Need advice on pen tablet

[vab423]

I've been doing a lot of photo restoration and am considering the purchase of a pen tablet.  Does anyone else use one?  Here are my questions/concerns:

a) I'm not an artist and will never ever use it to draw. I would be using it primarily to better select areas I wish to save and to fix problematic photos.  Would a pen tablet be overkill?  (Many of these are extremely old photos and have suffered years of abuse so it will be used extensively.)

b) Assuming it's not overkill, any brand recommendations? I know Wacom is THE choice of professionals but are there equally good other brands?

c) Does size matter? I know the Wacom Intuos comes in a variety of sizes and 6x8 seems to be very popular but, again, with graphics artists and professionals.

d) I would be using it with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Are there compatibility issues I need to worry about?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[XiahouDun]

I have a Wacom Graphire 3, but I rarely use it. If you are struggling with using a mouse ofr what you are doing though, I'd recommend it. I would suggest going with their products, and you can probably find a small older version for real cheap online. You more than likely wouldn't need a 6x8, mine is a 3x5 and it does the trick foe me just fine. And it is designed to work with Photoshop. Mine acually came with Elements 2.0.

[callagrafx]

I've been doing a lot of photo restoration and am considering the purchase of a pen tablet.  Does anyone else use one?  Here are my questions/concerns:

a) I'm not an artist and will never ever use it to draw. I would be using it primarily to better select areas I wish to save and to fix problematic photos.  Would a pen tablet be overkill?  (Many of these are extremely old photos and have suffered years of abuse so it will be used extensively.)

Hi Vicki, a tablet probably would work well for you to do what you want...I used to use much larger tablets years ago for this very thing (that and creating bump maps for 3D models).  They sort of fell out of favour back in the late 90's as the cost of a mouse was infinitely cheaper and quite quick to master.  It all depends on how dextrous you are.

b) Assuming it's not overkill, any brand recommendations? I know Wacom is THE choice of professionals but are there equally good other brands?

Wacom do produce the best tablets...there are other cheaper ones but Wacom I find are very accurate.

c) Does size matter? I know the Wacom Intuos comes in a variety of sizes and 6x8 seems to be very popular but, again, with graphics artists and professionals.

As a man I'd have to say no  However the bigger the tablet the more accurate the registration from pen to screen (which is why we used to have 14" ones)

d) I would be using it with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Are there compatibility issues I need to worry about?

As XiahouDun says, no...It's a direct replacement for your mouse.  You can get tablets that come with mice too that work on the same principle as the pen so it's easy to swap for when a mouse is more comfortable to use.

Nice to see you over here, you should visit more often 
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
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[City Builder]

author=vab423

I've been doing a lot of photo restoration and am considering the purchase of a pen tablet.  Does anyone else use one?  Here are my questions/concerns:

Yes I do use one and It's a site better tan my last one.  This one is tiny but seems to have an adequate work surface since they have made them better overall.  My last one was about 18 inches by 18 inches and plugged into an available serial port.  I had to have a large side desk just to accomodte it.  Now with the smaller ones I can sit back in my chair and just place it on my lap or knee and do my work in a more comfortable seating arrangement.

a) I'm not an artist and will never ever use it to draw. I would be using it primarily to better select areas I wish to save and to fix problematic photos.  Would a pen tablet be overkill?  (Many of these are extremely old photos and have suffered years of abuse so it will be used extensively.)

It's really a matter of what you feel comfortable using.  I've got some friends that just can't get use to using a pen for the input device and continue to use the mouse.  I picked up on my tablet within a few minutes however I had been using my large old 18x18 tablet for many years then stopped but it was like riding a bike and never forgetting how to use it.  No, I don't think it woul dbe overkill and since you are here on an SC4 fan site I'd suggest trying to use it for when you want to do any landscaping to your city, for me it works great for both major and minor terraforming as well as placing some beautification objects.

b) Assuming it's not overkill, any brand recommendations? I know Wacom is THE choice of professionals but are there equally good other brands?
I utlize the Wacom Bamboo Fun (in black) for my needs and it does a great job.  I use it for things like touching up images, removing defects etc and I use it for painting the landscape in SC4 which allows me in my opinion much better control.

c) Does size matter? I know the Wacom Intuos comes in a variety of sizes and 6x8 seems to be very popular but, again, with graphics artists and professionals.

It does matter to some folks and I am leaning towards being one of those people.  I bought the bamboo fun 4x6 tablet and I do find that if I wish to use the mouse that comes with the tablet, I often run the mouse off the top of the tablet before the cursor has reached the top of my screen.  Also I hear that the medium tablet and larger ones come with a better pen that is easier to hold onto, thus producing less hand cramps after prolonged usage.  I may be returning mine and spending the extra 100.00 to upgrade to the larger model just for te better pen since my hands cramp up within 20 minutes of using it, but I do already have RSI (carpel tunnel syndrome) but I've got to make the decission in the next two weeks while I can still return it.

d) I would be using it with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Are there compatibility issues I need to worry about?
The Wacom comes with a version  (full) of Photo Shop Elements either version 4 or 5 depending I think on when the package was packaged for retail.  I don't use it myself but only because I need a graphics editing program that can do more for me, so I generally use a mismosh of Paintshop Pro, PhotoShop and The Gimp.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

My responses are in red above.

[Shadow Assassin]

Wacom are good, especially for students.

Massive discounts galore... but you should be able to find a relatively new tablet for around $120. 6x8.

