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Wacom tablet users? Need input

Michael Patterson

Michael Patterson

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I've started looking at the Wacom tablet for use with cs6. Basically cause I'm getting a bit bored with the way I've been editing lately. Is anyone using one and do you like it? Do you find it helpful? Because of where I live I can't go check one out in person, so I'm looking for a little feedback on this. Thanks.
 
I've used a Wacom tablet pretty much exclusively on all my PC/s & laptops since 1995/96.

Basically I only use a mouse when a program forces me to... but I even do all my normal Windows usage with a Wacom... a mouse is a secondary device for me.

The range of programs I use covers CGI, VFX and editing (and has for nearly 20 years). They're good for reducing strain/RSI etc as your wrist travels around more - like using a pen & paper.

Initially, I got it for Photoshop use (back in the mid 90's) as I was used to working on Quantel Paintboxes (and Spaceward stuff) - plus Quantel's editing systems used pens, like the Editbox (for SD in the 90's) or the iQ (one of the HD finishing systems in the early 2000's). Having grown used to the Quantel 'gestural' editing methods, it was less of a downgrade to use a Wacom rather than a mouse :)

As I used it more, I found it was much faster (for me) navigating around and generally better in everyday use. I think I've used every incarnation of a Wacom since the mid nineties... in all sizes. Personally I prefer A5 (now called 'Small' size) - but other people I know prefer larger ones.

Essentially, when I'm on the road (over the last 10 years) I travel with a laptop and a Wacom pad and the first thing I do when I hit a hotel, is set up the pad. I don't like trackpads much either. The only thing I'm thinking of replacing this method of operation with is a Surface Pro... mainly because you can use a pen directly on it (and the pen is a Wacom one)... so this might be the time I change over :)

In terms of Premiere (and editing in general) I like jog/shuttle via dragging the timeline... essentially the same as a mouse, it just feels better. But you'll also have a bonus of much easier AE & Photoshop work by having the Wacom pad.

So, for me, it's a faster/cleaner/more accurate & responsive interface device. If you haven't used one before, it won't take very long to adapt - and then you'll probably wonder what you did before you got it.

Note the Bamboo models are cheaper/less sensitive and more consumer grade. Get an Intuos, if you're taking the plunge.

Hope that ramble helped?
 
That really helped. I was looking at the intuos5 but can't decide between the small and medium. My main screen is a 30 inch if that helps in the advice part of things. I'm leaning towards the medium but it doesn't seem like its that huge of a size difference.
 
After using a mouse since 1988 I got an Intuos 5 Touch a couple of months ago, with the wireless option. It's certainly made Photoshop, Mocha and After Effects a lot easier but I still prefer the mouse for general program stuff and editing in Premiere.

I have a 30" screen and the A5 touchpad size was just right, IMHO. Build quality is great and I can see this thing lasting a few years.
 
Pretty much everyone at our company uses Wacoms for both Avid and After Effects / Maya.

Or else our wrists would have fallen off.

In terms of size... people generally prefer medium for their first one. I have a large but that's because I'm using a multi-monitor setup.

The other thing is that these things are nigh-indestructible (the tablets, not the pens - the rocker switches tend to come off and they fall apart over the years) so refurb / ebay is always an option.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
I can't say enough about the importance of changing up your hand position from time to time. Vary your input device ysage. Longevity is important as we all spend so much time on computers. I use a Wacom medium tablet mostly. And use their mouse in tandem with the pen. If you use photoshop with any regularity a pen will set you free. It will take a bit to get used to with editing but you adjust quickly. I switch back and forth very regularly and the input device has become invisible.
 
You'll find that, at first, you'll feel way slower with a tablet than a mouse. Stick with it, and after a few weeks, or even just a few days, you'll prefer the tablet. Almost everyone does. Those that don't, I think, are nuts. Or stubborn. Or silly.

I have the Medium, and I use it with my 15" laptop. I would get it for the 30" for the desktop, over the small.

The neat thing about a tablet is that the location on the tablet is mapped to the matching location of the screen. With a mouse, you have to move the pointer across the screen, but then! if you run out of desk space you have to pick up the mouse move it over place it down and then continue moving the pointer!!! Madness.

With a tablet, place the tip near where you want the pointer to be, and it jumps straight to there. It sounds almost trivial, but it helps you work as fast as your thinking.

Add to that the very likely fact that you are more use to drawing with your hand in a "holding a pen/pencil" position than a "holding a mouse" position, and you'll find masking/drawing easier and higher-quality with the tablet than a mouse.
 
The neat thing about a tablet is that the location on the tablet is mapped to the matching location of the screen. With a mouse, you have to move the pointer across the screen, but then! if you run out of desk space you have to pick up the mouse move it over place it down and then continue moving the pointer!!! Madness.



This is the part that intrigues me the most. I routinely have to pick up the mouse and place it back down to get it to where I need to go. Is anyone using multiple displays? If it maps to the main monitor, how do you roll over to a secondary monitor? Do you map it to an express key? I'll shut up then and just buy one for shits and giggles. I do like getting new toys. Maybe it will force me to learn photoshop and AE more...
 
