Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Is it worth it investing in a wacom tablet for basic digital photography? I don't do too much editing but once in a rare while I do like to play a bit. Just wonderig if it's worth the investment.

I don't think you need one. I've had a WACOM tablet for awhile for illustration, but I've never actually used it for photo editing.

You'll probably be working with sliders and very basic touch-ups more than anything else, especially if you don't do too much editing.

Yup. If you use Illustrator, then you may need it. You don't need one for photo editing. They're pretty expensive too... the cheapest one I've seen is still over $100. =( I want one for Illustrator work

I only use LR and CS and my wrist kills between photo editing and working in spreadsheets at the office. I'll actually use my left hand at the at work for the mouse. However, after using the Wacom for both LR and CS, I find using the buttons on the tablet and pen to be much easier and a strain relief. I made the mistake of going for a medium sized one, when the smaller one would do. The bigger the tablet, the more you end up moving your whole arm. Keep in mind you need to have the desk space to use it as well.

If you're not doing too much editing as you noted, then it may actually slow you down. But if you plan on ramping up the editing amount, it could save you both time and strain.

Hmm I see. Yeah I don't to too much, too often. But sometimes I play.... when I'm feeling stale in my photos... things like these:

http://sweetmysterium.deviantart.com/ar ... -117971421

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s183 ... nneweb.jpg (this and the next one are photos I painted over just by blending it's own pixels with teh smudge tool)

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s183 ... sanweb.jpg

http://sweetmysterium.deviantart.com/ar ... e-17738574


But yeah... I don't do it often... most of my stuff is simple, working with sliders like Razgriz said. But, also, for things like editing out something or cleaning up skin or imperfections... does the tablet make it easier? Or is it basically the same?

Ah yeah, I do know about that. Though not recently. I have been very procrastinative (is that a word? ) and have a large amount of photos sitting around I have to go through as it is. I remember spending a day going through 200 Caribana photos I took for one of the groups of jumpers(dancers) and yeah, my wrist was killing me by the time I finished. (maybe that's why I keep putting off all the others )

I don't know about anyone else but I love my tablet. I find I have much better control of when I am editing, especially masking and etc.

I use the Intuos 3, 8x11 and I can't picture myself without it

Agreed.
I'm using the Intuos 3 widescreen version and it's excellent - specifically for cleaning up and editing film that's been scanned.

Dave

I bought a cheap one (Bamboo Fun), but I'm not finding that I use it too much. Mostly because I'm not doing that much editing, also because with a two monitor setup the mapping is a bit weird.

The main reason why I got it was that I used to have one and image editing without it felt very clunky.

So, basically this is a warning that once you get used to intricate work with it, you may never want to go back. Troublesome if you find yourself editing on more than one machine at a time.

I use the Wacom Bamboo Fun (medium size) and it was one of the best things I ever bought. Not only is it useful for fine editing such as cloning and masking, I find that it's also great for just regular surfing use. When I had a mouse, my wrist would hurt fairly often and I didn't want to risk getting carpel tunnel. Holding a stylus is like holding a pen, and I have yet to experience my wrist hurting while holding a pen.

I also liked the fact that when using a tablet, the stylus is pressure sensitive. The harder you press, the larger and more dense the area you're covering. The lighter you press, the smaller and less dense the area you're covering. I'm not sure if I explained that properly, but if you're able to try someone's tablet out, give it a try. I love mine.

Sorry, but exactly how and what can be done in pp with a tablet from raw to output jpeg. I use NX2,LR and CS3. I've never looked into tablets but this thread has me curious.

I've been meaning to get one myself but what pixelbunny mentioned basically captures it. Plus it's much more 'natural' in using a pen vs a mouse to edit photos IMO.

So it can be used with any software, replaces the mouse and offers fine tune control with brushes and sliders? I should check out the small Bamboo at $85.

Pretty well.... it should work similar to a tablet pc.

i have the bamboo... used it once for editing photos.. its great... cloning and air brushing is more fun... but since i didn't do any photoshoot lately, i just use it for msn and mouse when my wireless mouse is on the dock.

