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Wacom Tablet - 6x8 vs. 6x11

S

Sheiakurei

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 31, 2008
8
0
So far, I've used the little dinky 4x6 Intuos 2 tablet at the university... they have 20" screen. I've also used the too-large 9x12 tablet. My arm/hands get tired after a lot of editing and illustrating.

I'm intending to invest in a tablet in the next month or so, but I'm having issues deciding on which tablet I should get. 6x8 or 6x11? The price is about $40 difference... so price isn't really a huge factor. They have the same exact features.. it really is just the size.

I have a widescreen 22" iMac.

I figured this should be the forum for this. Does anyone else use a tablet here? and what your personal opinion? is 6x8 sufficient enough? or should I just go and get the 6x11? or is that just a wasted 3 inches?

Let me know ^^
 
I believe that the aspect ratio of your screens should drive the tablet you buy. I'd go with the 6x11 in your case, as it most closely resembles your screen.
 
I didn't know they made 22" iMac's? I would go with the 6x11 as they were created specifically for widescreens. (Got one myself and also use a 22" monitor).
 
Mods - Can we please get a sticky on this type of topic - pretty please with sugar on top.

A quick search would have revealed what everyone is going to tell you.

Get the one to best suit the aspect of your display, in this case the 6x11 (or a5 wide in the uk)

Be aware that the actual footprint of the 6x11 tablet is nearly as big as the display of a 20" wide tft, so depending on deskspace the smaller a6 wide (uk so not sure on us term) may be a better option.
 
LeviG said:
Be aware that the actual footprint of the 6x11 tablet is nearly as big as the display of a 20" wide tft, so depending on deskspace the smaller a6 wide (uk so not sure on us term) may be a better option.
Click to expand...

Or almost exactly the same size the 17" MBP (the complete machine, not just display), if that's easier for you to picture.
 
I appreciate all the feedback. :)

I suppose it would make sense to get the 6x11.
Although Levi does bring up a nice little point about the overall size of it being almost as big as my actual screen. >.> That was the issue I kind of had with the larger 9x12.

It's be nice to actually see one, buut I honestly don't know where to buy one retail wise.. or at least see it before purchasing online. o_O the biggest I've seen retail in store (bestbuy/circuit city) is 6x8.


I'm curious as to who exactly has a wacom tablet here ^^
I heard/read that you can actually customize the tablet, no matter what the size is, to fit the aspect ration of your screen. Has anyone done this with the smaller tablet? How did that work out for you?

Thanks for all the input.

(digitalnicotine: oh! and my bad.. I meant 24" >.> not 22" )
 
Sheiakurei said:
IIt's be nice to actually see one, buut I honestly don't know where to buy one retail wise.. or at least see it before purchasing online. o_O the biggest I've seen retail in store (bestbuy/circuit city) is 6x8.
Click to expand...
well the 6x11 is the same height, just make it 3" wider (everything else is the same its just the area added for the pen area) - cut out a bit of card/paper and take it with you to get an idea :)

I'm curious as to who exactly has a wacom tablet here ^^
I heard/read that you can actually customize the tablet, no matter what the size is, to fit the aspect ration of your screen. Has anyone done this with the smaller tablet? How did that work out for you?
Click to expand...
yes and I tried it with a smaller tablet - I'm now using a widescreen 6x11 (matches 20" ws display) so take that as you wish :)



(digitalnicotine: oh! and my bad.. I meant 24" >.> not 22" )[/quote]
 
Sheiakurei said:
I'm curious as to who exactly has a wacom tablet here ^^
I heard/read that you can actually customize the tablet, no matter what the size is, to fit the aspect ration of your screen. Has anyone done this with the smaller tablet? How did that work out for you?

Thanks for all the input.

(digitalnicotine: oh! and my bad.. I meant 24" >.> not 22" )
Click to expand...

