Tablets or Pads?
- Thread starter wainism
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Put the heading in a women's forum and you'll :bigeyes: :faint: :kok:
Anyway, where did you hear/read the terms "pad" and "tablet" from?
A tablet indeed will help in freehand painting and photo editing, but you'll need to justify your use for the high cost of the tablet.
Anyway, where did you hear/read the terms "pad" and "tablet" from?
A tablet indeed will help in freehand painting and photo editing, but you'll need to justify your use for the high cost of the tablet.
Hi,
The Wacom pads come in different sizes. Cheapest one (abt size of an A4 paper) will cost about $130. They can go to A3 but will cost >$300. :sweat:
Its a good tool for photo-editing and designing work.
Waiting for the next PC show and see if can get a better deal. They are available in SLS too. :sweatsm:
The Wacom pads come in different sizes. Cheapest one (abt size of an A4 paper) will cost about $130. They can go to A3 but will cost >$300. :sweat:
Its a good tool for photo-editing and designing work.
Waiting for the next PC show and see if can get a better deal. They are available in SLS too. :sweatsm:
There are a number of versions of Tablets available. Wacom has 3 good versions (graphire, intuos and cintiq). If you are not in the Graphics design business, there is absolutely no reason (other than I have lots of money) to get intuos or cintiq. Graphire is really good and a comfortable size is at least 4x5. Smaller tablets become a bit uncomfortable while larger ones become unnecessarily expensive. Wacom charges tons for the brand (may be it is more reliable than others: but twice the cost is pretty difficult to convince me).
There are a host of other options: taiwan / china brands selling tablet's at cheaper prices. I have tried a model from UC-Logic and am pretty happy with it. Can't speak for it's reliability though. Check out for tablets than can allow you to customize 'soft' buttons. Some of these models come with a mouse too (pretty useful if you have limited USB port). I'd rather not buy a tablet that requires external power. Mobility is important and power cables will make your life a mess. Honestly, I'd pay for a tablet that can work on Bluetooth. Most come with a 512 or 1024 levels of sensitivity and honestly, i see no difference between the two.
Tablets are extremely useful in basic / advanced photo editing. Simple post processing like cloning, removing dust etc. become extremely quick. Pen is a more comfortable interface than mouse to make precise selections etc... Precise Burning and dodging becomes a charm with the sensitive pens.
Overall, I think it is essential if you spend a lot of time postprocessing in PS or any other tool.
cheers
There are a host of other options: taiwan / china brands selling tablet's at cheaper prices. I have tried a model from UC-Logic and am pretty happy with it. Can't speak for it's reliability though. Check out for tablets than can allow you to customize 'soft' buttons. Some of these models come with a mouse too (pretty useful if you have limited USB port). I'd rather not buy a tablet that requires external power. Mobility is important and power cables will make your life a mess. Honestly, I'd pay for a tablet that can work on Bluetooth. Most come with a 512 or 1024 levels of sensitivity and honestly, i see no difference between the two.
Tablets are extremely useful in basic / advanced photo editing. Simple post processing like cloning, removing dust etc. become extremely quick. Pen is a more comfortable interface than mouse to make precise selections etc... Precise Burning and dodging becomes a charm with the sensitive pens.
Overall, I think it is essential if you spend a lot of time postprocessing in PS or any other tool.
cheers
Check out stores in Funan. I know Challenger has a good collection. A couple of stores in level 3 I guess carry graphics tablets.
Prices range from 80$ for taiwan/ China brands to $300 for Graphire and Intuos to few 1000's for Cintiq.
Prices range from 80$ for taiwan/ China brands to $300 for Graphire and Intuos to few 1000's for Cintiq.
so far funan PK Comp is the cheapest
Wacom intuos 6x8 cost 370+
Wacom intuos 9x12 ard 470.
Graphire is cheaper by $80 each (roughly)
and buy only if u are seriously into graphics.
Am using one now for almost everything.. suddenly having to use a mouse sucks.. it's the thing I can't live without for illustration, photoretouching and some video post production rotoscoping..
Wacom intuos 6x8 cost 370+
Wacom intuos 9x12 ard 470.
Graphire is cheaper by $80 each (roughly)
and buy only if u are seriously into graphics.
Am using one now for almost everything.. suddenly having to use a mouse sucks.. it's the thing I can't live without for illustration, photoretouching and some video post production rotoscoping..
RemAcuTetigisti said:
dun bother abt other brands besides wacom. U will regret it.. honest! Esp for illustration and photoretouching. The pressure pens help when goin into detailed area where u need different brush sizes. With the wacom, a light pressures allows u to go very small into areas to colour correct etc and harder pressure for large wide stoke to cover big areas.
kcky said:
forget pcshows. wacom for the past 3 years has never dropped it price for the intuos range.. never! except for the graphire series.. the professional intuos has remained the same price since the first day I set my eyes on it 3 yrs back!
