Best Graphics Tablet....?

[wyzboing]

Hi and happy New Year!

Could anyone recommend a graphics tablet for use with PSE? I would like to add hand-drawn features to my photos with greater accuracy than manipulation of the brushes and pens in PSE allows with a mouse. Looks like what are mostly on sale here in Uk are Wacoms so what features should I be looking for? Should I start out with the cheapest or will I regret not investing a little more money?

Am I right in thinking that I would not be able to get full PSE on an iPad (if i had one which I don't). Is it worth having an iPad for photo editing?

Does anyone know how a Kindle Fire would handle photoediting? I really fancy one of those but they won't be over here until March.

Regards.

[Chuck Engels]

I would recommend the Wacom Bamboo Tablet for drawing, much more cost effective than an iPad or something similar. The Wacom tablets are great, just depends on what size you would like/need. I find that the smaller tablets work great for me and have a Bamboo MTE-450 that is perfect for detailed editing of photos. Drawing and artwork may require a larger tablet. There are other tablet users, some that don't even use a mouse anymore, just the tablet pen

[Chuck Engels]

Speaking of Wacom, this is pretty cool, could be a video for Muvipix.
I think it pretty much describes what we are all about too

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eYEYFYBaIM[/youtube]

[Bob]

I'd recommend a Wacom also. Wacom is the de facto standard for graphics tablets. You can buy cheaper ones, but, as they say, you get what you pay for.

The Wacom Bamboo is the consumer line of tablets and comes in small and medium. The Wacom Intuos is the professional line and comes in a greater range of sizes. The Intuos has twice the resolution of the Bamboo which makes it more sensitive and it can detect the tilt of the pen. A small or medium size tablet will probably meet most user's needs. But, definitely look at your size requirements before you buy. Too large of a tablet can be tiring to use and you'll probably end up remapping it to a smaller active area. Likewise, too small for your motor skills and drawing habits and you won't like it either. I personally use a small Intuos4 and like it very much.

Photoshop or Photoshop Elements will not run on an iPad. Adobe has recently released touch apps for Android based tablets that give you some very basic photo editing capability. Photoshop Touch is designed to work in conjunction with the Adobe Creative Cloud service. You can do basic editing on the tablet, upload to the Creative Cloud, and finish the editing with Photoshop on a desktop or laptop. You can then transfer it back to the Creative Cloud and use the tablet for mobile presentation.

The Kindle Fire is somewhere between an eBook reader and a tablet. I don't see it replacing a tablet yet.

[wyzboing]

Many thanks Chuck and Bob for this really useful info. You have answered all my questions very fully.

I went to have a look in the shops yesterday but graphics tablets are obviously not the gadget of the moment - whilst there were rows of tablets, and ebook readers on demo the graphics tablets were hidden in a corner, in their boxes with security tags on. No one seemed interested in talking about them and I was unable to try them out. I have had a look at the Wacom site and cannot decide whether I can get away with the small bamboo tablet with the pen (at about £40) and Artrage software (not sure what this does?) or whether to go for the medium tablet (at about £170, so big price difference) which comes with PSE 9 (I already have 8 and I will probably upgrade to 10 soon anyway) and Corel Painter Essentials 4.

I am going to have a closer look at the Intuos4 spec - though this is another £100+ price hike.

Many thanks - any further input most welcome.

Regards.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I have an Intuos 3 Wide that has a usable area of (approx) 115mm x 190mm. It is perfect for my dual screen setup and takes up minimal desk space. I think that the closest model in the current range is probably the Small tablet.

If you are not particularly fussy about getting a new tablet you might find a used one on Ebay at a reasonable price.

[Jayell]

I also use the Wacom Intuos 4. Usable tablet space 9 x 6, which I find to be a great size, but then I use it for everything. I like the programmable buttons along the left side, and use mine mapped in mouse mode (as opposed to pen mode). I'm one of those that Chuck referred to that has not had a mouse within 10 feet of my computer since December 2005 when I started using a graphics tablet. So I obviously use it for everything and find it much easier on the wrists. I've got them on both of my computers and can't imagine ever going back to a mouse again!

[momoffduty]

find it much easier on the wrists.

Much easier! I use mine mostly in PS and in PrPro. It is easier to drag photos, clips or transitions in PrPro. The odd thing is that in AE I find a mouse more efficient. The tablet pen is a little trigger happy in AE and I could change the settings, but the settings are where I like them for PS & PrPro. My tablet is much smaller than Jayells, but works great for me. I have an older version like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Graphire4-4 ... B000BBAL0W

[Jayell]

The tablet pen is a little trigger happy in AE and I could change the settings, but the settings are where I like them for PS & PrPro.

In mine, you can change the setting for specific programs. That might work if you have it available.

[momoffduty]

Thanks Jayell, will check that out.

[wyzboing]

Someone has loaned me something called an Airliner. Is this going to do the same job? I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

[Bob]

The Airliner slate is a wireless bluetooth graphics tablet. I've only heard of them being used in a classroom environment. They are a bit on the pricey side, but their specs are similar to a Wacom Bamboo. For the money, I'd rather get a Wacom. If you want wireless, Wacom sells a bluetooth adaptor for the Bamboo and sells wireless models of the Intuos.