The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 tablet?

Terry

New member
I have an Intuos 3 tablet that I never use but the Intuos 4 seems like it solved the things that annoyed me

1. Left handed use (now can plug in from either direction so express keys are handy)
2. Express keys have changeable LED labels and change by application so you can see what the keys do

If you own it do you like it are is it all good or are there annoying aspects to using it?
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

Yes,
I use it every day for everything.
I almost forgot how to drive photoshop without it.
Maybe I will find a small one for my workshop travels.
Best tablet ever!
-bob
 

Terry

New member
Re: Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

Hahahahaha - Strange I deleted the thread about an hour ago.....and now your reply comes back up.

I had deleted the thread because I started to read on line that it wasn't great with Lightroom which is my primary application.

What size did you get. I think it is worth it to get at least the medium to get the LED labels for the express keys.
 

Diane B

New member
Re: Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

Don't know where Terry's post went, but---I've used an Intuos since serial hookup days (have no idea what that was, but couldn't find drivers for it anymore and bought the 3). I have a 3 now and honestly can't function without it. I rarely use a mouse--the pen is just always in my hand--but, like Bob--couldn't 'drive' PS without it. I do have a small (can't remember what it is called) tablet for travel--my second one. My husband absconded with my first so I had to buy another LOL.

The new options Terry mentioned would be nice, but I'm so used to mine, that I actually don't think about it--its totally intuitive. I guess if you are left handed and want to use it off desk the hookup might matter. I have enough cable to allow me to use it as I want though.

Edit---right, Terry--it doesn't matter in LR---you can't 'select'--its just that I've used a pen for so long that that part is just how I work. I do use LR for 90% or more of my processing so its really moot--except that I suspect that it keeps my wrist in better shape than using a mouse all the time. I can't prove this, but I know a mouse, years ago (and i know there are better mouses/mice LOL out there nowadays), was creating issues for me. For some a pen might feel restrictive--I've just used one for years and its just so natural for me.

Diane
 

Terry

New member
Re: Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

Don't know where Terry's post went, but---I've used an Intuos since serial hookup days (have no idea what that was, but couldn't find drivers for it anymore and bought the 3). I have a 3 now and honestly can't function without it. I rarely use a mouse--the pen is just always in my hand--but, like Bob--couldn't 'drive' PS without it. I do have a small (can't remember what it is called) tablet for travel--my second one. My husband absconded with my first so I had to buy another LOL.

The new options Terry mentioned would be nice, but I'm so used to mine, that I actually don't think about it--its totally intuitive. I guess if you are left handed and want to use it off desk the hookup might matter. I have enough cable to allow me to use it as I want though.

Diane
I deleted my original post a few minutes after posting. Sorry folks. The problems I had with the Intuos3 were simple....

I'm a lefty so I could never get comfy because the buttons were on the wrong side. The Intuos4 has two usb plugs so you can orient it in either direction. I was out mouse shopping today and was tempted to simply just give the tablet one more try now that the new ones seem to work better for southpaws.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

Terry,
Sorry, but as a moderator, I can see deleted posts.
Anyway I have the Intuos 4 large which I have positioned pretty much square in front of my screen (well a little to my non-dominant side).
The keyboard lives at an angle, I use the intuos mouse which was a PITA until I got used to it.
I don't understand why it would not be useful in lightroom, despite my loathing for that cretinous program.
One can program buttons and pen actions on a pre-application basis. Is there lightroom stuff that can't be expressed in terms of a keystroke combination or a mouse click?
-bob
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

In fact, I am so addicted I am thinking of picking up a small for use on the road.
-bob
 

Terry

New member
Re: Has anyone tried an Intuos 4 Tablet?

Bob, can you put my original post back in?

Yes for a cretin like me that is still using LR it doesn't have the pressure sensitive settings to use with the adjustment brushes and people have said that it is sluggish with the sliders.