You can, but I find it to be less precise as small movements are then magnified a ton, so I get too many errors that way. Especially when trying do do keyframes and such.
 
i would have to agree that moving to a tablet was slightly revolutionary for me.

i had tried a few times, but decided that despite it being a bit of a learning curve, i would make the plunge. bought a medium intuous5, used it for about a week, and before i knew it i purchased a small to travel to location with.

there are a few things that annoy me, to be fair - it can be a trifle imprecise - particularly when ratcheting values incrementally (like in AE adusting scale or position by dragging on the values.) getting it to stop where you want can be a little mental, and in those situations it feels far from intuitive. but i'm just getting more used to inputting values manually. likewise with dragging video - when it gets down to moving things frame-by-frame, it can feel like typing with your thumbs might feel. if i were to try that, say.

outside of that, i've never had more fun (yeah, real actual fun) drawing mattes and working with rotoscoping, etc. painting stuff out is nearly a joy! (nearly.)

the intuos tablets have pretty cool features too, like functioning as a touch pad (although i find that "clicking" requires a bit of tapdancing sometimes), having gestural control of zoom and such, and the quick keys are easy to customise so you can work even faster. i use a dual 30" setup, and with the hotkey bound to choosing one or both displays, i can focus on the monitor i'm doing my work on and use the other one for monitoring, like god intended (sometimes.)

all in all, 9/10, would use again.

can't click on "submit reply" with my fingers. tappity tap. come on, sucker.

still love it.
 
wacom makes a mouse that works well with the tablet
 
Michael Patterson said:
This is the part that intrigues me the most. I routinely have to pick up the mouse and place it back down to get it to where I need to go. Is anyone using multiple displays? If it maps to the main monitor, how do you roll over to a secondary monitor? Do you map it to an express key? I'll shut up then and just buy one for shits and giggles. I do like getting new toys. Maybe it will force me to learn photoshop and AE more...
Click to expand...

I've used a Medium (or was it a large...) with 2 full monitors. The way it works, by default, is that it considers it one giant 32:9 desktop, and maps that to the tablet. So the left half of the tablet is the left screen, and the right half is the right screen. This means that your hand, in relation to the screen, is at a different "Aspect ratio".

Though, honestly? Not an issue. You won't even notice it. Your brain just conforms to it. Chris Morgan's issues are the only ones that I really have with the tablet, and I get around it just by, ya know, typing values in with a keyboard. I think you can make it so that the tablet is only the left or right screen, and that a mouse still works as normal; you can definitely use both a tablet and mouse concurrently, though if you leave a Wacom pen resting on the tablet and don't notice it, you will be driven BONKERS trying to figure out why the mouse keeps jumping back after a half-second of mouse movement. I've done that more than a few times.
 
Paul Russell said:
It takes practice, for sure. A good optical mouse and working surface are essential.
Click to expand...

The way I prefer my mouse movements, I have to pick up and put down when using multiple monitors. Your method is certainly doable, but my I'd just rather have a longer drag of the mouse. I feel like I, personally, can control it better.
 
Jim Hoffman said:
wacom makes a mouse that works well with the tablet
Click to expand...


Can you scroll left - right like with the apple mighty mouse? that's what I'm using now and am used to.
 
Michael Patterson said:
Can you scroll left - right like with the apple mighty mouse? that's what I'm using now and am used to.
Click to expand...

You can have your current mouse right next to the tablet, no problem (assuming you have the physical desk space). If you try to use both the pen and the mouse at exactly the same moment, they'll fight each other, and it won't really work. But, put the pen aside, then Mouse Mouse Mouse, then put the mouse down pick up the pen and use the tablet.

The Wacom mouse works like a regular mouse, but has to be on the tablet and not just any table. Only, it works like a mouse; pick it up and put it down again to move the pointer further across the screen. It doesn't have the jump-advantage that the Pen has.

Really, this stuff is SURPRISINGLY hard to articulate. The easiest way to "Get it" is to try it for 5 minutes. Which is unfortunate if you don't have access anywhere near you.
 
Michael Patterson said:
That really helped. I was looking at the intuos5 but can't decide between the small and medium. My main screen is a 30 inch if that helps in the advice part of things. I'm leaning towards the medium but it doesn't seem like its that huge of a size difference.
Click to expand...

The small one is tiny. If you have the desk space go for the medium. I have the small because I have a tiny desk. I work with dual 24" monitors with the small tablet. i can zoom around both screens which is great, but it would be nice to have more room for the detail stuff. The only time i ever use a mouse is for the scroll wheel. Sometimes I have to sift through 100+ page transcripts and the scroll wheel is the easiest way.

I learned by having a mouse and the pen at first. I would do important tasks with the mouse first, and web surfing or non time sensitive stuff with the pen just to get a feel for it. After about 1-2 months using a tablet you pretty much ditch the mouse.
 
I got the intuos4 and I really really like it, I suppose the 5 is even better. my only advice would be to get one that comes closest to the size of your computer screen. I guess it's easier for the brain to get used to drawing on a smaller tablet while looking at a bigger screen...
 
It's interesting to read everyone's comments - more Wacom diehards out there than you'd think.

In terms of size, I prefer A5 (small), I have a few A4's (all hooked up to some legacy PC's I have) and I've mapped a much smaller area within them - so I guess I prefer smaller screen areas.

I use A5 on my latest machine (HP Z1 and a second HD monitor), and that's mapped for 2 screens. So, it comes down to user preference I think.

In a previous role I had as a Project Director at a large CGI company (mixed bunch of artists from Concept through to CG and production) it was common practice to provide everyone with a pad. The interesting thing is most concept artists would want A4 but normally drop down to A5 within a few weeks - as it's faster to paint on smaller pads.

That's another reason why I use the A5, as I can sketch directly with it - and it's akin to the size of a small sketch pad and I can work pretty much the same with the A6.

So, in closing, I actually prefer a much smaller active pad size in comparison to the screen I'm using - but that's just me :)

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what you end up with - and don't forget to post your thoughts after using it.
 
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