Any Graphics Tablet Users?

Slogan

Slogan

Slogan

Soldato
Joined
27 Jun 2006
Posts
6,290
Hey all,

Was just wondering how many people actually have one of these things? I've no real need for one at all but I've always wanted to use one to see what it was like.

If you have one, what do you use it for? Anyone use it as an alternative to a mouse?

Considering picking one up but not sure if I'll get a decent one for my budget (£60-£80).

Cheers. :)

-edit- And I did notice there's an aspect ratio thread knocking around on tablets, but I didn't want to crap on the thread and wanted more of a general interest.
 
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Slogan said:
Hey all,

Was just wondering how many people actually have one of these things? I've no real need for one at all but I've always wanted to use one to see what it was like.

If you have one, what do you use it for? Anyone use it as an alternative to a mouse?

Considering picking one up but not sure if I'll get a decent one for my budget (£60-£80).

Cheers. :)

-edit- And I did notice there's an aspect ratio thread knocking around on tablets, but I didn't want to crap on the thread and wanted more of a general interest.
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thought there for drawing stuff like "freehand" as it were.
 
yantorsen said:
thought there for drawing stuff like "freehand" as it were.
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Think that's their primary use. But few people use them as 'mice' to get away from all those nasty strain injuries.
 
takes a little getting used to but you get the hang of it within a few hours i assume £60-80 ones are the small mouse replacement units if so i haven’t used those but should be no different then the larger gfx ones
 
Makes for loads of fun on iSketch :p Although I haven't used mine in a while, can't find it :(

I wouldn't recommend it for use like a regular mouse though, I tried it and it just was too awkward :(
 
Anyone use/d it for animations in Flash or made any comic strips with it?

Think that's what I could see myself using it for. My graphical abilities are limited in general, but even more so behind a mouse. :D
 
Works great for any sort of drawing. :) Drastic difference from a mouse, nearly as much control as if you had a pen / pencil.
 
My wife is an Illustrator/designer and uses the cheapest Wacom tablet which she's had for years - she loves it to bits. She doesn't use it as a mouse tho. That would be.....weird :)
 
I've got the Wacom Oversized A4 intuos at work, it's a lovely piece of kit. It took a couple of weeks of swearing before I really got the hang of it, I kept swapping between a mouse and the pen when I was using Quark or indesign and moving things accidently on the desktop but now It's totally replaced the mouse (at work), I wouldn't go near photoshop without one, its like painting with a bar of soap :D .
 
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I'm using a wacom intuos 3 at work as a replacement for my mouse. I've developed problems in my right hand, so went lefty for five years but I think I'm getting the same in my left..so am trying the tablet to see if I can delay it!

Takes a bit of getting used to at first and I do miss the mouse wheel (the touch pads on the pad require you to put the pen down to use them). Also double-clicking is harder than you think (as you tend to wobble the pen a bit between clicks. Switching between typing and using the pen is also slower than if you were using a mouse. You've got to find a place to put the pen (eg the holder, your mouth etc) as with a mouse you'd just 'let go'.

Finally, there are two modes with the tablet I have - mouse and pen, aka relative and absolute positioning. Absolute is really nice, but since I run a triple-headed display and the pad is 4:3 this gives me poor horizontal resolution. So if you're using a 2+ screen setup you might not be able to use this mode.

Using this thing in Photoshop is absolutely fantastic (as you'd imagine) and really enjoyable to use. The pressure sensitivity is very cool, but the tilt sensitivity (to flatten your brush) is a bit of a gimmick ;-)

I've only been using it for a few weeks so I can't yet vouch for its RSI-killing powers btw!

EDIT: the absolute coolest thing about using the stylus with my left hand is that I can also write notes with a pen in my right hand at the same time! So if anyone sees me working it looks like I'm writing with two pens at once :cool:
 
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I have a Wacom Intuos3 A4, and it's much, much faster than using a mouse in PS and Illustrator, hardly any lag and it's very cool looking. The new Wacom Bamboo looks good for the price as well, and it'll save space compared to my massive A4 one!
OrphanBoy said:
Takes a bit of getting used to at first and I do miss the mouse wheel (the touch pads on the pad require you to put the pen down to use them). Also double-clicking is harder than you think (as you tend to wobble the pen a bit between clicks. Switching between typing and using the pen is also slower than if you were using a mouse. You've got to find a place to put the pen (eg the holder, your mouth etc) as with a mouse you'd just 'let go'.
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The double button on the pen allows you to double click and right click so I just hover my pen over the spot and press it, and I can use the touchpad (and keyboard) without putting my pen down, I just cradle the pen under my palm with my thumb and type away.
 
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i could really do with one of these for my photoshop work, using a mouse make certain things kinda hard to do, what would you guys recomend for a reasonable price?
 
Wacom Graphire A5. Don't let the size put you off, as A5 is the sweet spot in terms of price and usability. There are other brands that are cheaper, but Wacom is the most reliable with drivers and whatnot.
 
i think it would be horrid for a mouse it'd be like using one of the things on laptops but a little bit bigger? why would you wanna do tht?
 
yantorsen said:
i think it would be horrid for a mouse it'd be like using one of the things on laptops but a little bit bigger? why would you wanna do tht?
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Works as a mouse very well if not better then most mice for gfx its a dream to work with
 
NightSt@lk3r said:
i could really do with one of these for my photoshop work, using a mouse make certain things kinda hard to do, what would you guys recomend for a reasonable price?
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Just make sure you get the version with 1024 levels of sensitivity, some of the cheapr one's have 512. I've turned off the side buttons and strip on the side (I found them more trouble than they're worth), so I wouldn't worry about those either. As stated above, A5's fine for most things, I spend most of my time doing 1gig plus high res photoshop stuff for an advertising agency so they gave me a pretty hefty setup for it (Mac Quad, with 8gig ram etc).
 
I picked up a Trust A5 graphic tablet the other week for £8.94 at a supermarket with blue writing and I must say it is very good for the price. IT was in the clearence. they had the A6 one for £25, so the A5 was very well priced.

Anthony
 
Guys I bought a Wacom Bamboo One and I intend to use it as a casual mouse replacement for general browsing but one thing is really bugging me... I can't seem to disable the "touch-click" feature of the pad... eveyr time the pen touches the pad it does a click, which is making things a bit of a mare. Any way to disable this so it doesn't click every time it touches the pad and just tracks movement instead?

Also really annoying me is that the mouse cursor moves when you hover over the pad... i'd prefer it if it only moved the cursor when it was physically touching the pad!

Cheers. :)
 
I've got an Intuos3 A5 here. Using it mostly for working in photoshop and zbrush on uni work.
Absolutely thrashes the pants off of a mouse for both of the above pieces of software. (despite the fact its being temperamental and slowing in photoshop at the moment)

Using it for general use is something I haven't got used to yet, as I can't live without all the extra buttons on the mouse for speedier browsing etc.

I thought the general idea behind a tablet was the idea that when it was down it was clicking! Can't recall seeing any options to turn this sort of functionality off in my wacom drivers.
 
I got a trust Scroll Tablet TB-4200.
I dont use the mouse that comes with it but the tablet is a A4 size
and its great to use in photoshop.
and vista makes great use of a tablet in lots of ways.

wacom is the best BUT they cost a bomb.



Not bad for £45 :)
 
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