I enjoy working with the pen/tablet but find that some precision work is still best done with a mouse. Positioning of a crop border for instance. Lifting up the pen can cause a few pixels shift, which in some cases can be a hindrance.
Then again, the beauty of tablets is that you can still leave your regular mouse connected to the machine. (No, don't start about the wacom mouse... which doesn't work off-tablet.)
I find my graphics tablet to be good for ergonomics as well: it allows you to swtich up the muscles and joints being stressed by repetitive mouse work.
I've owned three tablets and find them indispensable. After two Wacom Graphire tablets I moved up to their premium Intuous 3 that has a much more accurate pen. My workspace is limited so I opted for the smallish 4x6 inch table that comes with both pen and cordless mouse. Yes, the mouse only works on the tablet but it works beautifully. If I were doing serious graphics work I would definitely purchase a larger tablet that would give added control. Wacom is the way to go.
As suggested above it would be worth searching on Wacom. Good luck.
I have used a Wacom Inuous3 A4 tablet for many years now and love it. The ability to customise the tablet buttons is great and it makes complex photo manipulation much easier. Highly recommend one but as someone else mentioned, take a look at them in person before you buy.
Tentacle wrote:
I enjoy working with the pen/tablet but find that some precision work is still best done with a mouse. Positioning of a crop border for instance. Lifting up the pen can cause a few pixels shift, which in some cases can be a hindrance.
This is true. The design that allows the Wacom stylus to work unpowered -- without a battery or cord connection to the tablet -- also allows it to move the cursor when the stylus is not in physical contact with the pad. This makes it easy to inadvertently move blocks of text or even change settings in programs like InDesign if you are not paying attention to the screen.
That said, I started using tablets when they were not supported natively in Windows or Photoshop and have never looked back. A mouse is useful occasionally, but even for spreadsheets and databases, my tablet works surprisingly well.
I should add that being able to move the cursor without touching the tablet is usually a good thing. And ... if you buy one, don't use the plastic nibs, get some of their felt tips which wear out quickly but have a wonderful, silky feel when drawing.
I've got the intuos 6x11, works great with my widescreen monitor and it comes with a mouse to use on it for when you don't want to use the pen.
Costco.com has great prices on the wacom's, thats where I got mine.
Tablets are probably the best device for driving PS. My experience is exactly the opposite of Tentacle's--I find precision work is best done with the tablet, that's the main reason I prefer it. For photo editing, you don't need the big ones, many of us here are using the smallest Wacoms with no trouble, even on huge monitors.
Try before you buy is good advice, but keep in mind that there is a learning curve. I have had friends who insist that they just can't get used to tablets, but also a few who have said that, stuck with it a bit longer and became converts.
Bigger is not necessarily better. The tablet surface equates to the whole screen, so on a large tablet you have to reach all the way across the tablet to use menu bar for example. On my small tablet at home (4x6) I can reach anywhere on the tablet with a roll or turn of my wrist. On the larger tablets at school (something like 8x10, or 7x9?) I find that I actually have a harder time lining up points because I move my whole arm and I can't control as well.
For drawing and painting the larger tablets would be better I'd think, but when I am photo editing I am zoomed in pretty close and my small tablet works fine, takes less desk space too.
You can pick up the Wacom Bamboo for about $80 and it is good, but the higher end Wacoms have a much nicer pen feel. Maybe worth springing for an Intuous 3.
If you just don't know, get the Bamboo. It will give you an idea of what the tablet pen is all about; you can always sell it later if you want to get the Intuos. Can't lose much money at those prices! I have the Intuous and would never be without one again; my husband hates it.
