Anybody use a digitizing tablet?

[Kerry Perkins]

I'm curious to know if anyone uses a digitizing tablet and stylus (like Wacom) to do PS work like selecting and brushing. I find the mouse/trackball method to be tedious and time consuming. I know that you can tell PS to use pen pressure as "click", so this seems like it would be a big time-saver. I'm probably behind the curve here, but let me know... :o

[Jasper Doest]

Kerry,

I use a Wacom Intuos tablet and I just love it...so much better than a mouse/trackball....couldn't do without one.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Kerry I've had one at various times including the 21 Cintiq but never got used to them. I think it was mostly form not having he proper space.

Do need to be comfortable and have it accessible ... once you get used it will probably feel like Jasper !!! I'm considering a return :)

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I have one and I find I keep going back to the mouse. Maybe I didn't practice enough with it. I found I had more control with the mouse maybe because I can steady it more than a pen in my hand. I found I was making too many mistakes with the Wacom and had to go back over things a lot.

[Bill Keown]

I have been using the Intuos for some time and find it an importrant tool. Almost everything you can do with a mouse can be done with the pen and in my opinion with better control. One word of advice if you get a tablet ... Hide the mouse and force yourself to use the tablet until it becomes as natural as the mouse.

[Jasper Doest]

I agree with Bill here...practice is the key.

[David Thomasson]

I use a Wacom Intuos3, size 4x5, for almost all retouching chores. Returning to a mouse now would be like returning to dial-up after having DSL.

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks for the feedback all. I think I will borrow one and check it out. I find doing large selection tasks with the mouse to be somewhat onerous.

[Kris Mortensen]

When I first got interested in graphics arts and became a member of NAPP, I saw a lecture Bert Monroy gave, and he said, "... all your life, you learn to draw with a pencil, then you get a computer and they tell you, here...now use a bar of soap."

I've been using Wacom tablets ever since!

Plus, there is alot of things you can do in the brush palette you can't do with a mouse! Even internet browsers make use of pens. There is something called pen flicks I use alot now...instead of navigating with a mouse, I can flick my pen left or right to go back or forward a page....by flicking the pen up or down I can scroll up or down the page. I can even use the pen to 'draw' right inside Outlook emails....and the list will probably keep getting longer!

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks Kris. I spent six years at Walt Disney Imagineering in the R&D department. I used a Wacom tablet there for doing some artwork on the computer and loved it. Also worked on alternative input devices for computers so I think this has some good potential! Thanks.

[Dave Taylor]

I've used a Wacom table for about 9 years now... I HATE using a mouse. I agree with Bill, if you get a tablet - hide your mouse until you are very comfortable with the tablet. Stay patient, it can be difficult to learn. But once you master it, you'll understand the power and flexibility you get with a stylus/tablet combo. Be sure to configure Photoshop correctly to allow for the pressure sensitivity (Brushes Palette: Brush Presets: Other Dynamics: Opacity Jitter - set to Pen Pressurel... I believe...)

[Michael Lloyd]

I don't know what I would do without my Intuos III... I'm on the road tonight and very grateful that I don't have any images to process. Once you go tablet you'll never go back... or something like that.

[Jay Gould]

Those loving the Wacom tablet - I have been thinking of getting one as we have the Bluetooth model in Australia - do you also use the Wacom mouse or just the pen?

[Andy Wai]

I have been using the Intuos for some time and find it an importrant tool. Almost everything you can do with a mouse can be done with the pen and in my opinion with better control.
Not sure if I would agree with your last part. While tablet is much better than mouse for drawing a continuous curve, e.g. lasso tool, painting, cloning, patching, smudging etc, it's less precise than mouse for very small movements, e.g. tweaking points on tone curves. And right dragging is particularly bad because you don't have a support surface below you. On the other hand, I'm using an old Intuos 2 and a Logitech MX Revolution laser mouse. So that might put the ancient tablet at a disadvantage. Anyway, they are for different things and for me both are necessary.

By the way, if you find your pointer wandering while using a tablet, try putting the tip down on the tablet surface and see if it still wanders. If it still does, the pen is falling apart. I've had that happened once. Replaced the pen and things went back to normal.

Andy

[Dave Taylor]

Those loving the Wacom tablet - I have been thinking of getting one as we have the Bluetooth model in Australia - do you also use the Wacom mouse or just the pen?

I don't own a mouse anymore. When I purchased my Wacom, I only bought the stylus - not even sure if they offered a mouse back then. Regardless I haven't ever felt the need to use a mouse since then. I had to use one for my old regular job, and it always felt foreign once I got used to the stylus. When I get my new Wacom tablet, I will probably get the mouse option though, just as a backup.

[Jay Gould]

To bring this back to the top, Santa Claus is coming to town and I am getting the Intuos 4 Wireless for Xmas (thanks Jackie!).

Those that love it, do you use it for not only CS5 stuff, e.g., general computer work, e.g., Word, Outlook?

Accessories: while Santa is here what accessories can I not live without; what spares should I have?

Recommendations/Tips for use: "All" appreciated!!

Thanks and Happy Holidays