To wacom or to WACOM?

[SeriousG]

I have been using mouse/brick to create art on my computer for a few years now. Which is about to end. I have become convinced that I can no longer live without a tablet. That said, I have also decided on a Wacom intuos 3. As my experience with tablets is limited I am full of questions and aprehension.

I am primarily interested in using it with Photoshop and Painter but I also use 3dsmax.

Here are my questions:

Size. Is bigger better? I am deciding between the 6x8 or the 9x12. Is the 9x12 unweildly? Is the 6x8 constraining? Would you buy the new 12x19?

Mouse How does the mouse compare to a good quality microsoft mouse? Is it slow? Will it suffice for 3d work or CAD?

Workflow Is it easy to switch back and forth between the mouse and the pen. Is it easy to use in multiple program mode? ie. 3dsmax/ photoshop simutanously and (oh yeah) itunes.

Special Pens Do yo have any of the special pens that you use with your tablet? What do you use them/it for; specificaly can you live without it?

What, if anything do you hate/dislike about your tablet?

Thats about it. I have already done the old forum search and read the threads available on this topic. So I guess I am fishing for more info. Thanks in advance for the support and info. As I said I am going to buy one within the next week or two and when I do I will

[lightwell]

You will never regret getting a tablet.

Bigger is better I think. I started with an A5 sized Intuos 2 and liked it so much that I bought the A3 sized intuos 3 a year later. It is much better having more workspace although you may need a bigger desk.

Mouse...don't really know as I don't use the Wacom one but I do jump between my regular mouse and tablet continuosly without problems. I don't have any of the special pens but will be interested to hear what others think. So far, the basic pen does all I could want it too.

The one thing I dosn't like about the Intuos 3 is the acrylic cover. The dumbass at Wacom that came up with the brilliant idea of putting a super scratchable material where hands, wrists, cuffs, watch straps etc are going to be rubbing up and down all day should be sacked.

Jim

[Dave L]

I've been using an Intuos 3 6X8 for about 6 onths now. It is definitely a great tool. I will never go back to a regular mouse. I use both the pen and mouse interchangeably. The 6x8 is fine for me because I want portability as I currently do all my work on a notebook. I can see the value in getting a bigger one for a more static workstation.

As far as the function of the mouse; It beats the hardwire variety hands down. At first I thought the five buttons seemed a bit overkill, but when working on the web the left and right buttons select the forward and back option on the browser. Really convenient and saves alot of hand movement. Switching between pen and mouse no problem, just don't leave either device on the sensitive area while using the other.

Another great feature is that you can set the pen and mouse to funtion in either pen or mouse mode. Confusing? Pen mode sets the device to every location on the tablet matches a screen location. Mouse mode is the traditional drag lift reposition drag method.

I currently use the pen that shipped with the tablet, and I haven't yet tried the special nibs (felt pen and paint brush) but it is a joy to work with. I would be interested to know if anyone has found the special nibs valuable.

The ability to set up the buttons and touch strips to nearly any function is another great feature. You have alot of flexibility as every button either on the tablet, the pen or mouse are easily set to whatever keyboard shortcut you want.

The biggest hurtle is retraining your hand eye coordination for use with the pen. A couple of weeks and alot of doodling will pay off and you will wonder why you ever tried painting with a mouse.

Excuse the long post, but I can't sing the praises of this tablet enough; and no, I don't work for Wacom.

Problems, very few; occainsionaly for unkown reason the touch strip set to zoom in and out of the image will stop working mysteriously and just as mysteriously start again. Also a couple of times the mouse will switch from mouse mode to pen mode inexplicably. I'm not sure if this is a bug or not. These are so minor they are only worth mentioning in passing.

In short, don't hesitate it is money well spent, no regrets.

[Dave L]

Your question prompted me to look into the problems I mentioned in my post. This is what I found out.

The tablet allows you to have settings applied to specific programs. Apparently when I set the tablet to have speciic pen settings for photoshop, I applied only the pen tool and not the function keys or mouse.

I assumed, incorrectly, that these other settings would default to work in photoshop. It seems you need to apply each element to the application you are setting up.

You can set individual characteristics for each tablet element to work differently in individual programs. Photoshop, Illustrator, what have you, can all have their own tablet function key, touch strip, mouse and pen sttings.

This is pretty cool, therefore, no bug just pilot error

[adam]

I'd just like to concur with Jim and Dave. I was painting with my mouse
and getting some good results but I just got a wacom 4x5 and I am
VERY pleased. I find it's much more fun for starters, precise, and
with the pressure sensitivity I find myself going a lot deeper into
each piece. As for tablet size, I think that depends on a couple things
like monitor size and your own style of painting.

[rrische]

Agree with everything here. My preferred size is 6x8.
I find anything larger is just unnecessary bulk. The 6x8
fits comfortably in my lap.

[Ubbe]

hi, i was about to start a new thread but fell over this one. a litte of it might be the same, but i have a few questions.

i'm looking at the Wacom Graphire4 Classic XL and thinking of purchasing it, until now i have only used my normal mouse, i looked at this one because as far as i understood it does not have a mouse with it, but only the pen. I read that the mouses are not good for gameplay and i enjoy a fight CS once in a while, so i would prefer to keep my current mouse, can i still use my normal logitech mouse besides this tablet? and do any of you have any experience with this tablet?

Best Regards
Ubbe

[Dave L]

Ubbe, I don't have any experience with that tablet only what I've read.


Graphire4
512 levels of pressure sensitivity
2 express keys
No touch strips
3-button mouse
Standard pen no Pen tilt

Intuos3
1024 levels of pressure sensitivity
8 express keys
2 touch strips
5-button mouse
Grip Pen with pen tilt

This info came from the wacom site where you can compare the diffrences in tablets:

http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/differences.cfm

If you can swing it, I would recommend the Intuos for painting just on the sensitivity feature alone. Plus the convenience of the touch strips and express keys is really helpful.

As for the mouse; I have not tried using a second mouse, but my laptop has a touch pad and buttons which work fine when the tablet is attatched.

[graphmac]

I recomend the oversized A4 Intous board.
You can get the airbrush pen which offers you a great amount of quick control.
I wouldn't even think of using a mouse - too painful.

Using the pressure control and making your own custom brushes is awesome. You can think your way around problems that would otherwise have taken ages to do.

[kd]

I'd go for 6x8, as rick mentioned.

SOrry to sway off but, One question...

If you just but the Intuos3 pen can you use it with the graphire tablet?

[JorgeM]

I'd go for 6x8, as rick mentioned.

SOrry to sway off but, One question...

If you just but the Intuos3 pen can you use it with the graphire tablet?

Unffortunatelly the Graphire tablet and the Intuos3 pen , arent compatible, diferent eprom frequencies.

JM