnig!! haha!

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i use this one:

http://www.studica.com/products/product ... ctid=53648

at first its very strange to use but you soom get the hang off it, they are highly recommended...

By the way this is a great site(select your country) if your a student, super cheap..


Also its bananas using the tablet for playing games like star wars battlefront

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Mark Osborne
My life through an iPhone

The wacom bamboo is a very affordable tablet, and wacom is a well known brand.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

I m looking into getting a graphics tablet, but mainly for my graphical design purposes, and of course i will use it while editing photos!

I have tried one, but want one that is A3 size or A2, not really sure, but something a bit bigger for more comfort! and when i tried it i really liked it...but have not looked into it alot...

but i will now

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I got the Wacom Bamboo, but not used it seriously yet. It was more for arty stuffs where the mouse just isn't as good and you need a pen for finer control. Only thing about it is the size. I think if you're really serious a bigger one would help. The Bamboo just happened to be a cheap starting point and was recommended by a friend. I do need a bigger computer desk if I'm going to use it regularly...

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I would find it rather strange using a tablet without a display of what i was doing on it.

I assume a a2 tabet doesnt have a display in it....

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i've been thinking about getting a tablet, but more so i dont get RSI more than anything else.

I can see how it would help out with fine tuning photos, and with brushes in graphic design, but for me, i just dont want Repetitive Strain Injury from clicking the mouse and having a restricted movement all the time.


plus.... they look cool and professional... in case you wanted to show off to someone.

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RSI is all in your head.

18 hours of counter strike and i was fine.

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Uhm...RSI is a genuine medical condition. That aside, there are ways to use a mouse in a "completely ergonomic" way.

I'm interested in getting a tablet too as the Microsoft mouse I replaced my Razer with is nowhere near as precise eventhough it's a laser too.

DD, Wacom's Cintiq line of tablets have a built in display but it's ridiculously expensive!

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Graham
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I have a Wacom Graphire 3 which is about 5 years old now. Its not something I use every day but when I do use it on Photoshop its invaluable. When using brushes and the eraser on layers its much more intuative and precise than a mouse. You soon get used to looking at the screen while drawing. I only have a small tablet (A5 size) but since you use it whilst zoomed in it works fine.

I have an Intuos3 A5 Wide - Special Edition. (http://www.wacom-shop.net/cgi-bin/wacom ... Z&2D631WSE)

Combine this with Corel Painter and you have a very powerful natural media simulation.
For retouching photographs though, a Bamboo will do very well (of course combined with Adobe Photoshop).

It takes some time to get used to it especially for drawing. It feels quite unnatural to draw or whatever and not look at the result appearing underneath your hand but on the screen. I use my tablet with a laptop, so I would often place the tablet on the keyboard and align and centre it to the screen. It is far more intuitive this way, but I cannot access my keyboard hot-keys

Now, when it comes to tablet size I find that even the smallest tablets available can be very very useful and even more convenient to use. I cannot tell much about photo retouching because I do not use my tablet for that but if I were to chose a new tablet I would grab a few sheets of paper of various sizes and I would simply scribble something, make a few of my typical strokes and see how comfortable I was, if space was insufficient or too much white space remained (tablet surface is expensive!).

Tablet surface gets mapped to your screen, so the closest in size and aspect ratio those are, the better.

If you are really passionate about retouching your photos, then the best solution in my view will be a big screen (say 20"-22") and an A3 or XL tablet (like Intous3 A3 or Intous4 XL - both will give you more than you need in still imaging; to the point that you'll be able to tweak every pixel without having to zoom in and out much).


Last but not least, the mouse is still a great pointing device.

Hi Daniel, I wish it was all in our heads - I've had pretty bad RSI several times in my career and have to be pretty careful now. Most writers I know have also had it.

Preventative tip: good ergonomics, regular breaks...

Pain relief if you do have it: Glucosamine tablets - also naturally found in some shellfish, so mussels are great! But obviously you don't want to get to this stage.

In terms of graphics tablets, I've not used one for years, but I used to test the Wacom models and they were very good. Particularly if you're drawing...

Was? haha.

I have never used one but I would think I'm much more accurate with a mouse than a pen. My penmanship is absolutely horrid and I assume that will reflect with the pen. Maybe something to think about

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ok so ive been researching pen tablets and ive noticed wacom come up alot and it seems like a top brand. i want a pen tablet for sketching and photo edditing. which one would u sugest? will bamboo suit me fine or should i be going straight to the intuos range?

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