Drawing tablet for 27" iMac

[dimme]

Currently I am using a Intuos 3 PTZ-631W, the active area is 6" x 11" and it fits my needs well. I plan to upgrade to os x catalina in the fall and I will lose support for this tablet. So I guess after 10 years it's time to replace it. My usage is Photoshop retouching as a hobby. I really don't care for the very large Intuos Pro the size and price is too large for me. The Intuos (non pro) fits my budget but the drawing size is only 8.5" x 5.3". Does anyone have any experience with this tablet on a 27" screen? Or should I just save up for the large 12.1" X 8.4" Pro model. The tablet get light use once on twice a week, but I have used tablets for over 20 years and can't deal with a mouse to do my work. Is Wacom the only game in town?
Thanks

 

[ruslan120]

How about the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil?

That'll support drawing tablet mode once Catalina and iOS 13 are officially released. It's called "Sidecar."

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/06/apple-previews-macos-catalina/

 

[dimme]

How about the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil?

That'll support drawing tablet mode once Catalina and iOS 13 are officially released. It's called "Sidecar."

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/06/apple-previews-macos-catalina/

I tried the iPad Pro and Astropad, I did not like how it shrank the screen to the size of the iPad and it was much hard to do the retouching I want to do.

 

[robgendreau]

I tried the iPad Pro and Astropad, I did not like how it shrank the screen to the size of the iPad and it was much hard to do the retouching I want to do.

That's Astropad; Sidecar may be considerably different. Notice the photo? and that the images are different sizes? Basically the iPP acts as a second monitor, so you move a window to it to work on it just like a regular second monitor. And size it however. And did you try customizing the size in Astropad? https://blog.astropad.com/how-to-organize-a-photoshop-workspace-for-astropad/

But that being said, as you can see from the following video the iPP and Sidecar might not work for you because Ps on macOS doesn't recognize the Pencil.

Whether this will change, I don't know. It's beta. And note that the iPP is supposed to get Photoshop this year, so that may change things as well. You might be able to get things done on the iPP and just send the result to the desktop for publishing, printing, etc.

 

[MCAsan]

Wait for Catalina and iPadOS 13 to be released in September. You might find an iPad will do the job.

 

[steveash]

I actually prefer the smaller Wacom tablets to the big ones as there is much less arm movement. It would take some getting used to though.

 

[kenoh]

I am no expert, merely a hobbyist. I got a Wacom One medium tablet and like it a lot. Not fancy Pro or Cintiq of course but for my ham fisted edits, suits my needs. It was only £50-ish from the evil empire. Worth a try maybe

 

[ruslan120]

It was only £50-ish from the evil empire.

Good is a point of view, Anakin

 

[kenoh]

Good is a point of view, Anakin

You lost me there mate... It's a budget tablet that is worth a go for a hobbyist not in the market for a pro model. For someone who touches up images for fun, it is perfect. No, if you are a professional artist, then it is not a great device YMMV but I like it alot.

 

[mollyc]

@kenoh have you been able (or tried) to map keystrokes with your pen? I had a bamboo fun for close to 10 years. It has always worked fine but I was worried that it will ultimately be incompatible with Catalina so I got the medium for Christmas. But I cannot get keystrokes to work. I used to have option-right click to zoom out and control-right click to zoom in. When I try to map with the new tablet it is only recognizing the right click; the keystroke is not being acknowledged.

I am using Mojave (fully updated) and the latest Wacom driver.

 

[kenoh]

@kenoh have you been able (or tried) to map keystrokes with your pen? I had a bamboo fun for close to 10 years. It has always worked fine but I was worried that it will ultimately be incompatible with Catalina so I got the medium for Christmas. But I cannot get keystrokes to work. I used to have option-right click to zoom out and control-right click to zoom in. When I try to map with the new tablet it is only recognizing the right click; the keystroke is not being acknowledged.

I am using Mojave (fully updated) and the latest Wacom driver.

Sorry just saw this. I will be honest and say I havent tried. I am left handed and so getting the stylus and keyboard positioned right is a challenge let alone setting up keystrokes on the buttons. lol...

 

[mollyc]

Sorry just saw this. I will be honest and say I havent tried. I am left handed and so getting the stylus and keyboard positioned right is a challenge let alone setting up keystrokes on the buttons. lol...

I tried all sorts of things and it wasn’t working. But then this morning I realized it was. ??‍♀️ I must have just needed a restart. Not sure because I had tried that also.