graphics tablets

[rweakins]

i recently was looking at graphics tablets and was wondering what everyone thought about them as photographers. do you use one? do you like it? and what are the pros and cons?

 

[leighonigar]

I use an old Graphire 3 (A5) for everything (as a mouse, and for graphics). It's more accurate, faster, easier and possible. Any kind of compositing would be a nightmare with a mouse, at least allowing for my skillset.

 

[ChrisA]

i recently was looking at graphics tablets and was wondering what everyone thought about them as photographers. do you use one? do you like it? and what are the pros and cons?

I can't imagine trying to do any kind of photoshop retouching work with a mouse. If all you are doing is moving some sliders around in iPhoto a mouse works fine but if you want to go inside an image, for example I've been doing a lot of scanning laty and have to remove dust specs. This goes fast with a pen but if I used a mouse I'd have to zoom 4X closer to have the same level of control.

For photographers a Wacom "bamboo" is good enough but for graphic artest who want the feel of a real pen you need the higher end tablet with the angle and rotation sensors, Bamboo gut has possition and pressure sening which works well enough for photos but not for oreginal art.

 

[professornegi]

A Tablet is a must have for any brush oriented touch-ups. I used to use a mouse but the tablet will make it much easier. Make sure you get one thats a decent size though because the small ones can makes things more difficult.

 

[simie]

Just get yourseof a Intuos tablet, you won't regret it.

 

[gothiquegirrl]

i recently was looking at graphics tablets and was wondering what everyone thought about them as photographers. do you use one? do you like it? and what are the pros and cons?

I love my tablet. I can't remember what it was like without one, i've had one for so long. If you are going to be doing any photo or art related stuff on your computer.. They really are a must have.

Right now i'm planning on upgrading from my Graphire 4 to a Cintiq 12wx in a few weeks.

Ang

 

[cutsman]

I have the Wacom 4x6 Bamboo. It's good enough for my needs, which includes occasional brushwork in PS. Most of my PP involves curves/levels slider adjustments, USM, etc. so for that, I typically use the mouse. But you'll find when you need to do detailed cloning or masking, even a cheap tablet like the Bamboo will be light years ahead of a conventional mouse.

And since this is the photo forum, here's a photo:

 

[Digital Skunk]

As a professional photo toner and retoucher, having a tablet is a choice. I've worked with other pros in the journalism field that swear by large tablets for toning and retouching, I personally don't use one mainly because the paper doesn't supply it and I was never trained on one.

Having used one for a short while, I can say that it does help out a lot once you get the hang of using the pen, and it's the most effective way to create a path around an image for extraction or selective adjustments.

It's not a must have by any means, but it is a benefit to have.

 

[ipodtoucher]

I use a Bamboo Fun Tablet. I use it for brush work in Photoshop, Signing my photos in PS and Skitch, and sometimes just as a mouse. The pen is really cool and the Fun also comes with a mouse that is functional only on the tablet. But i rarely use the included mouse because i like the pen too much Its a great tablet for the low-budget minded, I mean its no Cintiq, but is a great beginners tablet!