I know you pretty much switched from LR before LR2 but the addition of local adjustments is pretty fantastic especially for those of us without years and years of built up Photoshop knowledge.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
ok, I did that and merged the threads.
Well, Lightroom 2 still leaves me cold since it does almost nothing of what I need, but anyway, if it is controllable with a mouse and keyboard, it can be controlled with a pen and tablet.
You may not be able to use the pressure sensitivity features, but I still think it is worth a try.
Just try retouching out 250 zits and 50-100 stray hairs without one LOL.
Some folks need a bit of time to get used to the pen interface.
-bob
 
Last edited:

Terry

New member
Bob....

Thanks for merging the threads.

The other issue that us Panasonic users have is the lack of support in C1 and at least LR allows for a single workflow.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
And us phase users have have no support in lightroom.
Anyway, I try ot to co-mingle raw conversion with image editing, which is what lightroom tries to do.
Fine for some stuff, but not real useful when you might want to use a large radius low percentage unsharp mask or maybe when a little liquify might help.
With the M8 and the Canon, I have used lightroom for browsing, but then invoked photoshop for editing.
How about some hands-on in Oregon?
thanks
-bob
-bob
 

Terry

New member
Sure...be glad to you can also play on my laptop during the really boring sections of the drive up to Oregon....and there are a lot of very boring stretches on that drive.
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
I have the 4x6. It's about a year old and has about hmmm, how do you judge mileage on a tablet? I guess I used it for maybe a total of 30 minutes. Stuffed it back in the box and it just sits there on the shelf. If anyone's interested, make me an offer. Any offer (almost).
 

Terry

New member
I have the 4x6. It's about a year old and has about hmmm, how do you judge mileage on a tablet? I guess I used it for maybe a total of 30 minutes. Stuffed it back in the box and it just sits there on the shelf. If anyone's interested, make me an offer. Any offer (almost).
I also bought a 4x6 that just sits there for the reasons listed in the first post. So, for anyone reading this there are two available. The Intuos4 is supposed to be a big leap forward.

Bob- would you consider it a big leap?
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
the things I like about the Intuos 4 are:
1) lower profile design and smooth transition on the edge.
2) (don't laugh) sticky rubber feet so it stays put
3) smoother pressure quantization
4) slightly toothier surface
5) tough wheel instead of touch strips (although now I use ctl-option shortcut for brush size instead
Features which are nice but not as earth-shaking as the list above:
1) lcd display of function button assignments. It would be nice if the mac keyboard had these. They are not directly visible on the small, but an on-screen version is available.
Features which are just wrong:
1) function buttons don't feel as good and have less tactile feedback than the Intuos-3
2) radial menu mis-feature. Does not work with MacOs spaces. radial menu always takes you back to space 1 (how stupid can you get)

So, if you care about pen pressure quantization, then it is a big leap
If you care about lcd display of function buttons, then it is a big leap
otherwise
it is a small hop.
-bob
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Also, if you get one that is large enough that you can just throw away your regular mouse, then the tablet stays in place and it tends to get used for everything, such as this message.
OTOH, there are better mice, but the intuos-4 mouse I think was an improvement although not up to the level of the mighty mouse, but I don't really care.
Now if I could just also use my fingers and make MacOS gestures too, that would be sweet.
-bob
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Anybody want to buy a 3? It sits on my desl to impress potential clients, but I *NEVER* use it.

I have the original box and mouse and everything. It's the 6x8 size.

Oh, and did I mention I never use it?

Heck, maybe I'll give it away as a door prize on the Oregon workshop!

;),
 

Terry

New member
Also, if you get one that is large enough that you can just throw away your regular mouse, then the tablet stays in place and it tends to get used for everything, such as this message.
OTOH, there are better mice, but the intuos-4 mouse I think was an improvement although not up to the level of the mighty mouse, but I don't really care.
Now if I could just also use my fingers and make MacOS gestures too, that would be sweet.
-bob
Almost a year ago I wrote to Apple asking them to make the trackpad on the laptops as a standalone external input device. I can't believe they don't sell it for all of their iMac and MacPro users.
 
Top