Magic Mouse vs Magic Trackpad for Photographers

dubcat · 27 Jun 2011 at 08:59

Hi,

Trying to decide between buying a magic trackpad and a magic mouse for my mac pro. Main use is lightroom and a little photoshop. Of course I use it for browsing etc too but I want to buy the input device that makes most sense for photographers. Anyone have an opinion?

Thanks in advance
Dubcat

sidethink · 27 Jun 2011 at 09:18

I think its a pretty personal decision really. Just pick the one that feels the most appropriate for you. Neither will make an earth shattering difference to the efficiency of your workflow.

Adrianr · 27 Jun 2011 at 10:52

dubcat said:
Hi,

Trying to decide between buying a magic trackpad and a magic mouse for my mac pro. Main use is lightroom and a little photoshop. Of course I use it for browsing etc too but I want to buy the input device that makes most sense for photographers. Anyone have an opinion?

Thanks in advance
Dubcat

Logitech Revolution or a Wacom tablet to be honest. As above no mouse/trackpad will effect your workflow in any major way (so I recommend the Logitech because it's just very comfortable in short or long spurts plus the warranty is bob on - Unless you insist on having all Mac things for some bizarre reason

), but a Wacom will very much make a difference. And depending on how you work it can be a huge difference.

Shadowness · 27 Jun 2011 at 11:11

I specified the trackpad with my iMac. I love it, no complaints at all. I do use it with photoshop occasionally if I'm doing simple adjustments, but if I want to do more serious work then I use my Intuos4 tablet.

Nexus · 27 Jun 2011 at 12:24

I've got a Magic Trackpad, I find it's more of a tool for making web browsing a little more intuitive, such as for scrolling.

If you want a tool for helping with photography touch up type work, you defiantly want to go for something like a Wacom.

randomist · 27 Jun 2011 at 23:22

Gaming mice actually make sense here, as you can set them to really low sensitivity for detail touch ups and then flick back to your normal speed for standard navigation. I initially bought mine for CAD work where this is useful and also extra buttons allow macros/shortcuts to be applied that can save time.
The other comon tool is a graphics tablet like a wacom, but they can be difficult to get to grips with at first (no specific wacom experience but my trust wasn't easy).
I can't see accuracy being the magic trackpad's forte, though if you only apply colour/contrast adjustments and maybe use automatic filters you might be ok.

dubcat · 1 Jul 2011 at 14:13

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will hold on for now and go and have a play in the store. I will have a think about the wacom tablet... My edits tend to be just basic levels, curves, etc at the moment.

Disco Boy · 1 Jul 2011 at 17:29

I just don't understand why anyone would choose a trackpad instead of a mouse, definitely get a mouse.

JediFragger · 1 Jul 2011 at 19:37

Got a trackpad the other day, love it :cool:

Shadowness · 1 Jul 2011 at 21:02

Disco Boy said:
I just don't understand why anyone would choose a trackpad instead of a mouse, definitely get a mouse.

Because the magic mouse is crap....basically.

PardonTheWait · 2 Jul 2011 at 03:14

Shadowness said:
Because the magic mouse is crap....basically.

It's a bit like crap, only not

KevTucker · 2 Jul 2011 at 07:05

Magic Mosue all the way for Photography tasks, find it a lot easier to edit with it than the Trackpad.

Disco Boy · 2 Jul 2011 at 10:51

Shadowness said:
Because the magic mouse is crap....basically.

It's a mouse right? So infinitely better than using a trackpad.

panthro · 6 Jul 2011 at 06:35

I bought a magic mouse, used it for about 10 mins and went back to using the trackpad on my MBP; the trackpad feels more precise and a lot easier to use, especially with the gestures. What a waste of £50.

QwaF · 6 Jul 2011 at 16:31

Disco Boy said:
It's a mouse right? So infinitely better than using a trackpad.

Have you ever used the MacBook Pro trackpads? They're brilliant.

dubcat · 20 Feb 2012 at 21:26

Old thread I know, but i thought i would write my experience on here after several months using the trackpad. I hated the trackpad at first! I mean really hated it. I basically did not use it for a long time. However, one day I thought I will give it another go. I particularly hated clicking it so i changed the setting to the one where you can just touch it. The thing is REALLY sensitive so i mistouched it many times. However, now I am used to it and i love the track pad. Really glad I bought it.

Having said all of that, if I could only have one thing it would 100% be the mouse. Furthermore for Lightroom and photoshop I far prefer the mouse still. 90% of the time though the trackpad is what I use - huge space saver too.

Hope that helps someone doing a search or whatever.
Adios.
Dub.

Fragil1ty · 25 Feb 2012 at 12:44

Quite obviously it's going to be the magic mouse or a 3rd party tablet, I can't stand the trackpad anyway but still, that thing is not made for editing, it's made for browsing and gestures.

steveo · 25 Feb 2012 at 12:50

+1 for the trackpad, used a magic mouse for awhile and hated it

Hxc · 25 Feb 2012 at 12:51

Whilst the Mac trackpad is miles better than any other I've used, I'd never pick it over a mouse. Window management and anything involving dragging is a royal pain with a trackpad compared to a mouse.

Dewotter · 25 Feb 2012 at 12:57

Mouse is obviously more precise, but I find trying to perform gestures on the magic mouse to be a joke, so it depends what you want more, accuracy or gestures.