Wacom Graphic Pad

I'm thinking of purchasing a wacom product or something similar. What is the latest pad that has good reviews. I went on line and my head is spinning. there are so many brands out there, I'm more confused from when I started. I just want it to work with Lightroom. I use a mouse and it isn't working for me.

anitaw2 wrote in post #17735283
I'm thinking of purchasing a wacom product or something similar. What is the latest pad that has good reviews. I went on line and my head is spinning. there are so many brands out there, I'm more confused from when I started. I just want it to work with Lightroom. I use a mouse and it isn't working for me.

Personally I don't think there are that many choices, but then again I'd only consider Wacom. For Wacom you'll probably want an Intuos Pro Small or Medium or an Intuos Photo (small). I have a Medium Intuos Pro, but honestly I could do much of what I do with a small. If I were using it only for LR then for certain the small size would be good enough.

If you really want a medium sized tablet, but want something cheaper than the Pro then get a Medium Intuos Art.

Medium takes up more desk space, which may also be something you need to take into consideration.

I've had medium Wacoms and small Wacoms. I much prefer the smaller ones. Less arm movement needed and I have sufficient accuracy using the small size.

right now, my friend lent me the Wacom Pen & touch small. I like it but it's the only pad I tried and I could buy the Intuos 4 large....I don't know what to do. any advice would be appreciated. I didn't try the intuos 4. it's for sale on a web site for $140

anitaw2 wrote in post #17743612
right now, my friend lent me the Wacom Pen & touch small. I like it but it's the only pad I tried and I could buy the Intuos 4 large....I don't know what to do. any advice would be appreciated. I didn't try the intuos 4. it's for sale on a web site for $140

The large would be a "huge" mistake. Go with either medium or small. I've used both and prefer small.

I have the medium and for photo editing I have the active area mapped a bit smaller for speedier action.

David Arbogast wrote in post #17743627
The large would be a "huge" mistake. Go with either medium or small. I've used both and prefer small.

I agree with David. Unless your primary use is for digital art and not photography I'd really recommend against the large. I'd then select based on screen size, what programs you use, desk space and how much you want to move your arm.

I have a 24" screen and use brushes in PS quite a bit when doing photo restoration, so I prefer the medium tablet. If I had a smaller screen, didn't use brushes in PS or only used LR I would have bought a small tablet. For anything I do I'd hate to use a large tablet and would probably end up remapping the surface so I only use a small portion, which seems like a big waste of money (and desk space).

The Intuos 4 is an excellent tablet and is essentially an older model of the Intuos 5 or Intuos Pro. The 4 is essentially the same as the 5 or Pro without touch capabilities. All three have differences in surface "roughness" and styling. Since Wacom still supports the Intuos 3 with new drivers (there was a Win 10 one released in July), anyone with an Intuos 4 will likely get several years more use from it before it's obsoleted.

anitaw2 wrote in post #17743612
right now, my friend lent me the Wacom Pen & touch small. I like it but it's the only pad I tried and I could buy the Intuos 4 large....I don't know what to do. any advice would be appreciated. I didn't try the intuos 4. it's for sale on a web site for $140

None of them are bad. It's mostly what size you want and features.

I use a Wacom Intuous 4 medium and it works great!

I've yet to use a Wacom pad that I wasn't happy with. The more expensive ones have some nice features such as more buttons and the like, but even their entry level consumer products are very nice to use.

As far as size goes, that is a very personal thing. Most photographers seem to like the smaller ones, but I have met a few who love their gigantic things and want something with even more space. (People are weird...)

I have a medium Intuos touch sensitive version (Forget the exact model, but I believe there is a model or two newer in the line now) and I kind of regret not getting a size smaller.

However I strongly encourage you to try and get a chance to test out the different sizes if at all possible, and then make your own decision. What works for all of us might not really work for you.

Good luck.

I have the Intuos4 medium and though I love the pad, I wish I had gone with the small one. My daughter has the small and it is way more comfortable for photo work. Both work great and the same so for me it's more the comfort level. With the small most of the movement in in the wrist whereas the medium will require your arm to move at times.

gjl711 wrote in post #17743692
I have the Intuos4 medium and though I love the pad, I wish I had gone with the small one. My daughter has the small and it is way more comfortable for photo work. Both work great and the same so for me it's more the comfort level. With the small most of the movement in in the wrist whereas the medium will require your arm to move at times.

You can always map a smaller work area on a larger pad, but sadly you can't keep it from chewing up your desk real-estate.

Agreeing with most of the above: I have an old Bamboo small. A friend loaned me a medium-sized one and I couldn't get used to it - it requires too much arm movement instead of just wrist movement.

If I need more precision, I'll just zoom in.

I'm probably the only person here with a large Intuos pro, but then I'm also a fringe case since I also engage in some drawing as well. It also shouldn't be problematic if you're used to swinging your arm around playing CS:GO at low DPI. I have a huge desk so space isn't really a problem.

As for which model to get, don't be afraid to look into older Intuos 3/4/5 models as they aren't worse functionally than the new ones, in fact the Intuos 3 I had once was so tough it could probably have stopped a bullet.

The only problem was that the I3 had terrible hotkeys that I never used.
The I4 was better in that it had OLED displays that showed what all your buttons did and had a nicer layout you could actually make use of.
The I5/Pro feels the best, since it's covered in soft-touch rubber and the hotkeys make the most sense. However, it's also a step back, since the top surface is no longer replaceable.

wow, thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll go with the small version. I have very small arms/wrist and can't see the use of a lage tablet. now, what would you pay for a used tablet (wacom Pen & Touch small) it is in perfect condition with all included. my friend used it for a university credit in Photoshop. she doesn't use it anymore and hates photography!! ha, ha. so she will sell it and asked me how much would I pay. I have no idea how much a used one is worth. I think she paid around $200. (canadian)

I have a small Wacom Bamboo (CTL-460) which works well in Ps. If I want to use it as a mouse replacement (which I usually don't) it has no problem on my Windows desktop which is spread over three monitors. I haven't tried any of the larger models.

Edit: Just did a check on the local CraigsList and there are a fair number of small tablets - Bamboo and Intuos - running from $25 to $80 (CDN).