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Graphics Tablet

bomzi

Member
I'm thinking about buying a graphics tablet for photo editing purposes. Figured I'd use this never ending lockdown to learn something new.

I photograph architecture and urban landscapes and do all the post work myself on an 27" Imac 5K. The tablet would be useful for burn/ dodge layers and for dust and scratches on 4x5 film scans.

The Wacom Intuos seem to be the best. Can anyone make a recommendation on which to get?

Intuos Pro vs Intuos vs other
Small vs Medium

Thanks.
Randhir
 

dj may

Well-known member
I'm thinking about buying a graphics tablet for photo editing purposes. Figured I'd use this never ending lockdown to learn something new.

I photograph architecture and urban landscapes and do all the post work myself on an 27" Imac 5K. The tablet would be useful for burn/ dodge layers and for dust and scratches on 4x5 film scans.

The Wacom Intuos seem to be the best. Can anyone make a recommendation on which to get?

Intuos Pro vs Intuos vs other
Small vs Medium

Thanks.
Randhir
I use the Intuous Pro Small. It is very useful. I use the tablet mapped for two monitors.
 

manchang

New member
One of the best applications of a graphics tablet for picture editing is the ability to paint masks. I've been using a pen tablet for years, over 3 years in fact.

I prefer the large size. It does depend on how you use . I have a XP-Pen Deco Pro graphics tablet , which is pretty good in now having recognition sensitivity to pen pressure and tilt, as well as buttons that are customizable for having different shortcuts for different programs ( such as photoshop cc ) . It also has a touch dial that lets you adjust sizes/sliders on the tablet (so you can have various shortcuts eliminating the need for a keyboard).

When it comes to use you very quickly become used to working the pen while looking at the screen. I can do pretty complex drawing work using the pen, for me it's far easier than trying to draw with a mouse. I tend to use Lightroom mostly, and grab the mouse to use the wheel when adjusting slicers, then the pen for all of the drawn effects.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
For me as native left-handed, for some reason I began and never ceased using the mouse in my right hand. And for whatever reason I use my right finger on a trackpad as well. I know it's weird, yet I'm pretty facile with drawing masks with either. So I got a tablet thinking my left hand with a pen surly had to be better. Was like trying to sign my name with my right hand, totally foreign. Of course it was even worse attempting to use the pen in my right hand. I cannot explain the why, but I'm sure some neural scientist could LOL.
 

f8orbust

Active member
I'm using the Intuos 5 (touch) small, and before that the Intuos 2 (?) small, and before that ... just love 'em, these things are great. The Wacoms are class leading, but you'd be surprised just how good some of the cheap non-Wacom brand ones can be, especially if you don't need different nibs, airbrushes etc.

N.B. Don't fall into the trap of 'bigger is better' though - I have the large version as well, and if you're doing illustration work going for the bigger sizes can be beneficial - e.g. you use 1:1 mapping - but for purely photographic stuff the small ones are way easier to work with (IMHO). Oh, and they take up much less desk real estate and are easy to take with you on the road.

If I was in the market for a new one, I'd go for the Intuos Pro Small right now (though I've never tried their 'paper' versions of the medium and large).
 

doobs

Member
I got an Intuos Pro small a while back and am very happy with it, using it primarily in Capture One. I use it with two monitors. As previously mentioned, bigger is not necessarily better with regards to tablets. I bought a medium sized Huion one and returned it as it was just too big.

It takes a bit of getting used to as it works completely different than a mouse for positioning. Getting optimum usage will require settings for each application as I find there is quite a bit of difference in how tablets work on different software packages. As mentioned, mine gets used mostly in C1 and I've not taken the time to properly configure it for other apps.

I've recently developed a RSI issue in my right wrist and the tablet has been a blessing for that.

I was fortunate as the one I got was an obsolete model and it was very inexpensive ($80) compared to the newest model. It doesn't do bluetooth, but neither does the desktop computer I use it with.
 

Alan

Active member
Another vote for the small size. I’m currently using a small touch? pro? from a few years ago.

Key for me is being able to plant my palm and do fine work with just finger movement, rather than larger wrist/arm movements on a larger tablet.

Just realized I’ve been using Wacoms for ~30 years(?!) - guess I’m old.
 
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