I've got the 6x11 with my 17" mbp (so i guarantee my last post is accurate). It's true that you can force the ratio of tablet to use the entire area, however your movements would then be like a mouse (which almost defeats the purpose of having a tablet). For example, when you draw a perfect circle on the tablet, it will come out to be an oval on your screen. So basically if you get the 6x8 and you want your movements to match, a pretty large amount area on the 6x8 wouldn't be used (like letter boxes on 16:9 video forced into 4:3)
 
It seems obvious to agree with the aspect ratio arguement, but I use a 4x6 graphire wacom and I don't have any problems with my strokes getting messed up by the difference.
I have a 15" macbook pro and also use a 22" acer widescreen with it. I absolutely can't use the pen for both screens, I have to set it so the pen focuses on just one screen but other than that the 4x8 is fine. (therefore the 6x8 I would assume would be the same)
 
LeviG said:
Mods - Can we please get a sticky on this type of topic - pretty please with sugar on top.

A quick search would have revealed what everyone is going to tell you.

Get the one to best suit the aspect of your display, in this case the 6x11 (or a5 wide in the uk)

Be aware that the actual footprint of the 6x11 tablet is nearly as big as the display of a 20" wide tft, so depending on deskspace the smaller a6 wide (uk so not sure on us term) may be a better option.
Click to expand...

this is a VERY good point and it's something that's hard to understand before the thing arrives.

You clearly want the wide aspect, that said :

The 6x11 footprint is just ridiculous. It is absolutely enormous. For a reference point, it's footprint is larger than my HP all in one, not exactly comfy in your lap. it really requires you have a ton of deskspace but more than that it requires to work in a certain way. It's not conducive to concourrent keyboard use. I honestly feel like it's too big. It's unwieldy that mouse they provide is pure shhhhhh.... so I always have my razer pro alongside it (i must say the blue lights do match nicely now that I'm looking at them! haha.)

Wacom's are amazing but you don't use them the same way you would use paper (if you do lots of sketching). Bigger really isn't necessarily better (i know ....).

If I forced myself to use the programmable buttons it might be a little less awkward but I wasn't intending to eff up my whole workflow (massive key-shortcutting designer here)

I love it, but at the same time, it can really hurt my back and neck if it's used without readjusting my desk each time I want to draw. And that's coming from someone who has never had any neck or back problems until the massive wacom arrived (and when I don't use it, i'm fine ....)

I just really don't see the benefit of the bigger tablet after owning it for a year. Big cintiq makes sense, big tablet, i don't know, not for what I do. (photo retouching, illustrator sketches, etc. etc.)
 
Remember, Wacom has a 30 day "trial" period. You can return it within that 30 days and get your money back if you don't like it. Good luck with your decision.
 
mgsarch said:
If I forced myself to use the programmable buttons it might be a little less awkward but I wasn't intending to eff up my whole workflow (massive key-shortcutting designer here)
Click to expand...

I use mine on the desk mainly due to its size, I also have my keyboard, mouse and a nulooq from logitech (why they can't do a black version I'll never know) which I have for the main shortcuts I use (zoom, scoll/pan, save, forwards, back, zoom 100% and print strangely :)) so I can skip the keys for all but the more specific tools. It might be worth looking into if you want to regain a small amount of space on your desk.
 
Thanks for everyones reply! I appreciate it.

yeah, I heard that sometimes bigger isn't necessarily better. Hence I wanted to see people's opinion of it that's had the larger tablet. I already do too much art crap.. I'm bound to get some form of syndrome eventually :p it's just a matter of how long I can prolong not having so.. hehe
 
Sheiakurei said:
Thanks for everyones reply! I appreciate it.

yeah, I heard that sometimes bigger isn't necessarily better. Hence I wanted to see people's opinion of it that's had the larger tablet. I already do too much art crap.. I'm bound to get some form of syndrome eventually :p it's just a matter of how long I can prolong not having so.. hehe
Click to expand...

haha, it really does make me feel better knowing that there are others with the same logic as me. ; )

I think chair is the most important. Yet mine is awful.
 
Go with the 6x11, if it seems too big than you should probably just stick with the 4x6. Compared to the 6x8, the size difference (deskspace wise) is negligible. We use all widescreen displays at work, and it was a huge improvement when we upgraded to the 6x11s from the 6x8.
 
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