Graphic Tablet - recommendations?

Carlh

Carlh

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I really think I can get some use out of a graphic tablet, for some small touching up - the mouse has been fine and Im used to using it but I do find it a little inaccurate and a bit clumsy.

So my first question would be - are they as good as they seem to be?

I have my eye on this:
WACOM Intuos Pro Small PTH-451-ENES Graphics Tablet - precision level 2048

At £170 seems a decent enough product with a high level accuracy - since i know very little about them, any input from TP members would be most useful - thanks!

EDIT: I just noticed that, the £170 version is for the "small" version - now I'd probably want something in the range of a size of A4? - with a budget of £200 would I be better of going for the medium or large (that is nearest to A4 size) with less precision? Its all a bit confusing at the moment
 
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I can't help just book marking the thread as I am debating buying one myself.

I also was debating the one that you are looking at Carl but after doing a bit of research online people are advising the more basic version if it's just for photoshop were as the one we are both looking at is more aimed at people that will actually use it for drawing.
 
I think we've done this before, so might be worth a search. Me personal preference is the larger tablets as I find them more accurate. I have an Inuos 4 large which works well for me.
 
I have the intuos touch medium. More than big enough works as a trackpad too so you can ditch the mouse if you like. Tbh a small working area is better than large I've had to restrict the size on mine to get the best control. £79 from maplins.
 
Tintin124 said:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GIGGS6A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I bought this... yet to use it in vain but its got the high lpi needed and is very responsive when I have used it and half the price of the wacoms....
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Nice one bryn !

Muzzieman said:
I have the intuos touch medium. More than big enough works as a trackpad too so you can ditch the mouse if you like. Tbh a small working area is better than large I've had to restrict the size on mine to get the best control. £79 from maplins.
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Sounds good, will go have a look-see !

Thanks, I think it will help the old-wrists too (no rude comments please! lol)
 
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I weighed this up for a long time and ended up just buying the most basic wacom http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wacom-Intuo...TF8&qid=1422873920&sr=8-1&keywords=intuos+pen and I'm glad I did.

Reasons for this for me were... surface size is largely a disadvantage for me as a larger surface area means you need to make longer movements and therefore more acurate movements. If you watch a lot of people using large tablets purely for photo retouching they set the tablet to use a smaller area as they can do work more quickly, the zoom control can then set how much space you want to cover.

90% of the time I'm painting black and white on masks or dodge and burn layers, I use pressure sensitivity a lot but between me painting levels of 0-255 and not being an artists the difference between 1024 and 2048 levels of sensitivity is negligible.

I wasn't bothered about touch, I'm too used to using keyboard commands to zoom and rotate to trust a touchpad for the job.

And finally cost, £60 is throw away and I could use the extra money far better else where, If I was artistic or wanted to do more than photo retouching I'd consider a larger intuos pro for the better pen and extra sensitivity but for me if I was to choose again I'd pick the exact same thing.
 
CraigDHD said:
I weighed this up for a long time and ended up just buying the most basic wacom http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wacom-Intuos-Pen-Graphics-Tablet/dp/B00ME7HE5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422873920&sr=8-1&keywords=intuos pen and I'm glad I did.

Reasons for this for me were... surface size is largely a disadvantage for me as a larger surface area means you need to make longer movements and therefore more acurate movements. If you watch a lot of people using large tablets purely for photo retouching they set the tablet to use a smaller area as they can do work more quickly, the zoom control can then set how much space you want to cover.

90% of the time I'm painting black and white on masks or dodge and burn layers, I use pressure sensitivity a lot but between me painting levels of 0-255 and not being an artists the difference between 1024 and 2048 levels of sensitivity is negligible.

I wasn't bothered about touch, I'm too used to using keyboard commands to zoom and rotate to trust a touchpad for the job.

And finally cost, £60 is throw away and I could use the extra money far better else where, If I was artistic or wanted to do more than photo retouching I'd consider a larger intuos pro for the better pen and extra sensitivity but for me if I was to choose again I'd pick the exact same thing.
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cheers craig - thats an excellent set of reasons, similar to my own. Time to go shopping me thinks! Thanks everyone, most appreciated
 
CraigDHD said:
Reasons for this for me were... surface size is largely a disadvantage for me as a larger surface area means you need to make longer movements and therefore more acurate movements. If you watch a lot of people using large tablets purely for photo retouching they set the tablet to use a smaller area as they can do work more quickly, the zoom control can then set how much space you want to cover.
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Complete opposite, sorry. I used to work with Graphics artist and video editors / demo artists. All used large tablets. The larger area for movement of the pen means you can be very accurate, more pen movement for where you want it to be on screen, plus it's adjustable downwards, you cant expand your working area with the smaller ones.
I found for things like masking a larger tablet was great. also with the smaller ones you have a tenancy to reach the end of the tablet and have to stop, swipe across etc. With the larger tablet you can map 1:1 with the larger monitor, or zoom in for accuracy.

Some people like small, some don't have the desk space for larger tablets, horses for courses, but don't discount the larger off hand.

I have the Intuos 4 medium, found it too small so went for the large. Should have learnt really having upgraded from the 3.

Oh and be careful with the pen. They are about £80 if you lose them.
 
