Do you use a Wacom?

Is a Wacom tablet really useful?
If you use a Wacom extensively, can you give me examples of where it fits into your work flow, and why you choose it over a mouse?

I just purchased a Wacom, thinking it would facilitate editing in CS4, and I can't see very many instances where I really need it.

Did I just waste $$ or are there truly times where a pen tablet is useful?

Well, what kind of editing do you do in Photoshop? A tablet gives fine control when you are doing things like making selections, brushing detailed areas, that type of thing -- think about projects that are intensive in those areas and spend some time with it. Once you are used to it go back to your mouse. You'll either be "Meh, I'm happy with the mouse" or you will verge from happy to ecstatic about your new tool/toy!

for drawing, yeah.
editing photos, nah.

I use it for all my retouching. A mouse is just on or off. A tablet pen is pressure sensitive. If your idea of editing is just running a bunch of actions and moving sliders, you don't need a Wacom.

I don't use my tablet much, but when I'm doing fine selecting or retouching, that's when I switch to it. Doing that type of work with a mouse is like trying to draw with one: Impossible!
And like cdifoto said, it's pressure-sensitive which can give you more control when doing the fine work.

I have 2 wacoms that I use. You would have to pry them from my dead fingers if you tried to take them from me. If you took them aways from me , i would devote the rest of my life hunting you down and taking out not only you, but the rest of your family and their next of kin. lol.
When you first get the tablet, you will need some time to get used to it, but it becomes second nature and its just so much natural and easy to work with over a mouse. The only time I pick up the mouse was if Im using the older version of cs4 and the cursor bug pops up. I click on the tablet with the mouse and it clears up the pen issue. I use the pen for everything. I am on either a mac pro with dual 23 acd or my mbp and I could never imagine working on a photo with a mouse. the tablets stretch and cover the screens so the movements are contained and more fluid. I find it faster and more efficient. I have a freind that still uses a mouse, and i just scratch my head . Its easier to mask, select, draw, drag, fade, etc, the pressure sensitivity is great and you can tip the strokes and basically have it behave as if you actually had a specific tool in your hand. I can honestly say it is one of the top 5 best investments i made in my setup and I doubt you will regret purchasing one.

I've gotten into a habit that I have to use my tablet when I'm using Photoshop. Doesn't matter if I am doing a quick edit of a photo, or I'm doing some big Photoshop project for school, I can't use Photoshop without my tablet.

If all you are doing is photo adjustment like brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, or other changes or actions on the whole picture, then a tablet will not help much at all and may be more of a hindrance.

If you make changes using the brush, masks, local modification, blending of images or anything else at something other than the whole picture, the tablet is handy tool.

Imagineering wrote in post #11557540
When you first get the tablet, you will need some time to get used to it, but it becomes second nature and its just so much natural and easy to work with over a mouse.

I find it faster and more efficient. Its easier to mask, select, draw, drag, fade, etc, the pressure sensitivity is great and you can tip the strokes and basically have it behave as if you actually had a specific tool in your hand. I can honestly say it is one of the top 5 best investments i made in my setup and I doubt you will regret purchasing one.

helloyo53 wrote in post #11557566
I've gotten into a habit that I have to use my tablet when I'm using Photoshop. Doesn't matter if I am doing a quick edit of a photo, or I'm doing some big Photoshop project for school, I can't use Photoshop without my tablet.

gjl711 wrote in post #11557662
If you make changes using the brush, masks, local modification, blending of images or anything else at something other than the whole picture, the tablet is handy tool.

... So I get it, that a Wacom is useful for detailed brush work. I also get it that it is not much use for simply running actions, adjusting sliders, etc. But can somebody give me an actual description of how they use a graphic tablet, and how they use the pressure-sensitive pen to facilitate photo editing?

Thanks!

Selecting a person / object in a photo you want to change the background on, like put in a nicer looking sky. Some find it easier to select, with the pen tool or lasso for example, using a tablet.

Another example I saw on here recently would be two images of a car, one with the hood open and one without. Blended together it shows the car's hood closed but also shows the engine block. I'm pretty sure it's done with layer masks - to make a nice smooth blend with the mouse you'd have to play with the opacity settings a lot. With a pressure sensitive tablet, you can control the brush size, opacity, or both, by how hard you press down.

I got one a while back thinking I'd have some fun drawing etc., but due to health reasons I'm spending less and less time sitting at a computer so I hardly use it. I was planning to post it for sale here but didn't know about the 30 day membership rule

XY Crazy wrote in post #11557944
... So I get it, that a Wacom is useful for detailed brush work. I also get it that it is not much use for simply running actions, adjusting sliders, etc. But can somebody give me an actual description of how they use a graphic tablet, and how they use the pressure-sensitive pen to facilitate photo editing?

It would help if you gave us a better idea of what sort of editing you do. You have CS4, one of the most sophisticated image editing programs on the planet. To what extent do you use its capabilities? Do you work in layers? Do you use adjustment layers? Do you use a lot of layer masks?

For extensive editing, I always use my Wacom.

I'm left handed, so it's really just natural to be able to access both the tablet (with my left hand) and the mouse (with my right).

I really wish I could operate 2 cursors at the same time, but I've recently purchased another computer for more intensive editing ---maybe I'll just rock two computers at the same time.

I just bought a used lenovo x200 tablet to try out Photoshop. It's nice to draw on but I'm still used to a mouse, I hope it grows on me, otherwise I blew 500$ on that computer. But that was pretty cheap for that model.

Wacom 4 Intus Large 4x8 here and I use it on all my photo editing, is really shine when you are using it in photoshop to draw out a layer mask and what not. Once you get used to it you may even just decide to forget about your mouse. I really like using mine, took me a few weeks to get used to it but now I don't know what I would do with out it.

Yes is the short answer.

A Wacom Bamboo (MTE-450A) - generation or so old now but I find it far more natural to use for editing in LR / PS than the mouse, I tend to do a lot of brush edits in LR.