Wacom Tablet

[multiweb]

High guys, I'm about to buy a tablet for processing. I used a wacom like 10yrs ago so been out of the game a bit. :P Quickly browsed this (http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Computer-Accessories/Keyboards-and-Mice/Tablets/INWAC4630)and this (http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Computer-Accessories/Keyboards-and-Mice/Tablets/INWAC6610) . Anybody using one out there? What are you using and what do you recommend? Thanks for any pointers.

[peter_4059]

I've got a Wacom bamboo fun tablet - works fine with CS3.

[multiweb]

Do you find the tablet surface (working area) big enough to work with?

[allan gould]

Also have the same as Peter. Works fine and the surface area seems fine to me.

[multiweb]

Cool - Bamboo it is then. Thanks guys. :thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

That's my question. Will the bamboo cope with the size of images you work with, or do you need something larger like the Intuos4 medium - at about twice the price.

[multiweb]

The work surface is directly related to the length of the stroke you will apply. In astro processing we're mostly working in small areas and touching up details so any surface you're comfortable with is good enough once you're zoomed in. If you were sketching, drawing long lines and curves it could be a bit of an issue, agreed.

[peter_4059]

Obviously a bigger tablet would be better but you get what you pay for with these things. The small one works fine for me however I'm sure a professional photographer would go for a larger working area.

[Octane]

I have an Intuos3 11x8" I think it is.

It is magic. I can't go back to using a mouse to process, ever again.

Complicated masks are a sinch along with pressure sensitivity.

H

[mswhin63]

I used one long time ago, interested again but would get a bigger one than that. More graphical working area makes a big difference.

Considering tablet PC but not sure.

[multiweb]

Agreed Peter. If you're a pro you get the right tools for the job but smaller area will suit me fine. Just wanted some feedback as I've been out of the loop for a while but I did use wacoms extensively in the past.


I believe you. The Intuos range are great but costly. Some of them are huuuge. Very well suited for sketching (as in car line designs, comics, etc...)

[peter_4059]

Marc,

I'm with you. The thing about the tablet is it is mapped to the size of the screen so no matter what zoom you apply the movement of the pen across the tablet always moves the curser from one side of the screen to the other. You can also program the four buttons on the tablet to do specific things in ps and you have control of zoom on the dial. There are also two programmable buttons on the stylus. I don't use the supplied mouse as I plug another wired mouse in and use that with my other hand (stylus in left and mouse in right hand).

[multiweb]

That's interesting. I never used small sized ones and I would have assumed the screen mapping would have some kind of software function to recalibrate the pen motion on the fly within an smaller area. Otherwise it's pretty useless. Zooming won't help if the motion is also magnified. Thanks for the warning. I'll have to do a bit more homework. :thumbsup:

[peter_4059]

Sorry Marc - what I mean is if you zoom in on the image the pen still is mapped to the whole screen area so it does recalibrate on the fly. ie with the image fitted to the screen, moving the pen across the tablet moves the cursor across the whole image. If you then zoom in to show only a quarter of the image then moving the pen across the tablet moves the curser over that quarter of the image that is visible.

[multiweb]

Oh ok - thanks for the clarification. So it does what I want :thumbsup: I'll go for the smaller size then. This model (http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Computer-Accessories/Keyboards-and-Mice/Tablets/INWAC6610)looks like it'll do the job nicely. I'm more interested in pen pressure than work area for my budget. I need to keep some money to get a new PC too.:)

[RB]

Marc, again, I saw the Wacom tablets at the computer show that I attended recently.
I like the fact that you can now use them with gestures.

The model you mention is the one I've got my eye on too, might go down to Office Works today actually.

I only need something small too and this will probably be all I need.

:thumbsup:

[renormalised]

I wouldn't mind grabbing one myself. Been awhile since I used one and I found it much easier than stuffing around with a mouse...especially for drawing straight lines or masking an object.

[peter_4059]

I've got the older model - cte450S

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Wacom_Bamboo_Fun_Small_Tablet,_Silv er/CTE450S/ps/1510149

The model you are looking at has more pen pressure levels and a larger area by the look of it.

[multiweb]

I just picked this one (http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Computer-Accessories/Keyboards-and-Mice/Tablets/INWAC6610)up from Officeworks for $289.00 this morning so I'll report back this arvo on how it goes with a couple of photos next to my keyboard and mouse so you guys have an idea on how it performs and the scale of things too. I'll try it in PS CS3/4 and 5 in case you guys use different versions.

[multiweb]

Well it works fine in all PS versions I've tested (3 to 5) both Win XP pro (32bits) and Vista Ultimate (32bits also) from Desktop PC to laptops. Drivers and installation are a breeze. Cool tuts. Both works with Pen and Finger touch (like an iPod, zoom pinch, rotate, slide, etc... standard stuff). It just works out of the box. Definitely a keeper. :thumbsup: Go for it Andrew. Work area is plenty. Maybe even a bit too big for my use so not to worry. :P Only con would be the USB cable attachment to the tablet. They should have put a socket rather than a molded output IMO but it's not a show stopper. The cable is long enough but be careful not to knock or pull that connection off or you'll slice it clean and I doubt it can be fixed easily (i.e new tablet).

[peter_4059]

That's interesting - mine has "Detachable USB cable unplugs from your computer and your tablet for easy storage and transport"

Wonder why they changed this?

[multiweb]

Cutting costs I reckon. It's the same everywhere nowadays. Manufacturers are cutting corners. But then again the tablet is extremely thin so I'm wondering if there is enough room for a USB socket.

[renormalised]

Looks good....nice size (8" x 6"??). Much better than the pokey little ones you see for sale quite often.

[multiweb]

Yeah it's very comfortable. Just have to work out the mapping between pen pressure and brush sizes. Might need a bit of tweeking. So far I haven't hit any major bump. Also works fine on dual screens.
Pen's fine and precise, finger touch a bit sluggish but still ok. I don't use fingers much for processing masks ;)

[RB]

Thanks for the report Marc.
Good to hear.

I went to Office Quirks today but they were out of stock, so I'll pick one up when they get new stock again.

:thumbsup:

[renormalised]

Tried Hardly Normal??. Although, it'll probably be costlier there.

[RB]

Yeah thought of that but didn't have time, usually they're more expensive but sometimes they price match OW.

I'll try.

:thumbsup:

[Tandum]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=598973#post598973