dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

BIG QUESTION: Are drawing pads useful? If so, what level do I need? What has been your experience?

Recently I was frustrated when try to do detail work on a photo using a track ball. As tho mind reading Amazon popped up with many differing ones. Low cost even as low as $25 but of interest to me were about $80 and then, wow, a monitor type with the photo image right there under my pen. The VEIKK VK1200 Drawing Tablet with photo image on Screen,11.6 Inch for $160, dazzling... yes but is a monitor type needed? Is it a game-changer?

SteveFranz Loc: Durham, NC

I tried a Wacom and didn't really care for it. Worked just like it was supposed to, but I never really got the hang of it. A few years ago I got a Huion Kanmas Pen Display Tablet. Basically it works like a touch screen, you have the image on it and you work directly from the tablet. You don't have to try to coordinate your hand movements while looking away at your monitor.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

I've had my Wacom Intuos Pro for quite a while now. A tablet was much better than a mouse for creating masks. It also has programmable buttons along one side for often used PS shortcuts or Ctrl or Alt functions without having to leave the tablet. With that said, PS and now LrC have gotten much better at identifying subjects, or items of interest, and creating very good masks on their own, so I am using the tables less than I use to. It's still very helpful in covering or uncovering PS layers or adding and subtracting to masks in LrC as it has a much more natural brush motion with finer movements than a mouse. I'm glad I have one, but could live without it given recent advances in subject detection with much better masking algorithms.

IMHO, the higher end tablets are designed for heavy duty CAD use and are beyond what I need for Post. You can even get tablets with their own displays so you are working directly on your image instead of moving your hand while looking at your display. Again, overkill in my opinion. If you really like this idea, you might want to get a 12.9" ipad pro.

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

I have used a medium-size Wacom Intuos tablet for 3 decades and can't edit photos without it. The Wacom version of the "monitor type" you refer to is the Cintiq, something I have never aspired to, and very costly. Some people love them, but not me.

Wacom tablets are not cheap but they have competition nowadays where once they were pretty much all there was. However, I am on my second Wacom tablet in 30 years and it still works like new. Get a good one and it will last a very long time. I still use a mouse in conjunction with the tablet.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

I recently updated my Wacom Intuos tablet from 15 years ago. I remember taking the time to learn and co-ordinate tablet to screen... have never looked back and find it still indispensable, for me, working with layers and masks.

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

People seem to either love tablets or hate them. Put me in the former category. I found it to be very intuitive from the moment I got one, and there was never a problem coordinating with the monitor screen. I find it to be indispensable for Photoshop work. As for the Cintiq type, I want to work on my 27-inch monitors and I can't justify the expense of those screens when a pen tablet works so well for me.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

Its a user interface so basically it depends upon the user if it fits his requirement and style. As a long time user, my suggestion, should you want to dive into it, is to buy the monitor type with the widest pressure sensitivity. Basically a better ipad. That way, you edit directly into the image, instead of working it like a mouse.

gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

Don. Refurbished by WACOM on eBay. Gary
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ssn=wacomtechnology&store_name=wacom&_oac=1&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

About $25 less than new... the red flag is that they have sold about 900 of these refurbished unit. The 900 does not speak well of the new units, suggesting quality problems. With significant savings, I do not flinch at the word "refurbished." Thank you for the heads up.

tcthome Loc: NJ

XP-Pen Star G640 was $30 when I purchased it a couple years ago after a recommendation from the f64 you-tube channel on a low cost series he did. I used it for about 2 days & can see the benefit of it as I got better each day. I did use it in LR6 but really appreciated it in Affinity Photo for edging plus Dodging & Burning some Cactus Flower pedals to give them more definition & shape. You need to put your mouse away & forget about it for a couple of weeks. Much, much easier for fine detail work. I stopped using it because planned on getting a Wacom with the dial & buttons to get away from the keyboard to make things a little smoother & faster. Never did & was thinking of using it again. Ideally the Cintiq would be easiest to use if one could afford it. The cheaper XP-Pen model will let you know if you could grasp & like a none lcd drawing tablet & help decide if you want to step to a Wacom with more options if you stick with it for a couple of weeks or longer if you have enough editing to do during that time.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Tcthome said: "Cintiq would be easiest to use if one could afford it."

Come now what is the price when it comes to art... aaaa $2500~!! Ouch, yes, that is an "IF" price.

Reading the recommendations and then going to reviews... and knowing my projected low usage a monitor type, not requiring great hand-on-pad, eye-on-screen, would be the better bet. So for about $150 the Veikk Studio VK1200 V2 with monitor image is available on Amazon. I have red the 2-3 star ratings... the complaint for most pads is driver instability and no replacement tips.

Like many things, asking the right words provides the right answer. Amazon: "BoxWave Stylus Pen Compatible with Veikk Studio VK1200 V2 - DualTip Capacitive Stylus" 7 for $18.

I have sent a help message to Veikk regarding the driver and possible problems with antivirus and malware protection programs.

I appreciate the input by UHH members... reality based on experience in photo editing use of pads is a great guidance. Thank you all.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The high end Wacom tablets are used by graphic artists and photo retouchers. We had a dozen of them on PCs running Photoshop in the lab I worked for.

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

I've used Wacom tablets in the past. Now I use my ipad as a graphics tablet for my mac. It's wireless and I can draw directly on the image. The mods show on both the ipad and the mac. Works great with PS and LR.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Thank you SalvageDivre. At $500 - $700, it is Certainly more expensive than the $150 VEIKK VK1200 monitor tablet, but it is a multi-ability device and serves many purposes, even photography. Also, the iPhone photo apps which are so economical photo modifiers can be used with the iPad. Our new world is getting newer each day!!
https://www.creativebloq.com/how-to/how-to-use-an-ipad-as-a-drawing-tablet-with-a-pc

I dislike my iPhone 8+ because it is small and my eyes are too "mature." The iPad would solve that complaint.

goofybruce

...a quick question (expecting long answers)...but, seriously, where is the dividing line between "touching up", "get it right in the camera", and "Look, Ma, what my computer can do to my picture!"?
I can understand formal portraits and getting rid of "temporary" blemishes, but landscape scenes, action shots, nature pictures??? I shoot both for work (journalism) where "as shot" is a standard, and personal (outdoors photography) where what Nature provided is what I shoot and adjustments to overall exposure, color enhancement, etc., can be acceptable, up to is it acceptable to remove telephone/electric lines from this scene of Mt. Washington in N.H.?