Mouse or Pen & Tablet (Page 4): They really do, Beverly, and you're welcome. I've used both and I'm a graphic designer. Pen sensitivity is a wonder to behold. Wacom is still the...

ddale Loc: Springfield, MO

headhunter wrote:

Wow - what a great find. Thank you for passing along Monoprice..the tablets are inexpensive and look as though they do everything that a Wacom does...Awesome lead..thank you from Beverly...

They really do, Beverly, and you're welcome. I've used both and I'm a graphic designer. Pen sensitivity is a wonder to behold. Wacom is still the leader, no doubt, for pros, but you can do an awful lot with what I picked up for fifty bucks or less.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

I was a 'mouser' for years, liked 'em a lot, wouldn't have thought a tablet would feel 'normal' . . . and one day, I got a Wacom tablet (the medium sized one) and now, for what I do and my workflow, there is simply no comparison to a mouse, the tablet is faster, and more precise, and for me, it also feels more natural.

So now, if' I'm on location and using my laptop, and I have to use a mouse, the contrast between what the two can do is stark. Usually, I wait to do anything that I'll consider a 'keeper' with my tablet and my desktop - and once I'm home, I don't even have a mouse on my desk any more.

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

A good number of the images I produce combine painting effects with the original photograph. The effects have to be painted in by hand, as they cannot be added by using some sort of filter or software preset. For me, the pen and tablet is the ideal choice because it mimics the same hand, wrist, and arm movements I would use if I were actually painting or drawing. (I also use my mouse whilst in PS, but only for quick pull down menu navigation, where I find the mouse can be quicker). Personally, I will never go back to editing without a tablet.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Esther, you always have such well thought out, sensible answers. Like you, I bought a Wacom tablet and didn't much like it. It's in the drawer beside my computer where it's lived for a few years. The problem for me was that it really isn't like drawing on paper - you have to try and draw while you're looking at the screen which is in a different place. Now, if I could afford one of those Cintique (spelling?) models where you're actually drawing on the screen itself, then I might be interested. And to the original poster who said pros don't use mice, that's hogwash. I've been in the creative industry for decades and none of my photographer-design colleagues use a pen. They are wizzes at using a mouse so don't need to change.

EstherP wrote:

And you know that, how? br You have of course seen... (show quote)

nanaval Loc: Cornwall

jonsommer wrote:

I was a 'mouser' for years, liked 'em a lot, would... (show quote)

When I upgraded my wacom I thought of selling it but I now use it with my laptop as I do not like the touch pad on them. Fits nice in my case.

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

kymarto wrote:

Pen and tablet are the sine qua non for photo editing. The precision with which one can draw or follow a line with a pen are impossible (at least for me) using a mouse, no matter how precise. Then, of course, there is the issue of pressure sensitivity...I could not live without my Wacom...

Wacom for sure!!!!

Cbphotos Loc: Riverside, CA

I use a mouse but it is the one with the roller ball on top. The actual mouse does not move. It works great for me.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

johnfromsouthwell wrote:

I do find your post interesting because you are so sure and I am not so sure! I have always used a mouse because it gives me the advantage of a 27 inch screen to work on. I have always imagined this to be better than a 5x7 inch pad. I am prepared to be convinced otherwise if the arguments are good so I look forward to reading replies. Thank you for your post.
John from Southwell, UK

When you retouch portrait details you aren't using the 27" image-when you zoom in on a detail the pen becomes a tool with superior control once you master the hand/eye coordination.

OonlyBonly

johnfromsouthwell wrote:

I do find your post interesting because you are so sure and I am not so sure! I have always used a mouse because it gives me the advantage of a 27 inch screen to work on. I have always imagined this to be better than a 5x7 inch pad. I am prepared to be convinced otherwise if the arguments are good so I look forward to reading replies. Thank you for your post.

John from Southwell, UK

You still have the same size screen but the Pen & Tablet allow you to move your hand about a much smaller area and, imo, with more precision than a mouse provides.

zonedout Loc: Central California

johnfromsouthwell wrote:

I do find your post interesting because you are so sure and I am not so sure! I have always used a mouse because it gives me the advantage of a 27 inch screen to work on. I have always imagined this to be better than a 5x7 inch pad. I am prepared to be convinced otherwise if the arguments are good so I look forward to reading replies. Thank you for your post.

John from Southwell, UK

John, I bought the larger Wacom tablet and I love it for editing in PS, but after using it for quite a while, I feel I might have been better served with the smaller tablet surface. Because I can use the zoom function in PS, the smaller tablet size would not be not too limiting, but when zoomed all the way out, I have to move the pen a long way to reach from one side of the screen to the other on my big tablet. Editing control is worlds better with the pen and tablet either way. z

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

zonedout wrote:

John, I bought the larger Wacom tablet and I love it for editing in PS, but after using it for quite a while, I feel I might have been better served with the smaller tablet surface. Because I can use the zoom function in PS, the smaller tablet size would not be not too limiting, but when zoomed all the way out, I have to move the pen a long way to reach from one side of the screen to the other on my big tablet. Editing control is worlds better with the pen and tablet either way. z

Simple fix. In the driver/preferences, you should re-map your tablet real estate to just how much you want to use. I have the medium and have mapped the surface to a bit less than the WHOLE surface to address just that issue.

fotogk Loc: Tuftonboro, NH

If you want to learn how to use a pen/tablet quickly after calibrating your pen and making sure in preference is it set on pen not mouse unplug your mouse and put it away. You can't learn it by spending a few minutes a day trying and then resorting back to the mouse. Put the mouse away and use the pen for everything for a week or two after that you will most likely find the mouse never gets reattached.

schuchmn

For general computer work, I prefer a trackball or, on a Mac, the Magic Trackpad. But when I work on images, I start with a mouse and switch to a Wacom tablet for anything that needs precision.

EstherP

fotogk wrote:

If you want to learn how to use a pen/tablet quickly after calibrating your pen and making sure in preference is it set on pen not mouse unplug your mouse and put it away. You can't learn it by spending a few minutes a day trying and then resorting back to the mouse. Put the mouse away and use the pen for everything for a week or two after that you will most likely find the mouse never gets reattached.

I still maintain that it is a personal preference. Even though I did not physically unplug my mouse, I did not not use it for any graphics I did. I believe that anyone who had seen me practice with it, would have agreed I gave it a more than fair chance. The pen and I just did not get along, I always had problems setting the pen down on the exact spot I needed it. I enlarged the images I wanted to work on to 300 and 400% - at which point of course they are blurry and more difficult to work on.
If you are happy with your tablet: More power to you! I am really glad you like it, they're too expensive to tuck away into a drawer.
My Wacom is now happily living with my grandson. He didn't even need any practice, took to it like a duck to water. So, I'm glad I can still use my trusty mouse, maybe spending a bit more time, and also glad that the tablet and pen now have found a good home with someone who loves to use them.
EstherP

murm Loc: Adelaide, Australia

Bloke wrote:

You finally convinced me... I have been wavering about this for a few weeks now, and this thread just pushed me over the edge. I just ordered a small Wacom tablet - pen *and* touch - from Amazon for $103 including tax and postage. I do quite a bit of retouching, and at that price it's worth a try, I reckon.

That's great to hear, please just read the manual & set the software up correctly & I think you will never look back.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people are just plugging them up & not setting them up.
Cheers !