[Bill Kinkle]

I am interested in buying a Wacom tablet to use with Photoshop/Illustrator. Just curious how many folks use them and if they are worth the money? Also, what models do you reccomend. I woul lke to stay around the lower end 200-300 dollar range. Thanks.

[zubro]

Hi,

I use a A6 format for all, from desktop use to photoshop and Illustrator.
I chose a small format for the ease of use (just use the wrist to cover it) and for portability (perfect to carry around with my iBook 12"! ;o)

They are really good and solid products.

Hope it helped... and I don t think that there are many macnn people who are using a tablet, they are more into 354 buttons mouse as far as I understood...

[art_director]

Originally posted by Bill Kinkle:
I am interested in buying a Wacom tablet to use with Photoshop/Illustrator. Just curious how many folks use them and if they are worth the money? Also, what models do you reccomend. I woul lke to stay around the lower end 200-300 dollar range. Thanks.

don't use one myself but i know a lot of people who love them. they make a solid product, you can't go wrong.

[EnVoy]

I use one to retouch professionally. An absolute must for me. The bigger the better, too. An 21in monitor with the 18in tablet is an awesome combo....

[bluedog]

I've used a wacom tablet since 1996 or so. My first one was a 12x12 which was too large for work at the time. I was swinging my arm to get details.

The ideal size depends really on the desktop space (BOTH your physical and the computer desktop resolution).

I've tried the smallest one wacom offers and find it too small for most uses other than pointing and some light graphic work.

The 6x9 seems to be the happy medium of size/price/performance in my scenario. When I have two monitors for my desktop it takes a little setup to get the right 'scale' factor for my uses.

The biggest thing to get used to is the two 'modes' for operation. The first being like a mouse in that each move to the left moves the cursor left. You can pick up the stylus and re-center it to move further over.

But the other method maps the cursor directily from the location on the tablet to the relative location of your desktop. Be sure and keep it proportional if you are doing graphic work (the stretching will affect your final drawings if you don't have it set for proportional). This is great for keeping a sense of what you're drawing and for me feels more like 'real-world' drawing.

For an graphic artist I'd just say stay away from the smallest they offer and you'll be happy.

[Super Glitcher]

I use a 6x9 and it is a critical part of my setup. For retouching and freehand illustration (Photoshop + Illustrator). I've used 6x9, 12x12 and that midget one.. 6x9 fits me best. If it's too expensive new you might check eBay- that's something that probably wouldn't be too risky to get 2nd hand.

Also, if you freehand.. the texture may be a little weird at first- I put a piece of paper over my tablet and taped it on the back (gives the stylus some resistance and feels more natural).

[mydog8mymac]

I have the 6x8 and I love it. I've been using it professionally for two years and can't believe I ever survived without it!

[Anemia]

i have the 4x5 intuos 2 because I'm a broke college student and i use it with my 12" powerbook. I love it. It works great with 1024x768 but is a little small when I go up to 1280 on an external monitor.

It was totally worth the money. Photoshop elements is pretty great for the powerbook, I keep the full version on the desktop.

I vote you get one.

[graphics84]

I may be late on this post but I use a Graphire 1 everyday... for the last 3 years and I love it...

going to go up to a Graphire 3 but considering the intus

it's so worth it