Questions for Wacom Tablet Users

I also posted this in "Post processing" section but this seems to be a busier section on the forum and I'm sure some of you have some insight.

I'm wondering for those of you that use a Wacom graphics tablet if you can advise me of whether the upgrades the Intuos3 offers from the Graphire (additional sensitivity levels, scoll bars and additional hot keys) are worth it? I'm not a super high end user and although I have PS 7 I typically nowadays just use PSE 3. I do shoot some things professionally but mostly just do photography for myself of family/friends/scenary and have started doing some digital layouts for cards and scrapbooking.

I'm also thinking that the 6x8 version would be nicer - to have that much larger area than a 4x5 tablet would offer. In addition I'm a typical right-handed "mouser" but I'm a lefty for everything else - detail work in writing/drawing. So it is going to be weird using the mouse right handed and then moving the table to "draw and select" with the pen left-handed?

Thanks in advance for your responses! - Deanna

I have the tablet you are considering.

Some questions you might want to ask yourself first:

1) do you prefer a more 'free' hand type of movement when doing editing? (i.e. do you like to use your arm more than your wrist?)

2) are you looking to be more efficent and have tools at your finger tips as well as taking the time to customize your tablet?

if your answer is yes then I am pretty sure you will be happy with the 6x8 intuos3.

Hope that helps.

Koaster

I agree with the above. If you are looking to improve efficiency, even if you are not a PS pro, the Intuos makes a big difference. The scroll bars and shortcut keys are invaluable once you learn to take advantage of them. Hope that helps some...

I would say go for it, you have the best of both worlds..wish i could use both hands!. The larger surface area makes things much easier, I own an A4 Intuos3 and could not live without it.

I've never used a Graphire, so I'm not sure how much improvement is there, but I use a 6X8 Intuos 2 and love the pressure sensitive pen (which I think is the biggest advantage of the Intuos over the Graphire). I'm considering upgrading to the 3 series just for the extra keys and features available on the 3 that is not on the 2.


So, yeah....upgrade

Hi, Deanna, welcome to the forum.

I've also thought about upgrading to the Intuos3 tablet from the Graphire tablet that I currently have. And I also want to go from a 4x5 tablet to a 6x8 but that's a hefty price jump from $99.00 to $330.00. Since I haven't upgraded yet (and I've been thinking about it for a year now), I guess I still haven't convinced myself that the Intuos is worth the price difference for what my needs are.

But that's not the reason I wanted to post here. Although the tablet does come with a mouse, there's no reason you need to use that mouse. You can use the tablet with the pen and use you current mouse for the "mousing" stuff. That is, assuming you have enough space to keep the tablet on the left side of the keyboard and the mouse on the right.

Also, you can use the pen as a substitute for the mouse. When I first started using the tablet, it was because I had started to suffer from CTD (cumulative trauma disorder) from using the mouse too much and for too long. The pen and tablet helped relieve that and I could continue working without needng a mouse. I worked mouseless for a couple of months until my hand and wrist got better.

i have the Intuos3 6X8 and my boyfriend (a lefty) has the Graphire 4X5. I am a graphic design student as well as a photograher, so I have been using my tablet pretty heavily especially for a few illustrations. My boyfriend does more along the lines of what you described- lighter use, mostly for touching up photographs for websites he designs.

Even though I think i you'd be happy with either tablet, but considering the price differences I think the graphire would probably suit your needs just fine.

I havnt had a graphire, but i just picked up my tablet for Christmas and am loving it already. As for moving it for hand orientation, its got about a ten foot cord so you shouldnt have much trouble moving it. in fact i find it just a easy to use the pen for navigating as it is the mouse once you get used to how it all fuctions. For me the shortcut keys are very nice feature, all of them are highly customizable for any key combination, also you can program seperate shortcuts for different programs, its a great tablet.

I've been looking at Wacom tablets on ebay and noticed that most of them come with the mouse. Is there anything special about the mouse or is that just the way they come bundled? I've been tempted to get a tablet just to make picture editing easier-the mouse seems very cumbersome.

it's really great wacom stuff. 3 days back i bought it from my nearest apple store a 6x8 graphire4, brought back and familiarize/practice for a few hours, fired up CS2 and really works like a breeze! selecting of irregular objects and pressure-sensitive painting could never have been easier....

wanted to aim for the intuos3 but the cost is prohibitively high, with the added fact that i do my PP for fun.

in any case, a minimum of 6 by 8 (A5-sized) is required as it provides more control and precision movement.

I really like the programability of the Intuos 3 board's keys, and the pressure sensative pen, and use it with both hands. I don't think I'd want to go back to mouse only !!

I'm still using my old serial port Art Pad and I have a graphire for my laptop. Only you can pick what advantages one has over the other, My opinion is if you are doing ANY grahics work, you ned a tablet, ANY tablet!

All the Wacoms work great and dont break like the rest of the electronic crap we are used to.

-Pete

I see that the local Bestbuy has the Graphire 4 in a 4x5 size that is within my budget. Is that size too small for editing photos?

I'm using a 4x5 Graphire, and I think it's a great size for editing photos. The larger the tablet, the more you have to move the pen for the same motion on screen. Some folks like that--I prefer tighter motions. Do you generally set your mouse to move the pointer as fast as possible, or slower? If you max it out, I think you'll be very happy with a smaller tablet.
It's sensitive enough that I have no difficulty with fine motions either. Plus, it takes up a LOT less room. You've probably noticed that 4x5 describes the active area only--the entire device is roughly 8" square, so the size of a large mouse pad.

I will say that if you plan to use the included mouse, the 4x5 is a bit small, because the mouse only works within that area. But as others have suggested, leave the mouse in the box, and use your existing mouse instead.

I was in the right place at the right time yesterday-the store hadn't removed the old price on the Graphire 4 so I picked one up. It is a little "different" getting used to it. How do you configure the "clone" brush or the "alt click" that is used in CS2 to work with the tablet? Right now I am using the alt-mouse click to select the area I want to clone-I suspect there is a way to do it with the tablet.