One thing, though. If you're using a widescreen monitor with a 4:3 tablet, you'll have slight problems, because it will stretch out slightly.

[City Builder]

Where?

[vab423]

Thanks for the information everybody. When I have some time, I'll head over to the computer store to see what they have available. I'm sure a mouse probably suits my needs just as well (as I've made do for the past few years), but it would be nice to have something that's not so hard on my wrist and index finger.

Lee, I lurk quite a bit over here, just don't post very much because I'm not really playing very much (ah doo-doo, I haven't played in almost a year) and I don't want to clutter up the forums with idle chit-chat.

Thanks again, all.  I'm sure when I get a tablet, I'll be back with more questions. 

[Pat]

Hey Vicki its great to see you over here and you should stop by more often... Its always good to see your happy kitty....

[XiahouDun]

Thanks for the information everybody. When I have some time, I'll head over to the computer store to see what they have available. I'm sure a mouse probably suits my needs just as well (as I've made do for the past few years), but it would be nice to have something that's not so hard on my wrist and index finger.

One thing I'd advise is maybe just going to a new and used store and seeing if you can't find an older tablet for cheap. The one near me has my model for $15 in rather good condition. Sure wont last as long, but you can practice and see if you even like the feel before throwing $100+ for one.

[Shadow Assassin]

Where?

*points to the Australian flag in my profile location*

I um, seem to have made a rather big mistake with the price. I'm off by at least $200, LOL.

For a normal person buying a 6x8 tablet here, it's $549. But for a student, it's $329.

As for the 3x4s, it's $120.

Both of those prices are for brand new. As for second hand, maybe you'll get lucky and find a 6x8 for $120, or thereabouts.

Apologies for the confusion.

[Shadow Assassin]

Still looking?

Still looking for a 6x8? There's one for $200. Wacom.

[vab423]

Well I got one for my birthday a couple of weeks ago (Wacom Intuos3) and finally took it out of the box today.  I'm trying to like it but after years of using a mouse, I'm having difficulties with the pen. I find I'm bending my wrist at odd angles to get to the commands at the edges of the screen. I'm also not used to the pressure sensitive nature of the pen so it's difficult to gauge my edits.   

[Shadow Assassin]

It does take some getting used to, but once you've got the hang of it... you'll probably never go back to a mouse.

[Pat]

oooh no Vicki that soo sucks!!!  I do hope you can get the hang of it and I know you will be assimilated to the dark side once you get it    Ive thought about getting a pen tablet my self and seeing if that would help my wife with her bad wrist as the movement of the mouse and the angle just kills her after long periods of us... 

[vab423]

I'm getting used to it but now I have a technical rant. I use the tablet with my laptop. Initially I plugged the device into the docking station and installed the driver.  It worked fine for a while, but now if it's plugged into the dock, my laptop never boots past the manufacturer's logo screen. If I boot up the laptop out of the docking station and then dock it, or if I unplug the tablet and turn on the laptop, it works fine.  I emailed Wacom's technical support and the answer, not surprisingly, was "we don't support docking stations."  Typical. 

So yeah, it's pretty cool.  I've mastered cleanup with the pen (i.e. removing scratches, dust, etc.) and selecting parts of photos, but I'm still not very good using the clone stamp with the pen.  I wish I knew how to draw because then it would be ultra-cool!

[Pat]

That is sweet Vicki at least you are getting the hang of it and so bad about the technical support issues though.... But hey what do we expect from a company lol....

[Shadow Assassin]

Are you able to access the laptop's USB ports directly while it's on the docking station?

I think you should be able to use the laptop without the docking station anyway... is there a particular reason why you need to use the docking station?

[FrankU]

Well Vicky,
I am sorry about the mess with the docking station, but with using tablets I can tell you this.

I have used a Wacom tablet for ten years now. Just this month I fear it is broken, although it might be a softwareproblem. But until now I never have a problem with it.

When you are used to a mouse it will take you some time to get used to it. I'd say about two weeks. After that you don't want to use a mouse anymore.
Drawing with a tablet feels much more natural than a mouse. It is much more like drawing with pencil or pen. Drawing with a mouse now feels as if I have a brick in my hand.
And another thing: some years ago there was a lot of uproar about RSI. I had an upcoming RSI myself. It was scientifically found that tablets help against RSI. That was the first reason I bought one in 1998.

So I'd say: for SC4, photoediting or any other graphic job: take a tablet!

[vab423]

I can use the side ports on the laptop, but I would prefer using the docking station as I like to use the ports on the laptop for removable storage devices.  Oh well, I have a workaround (unplug the device until after Windows loads).  I'm really puzzled as to why Wacom's support is so limited; do Mac notebooks not have docking stations?  Its support site is pretty lame which is pretty disappointing for a DIY'er like myself.

I really wish I had artistic ability -- I probably use only about 1/100th of the tablet's capabilities.   

[callagrafx]

I'm really puzzled as to why Wacom's support is so limited; do Mac notebooks not have docking stations?

I suspect it's because docking stations are 3rd party addons, just like the tablet itself.  If OEMs had to start supporting each others products, where does it end.  And to answer your question about Mac docking stations...no they don't.  Because of the design, the screen hinge takes up most of the back of the laptop for rigidity and to keep the thickness to a minimum, so all the ports are located at the sides, nowhere for a docking station connector. We can, however, plug in an external keyboard, mouse and monitor, close the screen and use it like a desktop.