I've heard great things about the Wacom tablets, but I'd like to hear from the DCM users about their experiences with these and other tablets; pro & cons, different sizes and functionality.

Thanks - Jason.

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EyeWest Photography

I use the A6 Intuos 3 100% of the time.  I've got so use to it I hate using a mouse now.  The replaceable pad is wearing on mine where the browser vertical scroll is - I just haven't bothered to order a new one.  I've replaced the tip once. I've had mine for approx 3.5 yrs

Initial problems when I went over to Vista but that's now sorted with new drivers

I went for the A6 size 1: desk space and 2: there is less hand movement required to go from corner to corner, any bigger an now it would strange having to stretch that much further

Once you get one you may never turn back, your hand eye cordination improves as now I know where the mouse pointer will be without even looking at the screen - just by where my hand is alone

Using it with CS3 makes life alot more presise and work with the pen tool, brush tool etc are now 2nd nature.  I still haven't quit got the hang of using the tilt and pressure without thinking about it but it will come with time

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Mark

My DCM Gallery

Thanks for that Mark. I was interested to hear that the smaller size is actually more manageable.. that was one of my key queries. I see that this model is priced at about £300. Does anyone have any strongs views against going for the cheaper 'bamboo-fun' tablets?

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EyeWest Photography

I have the Wacom Graphire4 Studio A6 and love it!

its about £100 ish if you shop arround.

Dont expect to take it out of the box and love it you really have to work at it for the first few hours. BUT once it clicks it become second nature.
The best thing you can buy for photoshop!!!

Lee

Thanks Lee.. I had heard that you benefit from 'bedding them in' and getting used to the pressure required. They seem to be really compatible with PS. I've seen this one for about £120.

Still, there seems to be so many models to choose from. I see they have a new Wacom Cintiq 12WX coming in at £800, but with that one the tablet is the screen.

I've had a go at the comparison table on the Wacom site, but it doesn't include all of their models for comparison. Hmmm.. I'm getting closer, but I don't want to buy a Ferrari when a Ford Focus would do,or vica versa.

 

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EyeWest Photography

Hi.

I have the cheapest wacom, the Bamboo. I paid about £30 for it on the basis that if it was pants then it wasn't going to break the bank.

I love it! Hardly use the mouse now, even for the internet and word docs etc. Go ahead and get one, unfortunatly i cant compare to the more expensive, but then what do they do that the cheap one can't... apart from the odd extra buttons on the pad.

EyeWest:

I've had a go at the comparison table on the Wacom site, but it doesn't include all of their models for comparison. Hmmm.. I'm getting closer, but I don't want to buy a Ferrari when a Ford Focus would do,or vica versa.

I wouldn't trade my Focus for a Ferrari - you can't get two bicycles, a picnic, a tripod and a camera bag in the back of a Ferrari

I have a good professional relationship with Wacom (they flew me to Germany for their 10 year anniversary last year) and have a number of their tablets. I only use a mouse for gaming now - for absolutely everything else, you can't beat a tablet.

It's a little tricky at first - you have to get your head around the idea that you must hover the pen 1cm off the tablet to move it around and only 'pendown' when you want to click/drag, but once you've got a grip of that, you'll wonder why you've been using a mouse.

I have a Grapphire 4, a Bamboo, a Bamboo Fun and at work, an Intuous. We've also got a Cintiq hanging around, which is horribly expensive but very nice if you want to directly work on your photos.

Whatever size you get, the resolution is high enough for the largest of monitors. My Bamboos are all the smallest size (A5 or under) and they're still great for photo editing - and don't make your arm ache as much as an A3 Intuous. Just get one to suit the space on your desk. The only one I didn't like is the Bamboo One - it's just a bit too cut down.

The pen is mightier (and no, this isn't an advertorial for Wacom. I'm just a big fan...)

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James De Vile
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
Future Publishing

Brilliant! Thanks moonraker and JD for the low-down and great advice. I'm getting the feeling one can't live without a graphics tablet. Now to decide

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EyeWest Photography

I have used the Wacom Graphire 3 A6 Pad for ages and find it brilliant for Photoshop work. You should definitely get one, you won't regret it....

I have to agree with the opinions here it takes some getting used to and setup but when it is you'll still not use it 100% of the time but when you need it you'll love it and won't be able to use owt else!

I've had various Wacom tablets over the years and I currently have the Wacom Graphire4 Classic XL (I think) and its fantastic!

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Browse My Gallery

BPITW 8/9th Sept 07 - 16/17th Feb 08

I curruntly use Wacom's A4 Intutos 2. I use the mouse, the standard pen and the 'ink' pen. I also use a trackball, which is 'velcroed' to the desktop, which I find much easier/quicker than 'Mice'. I have tried other tablets, but generally find they are not as accurate or/and the supporting softwear isn't as reliable or sophisticated. My only 'niggle is that I wish they had positioned the functions at the front, instead of so far away on the tablet surface. Some of the other GT manufacturers still have the pen 'wired' to the tablet, which is a real pain, and others require a battery in the pen but carefully 'bury' this fact on the external packaging. .... The thing with these is that 'Sods Law' being what it is, the battery gives out right in the middle of doing something!

I find GT's are superb devices and once you have used one, you'll wonder why you never bought one earlier! I wonder how many people realise that Windows interface we see on PCs, the GT and mouse, were originally 'invented' in Xerox's R&D lab at Altos Parc? .... but that the company were very lax in patenting any of these systems!

Thanks Cyber-Spud, Stevey and Sam for sharing your experiences; all great stuff and very helpful. Must admit, I prefer tracker balls myself.. but I think it's a marmite thing!

Regards, Jason.

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EyeWest Photography

You could be right about the 'Marmite' correlation, though I suspect many people don't bother trying them, (Mainly because shops don't bother to hook them up and demo them!) It took me some time to find one that 'Fitted' my hand and you would not believe how annoyed sales staff were when I demanded to try them before I bought! 

Sam, I've had my trackerball for about 10 years.. from when they were more popular and I much prefer them to mice.

Regarding demo's..  I known what you mean.. I'd like to have a play with some Wacom's to better appreciate the ergonomics, so I'm on the hunt for a shop in London. It's hard to get demo's of anything these days, as the shops either don't keep the stock or the staff don't know how to use them. I remember running camera shops in the early 90's.. we stocked everything because the suppliers would allow you sale or return.. we had the everything, including T90's (yes, boxed, even then) Gold Blad's, 645's, 6x7's, Leica's and every lens you'd need for you EOS1 or F4.. ahhhhhh, happy days.

At least this forum post has helped to plug the gap. Cheers - Jason.

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EyeWest Photography

Hi, a lot of the people here have been using Wacoms, which is great.  I've used a Wacom at uni quite some time ago, an A3 one, found it difficult to get used to.  I purchased a cheapish one from Aldi a couple of years ago, A4 for about £20ish.  It's not going to be as sensitive as a Wacom but it was fine for me at the time.  I used to do a lot more multimedia work back then so got used to it after a while.

Have you considered trying a cheaper alternative just to see if you like using them?  Rather than spalshing out on a Wacom and realising you're not so keen on it. Mine came with wireless mouse as well that worked on the pad.  The pad itself was slight smaller than A3 and had about a 1.5-2" border around the work surface, with a transparent sheet/overlay.

Just a thought to help you save a few pennies.