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Old 28-05-2010, 10:03 PM
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multiweb (Marc)
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Wacom Tablet

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. Quickly browsed this and this . Anybody using one out there? What are you using and what do you recommend? Thanks for any pointers.
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Old 28-05-2010, 11:40 PM
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I've got a Wacom bamboo fun tablet - works fine with CS3.
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Old 29-05-2010, 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
I've got a Wacom bamboo fun tablet - works fine with CS3.
Do you find the tablet surface (working area) big enough to work with?
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Old 29-05-2010, 04:14 PM
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Also have the same as Peter. Works fine and the surface area seems fine to me.
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Old 29-05-2010, 04:17 PM
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Cool - Bamboo it is then. Thanks guys.
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Old 29-05-2010, 04:24 PM
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Quote:
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Do you find the tablet surface (working area) big enough to work with?
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.
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Old 29-05-2010, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by mithrandir View Post
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.
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.
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Old 29-05-2010, 04:53 PM
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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.
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Old 29-05-2010, 05:40 PM
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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
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Old 29-05-2010, 05:49 PM
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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.
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Old 30-05-2010, 09:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
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.
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.

Quote:
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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
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...)
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Old 30-05-2010, 10:25 AM
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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).
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Old 30-05-2010, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
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.
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.
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Old 30-05-2010, 11:09 AM
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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.
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Old 30-05-2010, 11:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
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.
Oh ok - thanks for the clarification. So it does what I want I'll go for the smaller size then. This model 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.
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  #16  
Old 30-05-2010, 11:32 AM
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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.

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  #17  
Old 30-05-2010, 12:04 PM
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renormalised (Carl)
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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.
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Old 30-05-2010, 12:09 PM
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I've got the older model - cte450S

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Wacom_...50S/ps/1510149

The model you are looking at has more pen pressure levels and a larger area by the look of it.
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  #19  
Old 30-05-2010, 12:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RB View Post
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by renormalised View Post
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
I've got the older model - cte450S

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Wacom_...50S/ps/1510149

The model you are looking at has more pen pressure levels and a larger area by the look of it.
I just picked this one 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.
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  #20  
Old 30-05-2010, 01:53 PM
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Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch

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. Go for it Andrew. Work area is plenty. Maybe even a bit too big for my use so not to worry. 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).
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