Viix:
I can go along with you that wacom makes the best tablets around (at the least they have teh strongest marketing). However, almost all tablet manufacturers provide pressure sensitive pens. Using one or another does not make any difference at all. The last I saw, Graphire could not support 'soft' buttons... I think that reduces the working speed a lot.
I'd suggest anyone to go to a store, check the models out, and buy anything that suits ones budget. Pressure sensitivity is an essential feature.
The pricing seems rather stable for a long time as viix pointed out.
I can go along with you that wacom makes the best tablets around (at the least they have teh strongest marketing). However, almost all tablet manufacturers provide pressure sensitive pens. Using one or another does not make any difference at all. The last I saw, Graphire could not support 'soft' buttons... I think that reduces the working speed a lot.
I'd suggest anyone to go to a store, check the models out, and buy anything that suits ones budget. Pressure sensitivity is an essential feature.
The pricing seems rather stable for a long time as viix pointed out.
Nothing fancy. Soft buttons are software / programmable buttons... Certain areas of your tablet can be programmed to do specific commands. You tap the region and initiate commands like cut copy paste etc... I use it for clone, feather, select dodge, burn etc... It is much faster than using menu's.
For example, the dark spots in the picture can be programmed (shortcut key mapped) to perform different functions...
I don't know if you have set up such programs in windows that allows you to move your mouse to the Top left corner and you can start some application!
This is similar but specific to the tablet. you can program many many (sometimes 40+) functions on designated tablet areas. May be you can label them and save time while editing.
I typically find this easier than going the menu route so that I can concentrate on the picture. You can literally hide the stupid toolbars and work on your PS full screen.
Intuos is targeted at the Pro market and Graphire at the consumer market (at least that's my opinion). I think they are very similar except that Intuos may have certain nicer features (pen comes with a reaser function if I am right). Intuos is compatible with a number of accessories that wacom makes. Graphire on the other hand gets little support. I guess Intuos comes with an optional mouse too (not sure about graphire). Honestly, the mice is nice to have.
The differences matter if you spend more than 4+ hours per day (day after day) on the tablet. If you spend 1-2 hours per week, you might have more reason to look at cheaper alternatives.
Anyway, for the money, Wacom tablets are really ergonomically designed (both the pen and the tablet) and comes (I believe) with a licensed version of Photoshop elements.
For example, the dark spots in the picture can be programmed (shortcut key mapped) to perform different functions...
I don't know if you have set up such programs in windows that allows you to move your mouse to the Top left corner and you can start some application!
This is similar but specific to the tablet. you can program many many (sometimes 40+) functions on designated tablet areas. May be you can label them and save time while editing.
I typically find this easier than going the menu route so that I can concentrate on the picture. You can literally hide the stupid toolbars and work on your PS full screen.
Intuos is targeted at the Pro market and Graphire at the consumer market (at least that's my opinion). I think they are very similar except that Intuos may have certain nicer features (pen comes with a reaser function if I am right). Intuos is compatible with a number of accessories that wacom makes. Graphire on the other hand gets little support. I guess Intuos comes with an optional mouse too (not sure about graphire). Honestly, the mice is nice to have.
The differences matter if you spend more than 4+ hours per day (day after day) on the tablet. If you spend 1-2 hours per week, you might have more reason to look at cheaper alternatives.
Anyway, for the money, Wacom tablets are really ergonomically designed (both the pen and the tablet) and comes (I believe) with a licensed version of Photoshop elements.
A word of caution however. If you are not computer savvy, don't bother with solutions other than wacom... Sometimes, technical support may be pretty weak from other companies.
the tablets are usually meanted for freehand coloring and very subtle controls on airbrushing details in graphics work. So the others have mentioned.. if you are not seriously into graphic design, just get a consumer one. To date, I'm still using my UC-Logic Super Pen for all my clients' work 
tablet is suitable if u are doing freehand drawing or delicate photo-editing.. i'm using the graphire-3...
wainism said:
the soft button is useless for me.. seriously, other than using it to set pressure levels to soft medium or hard, don't think it's needed if u familiarise urself with the keyboard shortcut keys.. eg. press B for brush, masking use Q.. all the shortcut keys at the back of my head already. It's much faster working with one hand on the keyboard, the other hand painting..
Graphire is good enough for almost everything.. intuos if u need the space..
well, I did not recommend the others because I tested out some that the marketing people brought in at my workplace. They were slower and less accurate (for me when painting outlines over 600frames when rotoscoping video) compared to the intuos. Plus the weight of the wacom seems more sturdy and comfortable.. add in the fact I need a large area, Intuos 2 wins hand down with it's 4D mouse for 3d work..
But seriously don't have to get the wacom if it's just simple photoretouching of pictures.. cos any PRESSURE sensitive gfx tablet will do..
To test it out, maybe at SLS, there's a shop called tec drome I think.. let's u test wacom but pk comp @funan is cheapest.. no trying there though and Funan challenger has a few..
V
vince123123
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i actaully saw a cheapo pen/tablet for $20 @ pk computer. not sure if it has pressure sensitivity, but its a good cheap alternative
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