I added a Wacom to my setup about 5yrs ago when my RSI (carpal) got really bad. It took a while to get used to it, but I find it's much easier and natural now then using a mouse.

I still have a mouse which I use with my left hand every once in a while.

Definitely worth it I think, the bamboo can be found for under 100$ when it goes on sale.

6x8 intuos3 user here.

i never looked back after i picked one up; the mouse doesn't even come within sniffing distance when it comes to editing.

Hmmmm.. now I'm tempted to pick one up for myself!

I think these things are love/hate with people.

I have an Intuos 3, and hardly use it. I find it partly annoying. I tend to prefer the glidepad / touchpad thing of my Lenovo laptop instead. If I was using a regular mouse, however, I'm sure I'd appreciate the tablet more.

My friend, however, has the Intuos 3, and LOVES it, swears by it, and values it above air and water.

So, there you go. You might do well to try-before-you-buy, to find out which camp you live in.

Cheers,

]{evin

Need one, not really...WANT ONE, DEFINITELY!

I've been using tablets since the late 80's, the Easyl on the Amiga was the first one (back when Mac was black&white and the PC could only display 4 colours out of a pallette of 16). Since then I've never been without one.

When I give my tablet workshop I start with an image of a pencil and ask the audience, "How many years did you spend in school learning how to control one of these?" Then showing a picture of a mouse asking how long they spent learning how to use one of those? Up, down, left, right, left button, right button, left drag, right drag, finished...next topic is basket weaving.

And that's the whole thing, you were taught how to control a pencil so using a stylus is natural.

With a stylus as well there is control being an analog device (either up to 256 or 512 presure levels while the mouse is either on or off).

Compared to what I used to have to pay for tablets $100 is a bargain, especially if you use programs like Photoshop or Elements, Corel Painter, etc. Can't say how much benefit you will get with a Lightroom or Aperture type program since I avoid them.

Tablets are for some people and not for others. I bought one and hardly ever used it. Then one day I forced myself to use it for an extended period. It's like riding a bike. Initially it is difficult and you do get better at it. For some, they are so accustomed to using a mouse that it feels unnatural or different. It does slow you down and frustrate you initially. I still use my mouse more often but I do find it useful.
I imagine for people who are adept at drawing, sketch and doodling that it is indispensible. I can live without mine but completely understand why it is a great tool for others.

I will jump off a bridge before I draw anything. I wonder if they have a word for that even other than "draw/sketch handicap"

The minute I realise the tablet is the screen and the pen is the pointer instead of a mousepad-mouse relationship, I was off and running.

When I tried photoshop cs3 on a tablet, the ability to control the brush, erase, etc. accurately with a pen was the winner for me. I can't control what-ever-tool accurately with the mouse at all, well I can to some degree but I'm constantly hitting the undo when I make a mistake...

You can get a wacom bamboo for about the same as you would pay for a mouse. For that you get a pressure sensitive pen and a solution to carpel tunnel syndrome if you are trying to PP a photograph to remove skin blemishes.

Pay a slight bit more and they will throw in a copy of Adobe Elements. (bamboo fun)

Matt.

I have a large 6 x 11 and a smaller 4 x 6. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

The medium size Bamboo Fun comes with a mouse too, so you'll still have stylus and mouse options!

I have the Bamboo Fun as well. It takes some getting used to but it's great for editing in PS.

Same setup here: 6x11 Intuos and 4x6 Graphire. I use the whole range of Adobe's Creative Suite products at work, from Photoshop to Flash and my productivity jumped dramatically once I switched to the tablet. My two mains reasons for ditching the mouse:

1. Started to feel constant wrist pain.
2. I actually felt the mouse slowed me down when trying to do re-touching work in Photoshop or tracing in Illustrator.

i have the 6x8 intuos3 and it pretty much rocks. When you're making a ton it really comes in handy for sure.

I'm debating picking one of these up, particularly the small model. If you search for it on Dell.ca they have it on sale for 99.99 with free shipping.

Anyone have any preferences on which size tablet would work the best for someone starting out?