Wacom Tablet

[atldal]

I'm relatively new to photography and to photoshop and want to get a tablet to help out with editing. Costco currenlty has a Wacom Intuos3 tablet for $99. Is this a good starter level tablet and is this a fair price?

Thanks,
shane

[juanpafer]

I got the Costco deal last week. I did some research, and the price is really good (you realize there is a newer version, the intuos4... but it costs more). It arrived after 2 days (I ordered regular shipping), and when I opened the box I was surprised with the quality of he tablet, the pen and the mouse. It also includes some bundle software like PS elements, some filters from Nik and a couple other things. As for the tablet itself, let me tell you that it is my first experience with tablets but I am very pleased. Easy to use, easy to setup, and as incredible as it sounds after a couple hours it was more intuitive to use than the mouse.
I am happy!

[atldal]

Juan, thanks for the info, I ordered mine and it should be on the way.

[JayCee Images]

Great tablet and thats a really good price!

Tablets are one of those love em or hate em things...more people love them than hate them though and the more you use it, the more you wonder how you ever got along without one. If you do alot of burning\dodging\cloning or alot of fine detail work on your photos, they are a godsend!

[oojosheoo]

I purchased the I3 when it first came out and spent well over $300. But then again it all depends on the size of the tablet. I say if your going to just edit any size would do. I use the 6X11 and its a great size for everything. If you you've been editing with a mouse, the tablet will blow you away. Go for it man. Good luck.

[shmoogy]

I wanted to buy the Intuos3, or a Bamboo, but I ended up getting an amazing deal on a Graphire 3, and even though it's a little dated, it's fantastic.

[Saint728]

I bought a 9 "x 12" intuos3 when they came out in Australia for $749.00 AUD and have never used it yet. I always plan to set it up, but keep forgetting, lol. One day soon I will get it hooked up and have a play with it.

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

[IainB]

Juan and Shane, what size tablet did you buy?

[ChristopherChen]

I went from the Intuos3 to the Intuos4 recently.

From the 3 to 4, I've been using the medium sized on throughout. It only makes sense, imho to get a larger one if you're doing illustration. If not it's too much of an overkill. The price differences between the med and large is quite substantial as well.

If you do work in photoshop a lot, it's very useful for things like precise cloning, etc. Its a godsend when I do post production especially for product photography where clients have very precise requirements.

The thing I disliked about the 3 was the placement of the buttons. My writing hand almost always touched the adjustment bar...which means my brush size kept being accidentally changed.

No such problem or issue with the 4 as the buttons are placed on one side of the tablet, if you want left or right orientation just rotate the board.

Life's much better with the Intuos4!!!! :D

[Jim G]

I use a 6x11" Intuos3 and adore it - haven't used a mouse since I bought it. I bought a bigger one to match a 24" screen and I have disabled the last inch or so horizontally - I found a 6x9" a touch too small but a 11" a touch too large for a 24" screen for my liking.

I have found that it makes Photoshop and Illustrator work much easier... very hard to go back to a mouse for me! I would very gladly buy again.

[Doctor Diesel]

I picked up a wacom bamboo for $59 equivelent at the apple store a while back.....brilliant learner tablet....go for it, at $99 for an intuos3 you cannot go wrong.

[juanpafer]

Juan and Shane, what size tablet did you buy?
The small one. I have never tried any other size but I am very happy with the small one. Apparently it is not enough when you are illustrating as you need to use very long strokes, but for photography I find that it exceeds my needs. I don't use the mouse anymore when I use photoshop.

[IainB]

Thanks Juan. Exactly what I needed to know. I want one for photography, and it's not always been clear in other posts what their main purpose is. I am planning on buying a 24" IPS panel monitor. What size monitor do you have? Any other conments welcome!

[juanpafer]

I use a 22 inch as my main monitor and an old 19 inch for my palletes. I really want to go bigger but need to save for a while to get a good monitor.

[nduralt]

I currently use one of the medium tablets and find that it can sometimes be too small for what I'm working on. I suggest that if you are considering a tablet to use regularly then purchase the largest your budget can afford. I also have one of those 27 inch imacs so using the pen in tablet mode is sometimes out of the question on finer detailed work.