Muzzieman said:
Afraid not it was a few months back when I got mine. I got it in store. Come to think of it I think if may have been £89
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I assume thats for the small one as the touch medium would be nearer £
 
Not sure which one it is now tbh and I'm not at home to check the box. It's about the size of an iPad if that helps. It's more than big enough and I use an LG 34 inch 21x9 monitor.
 
Byker28i said:
Complete opposite, sorry.
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How is that the complete opposite? You said the basically the exact same thing but selling it as a positive, a larger tablet allows you to make longer more accurate movements. I can't draw for s*** however so that's not an advantage for me as I'm less likely to create a wiggly mess by keeping my movements smaller. Also I keep my tablet set to 1:1 with my screen so I can't overshoot when using the tablet, wherever my pen is on the tablet relates exactly to that relative point on the screen so if I'm overshooting the tablet I'm no longer on the screen anymore anyway.

As I said if I was a graphic artist I'd have completely different requirements but for retouching photos with my, very, limited drawing skills I'm happy with a small tablet. I'm not suggesting everyone will be, but a lot of people assume they need a large area as they compare it to making a drawing which in my experience doesn't really translate to retouching where all you really need is a way to make more natural movements. Here's a good video on using a tablet http://phlearn.com/use-wacom-tablet. For retouching purposes I was happier use the money saved from an intuos pro on other equipment as the touch and eraser features are redundant to my personal needs and the build quality and additional sensitivity don't impact my personal workflow enough to prioritise it.

Anyway, I simply wanted to detail why I made my decision rather than just advise the op to go buy what I've got or to buy the biggest most expensive model. Maybe buy it, maybe buy something else but that's why I made my choice and I was happy with it.
 
My personal experience, I had an intuos 4 medium, but sold it as I did not use it enough. It worked great & did what I wanted it to do, I found that the medium was a good size for what I needed it for. Much, much more accurate than a good quality mouse - I just didn't find myself using it enough.
 
Carlh said:
I just noticed that, the £170 version is for the "small" version - now I'd probably want something in the range of a size of A4?
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Don't assume that the small size is not big enough. I suggest you try out various sizes doing the sort of task you intend to do.

As you have seen here some people need larger and some small. I have used all different sizes up to giant desk sized ones. Different tasks have different sweet spots for different people.

My small Wacom Intuos has a high resolution so I feel it's just right for photo retouching. Without huge arm movements. And it's only £60.
 
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ianp5a said:
Don't assume that the small size is not big enough. I suggest you try out various sizes doing the sort of task you intend to do.

As you have seen here some people need larger and some small. I have used all different sizes up to giant desk sized ones. Different tasks have different sweet spots for different people.

My small Wacom Intuos has a high resolution so I feel it's just right for photo retouching. Without huge arm movements. And it's only £60.
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sounds good and I think it will be a case of "one size doesn't fit all", so will try it with the 10"x6" and if its too small, I can always send it back and go for a larger one, but a good point to make and I will make sure I feel "comfortable" with it first before throwing the box away (y)
 
I bought one last year, complete with the wireless bit because I hated having wires hanging abiut.
It now resides in a bag with all the other bits I never use, battery life is appaling
 
I've got one and use it occasionally when I'm doing more in depth editing. I go the Intros Pen & Touch Small and even then I've reduced the size of the sensor area so it is more comfortable for longer pen movements. For higher accuracy just zoom in, I have the zoom set to one of the buttons so its a simple finger press.
 
I've got a small wacom one... un used nuch now...
Main problem was the lag between drawing on pad to screen. Much like samsung tablets and fingers... plus it didn't seem to register pressures very well (for thick/thin lines).

I'd see if you can try or borrow one... or if you get one, whether you can return if you dont like how it works/feels ?
 
Not had any lag on my Wacom Intuos Small Pen & Teller. That would drive me nuts. Maybe there is a tweak you can do. Or a driver update?
Regarding pressure, could that depend on the individual application setting?
 
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I started with the Huion 610 last Feb as I thought I needed a large tablet and it was a lot cheaper than a Wacom but after about 6 months a small strip across the middle stopped sensing the pen. After a lot of arguing with Amazon I eventually just binned it and bought a Wacom Intuos Pen and Touch small. Although it is the small it is so much better to use than the Huion and I found I really didn't need a big tablet to do photo and video editing.
 
Wacom are not perfect either. The touch mode doesn't work properly on my Wacom Intuos.
 
I have a small one and have never felt it was inadequate...

That's an A5 intuos of course.
 
I've had the small Intuos Pro since it was launch, never found it lacking or cramped for space for photo work.
 
I have just thrown out my very old Wacom Art Pad and looked through the new range of Wacom tablets. Then I came across the Huion range. Watched all the reviews on YouTube and went for H610 Pro (none pro is about £15 cheaper) Got mine from Amazon for £64.... Absolutely well made, accurate, no lag and about A4 in size. Very very happy!
 
Carlh said:
So my first question would be - are they as good as they seem to be?
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Yes.
Carlh said:
.. I just noticed that, the £170 version is for the "small" version - now I'd probably want something in the range of a size of A4?
Click to expand...
With a bigger tablet your hand (pen) movements will be larger - ie you'll be waving your arm about more. That's more effort. For a long time I've used an A5 tablet with a 24" display, and the mapping precision is fine. Your hand movement is 'geared up' and you have to move your hand less, whilst pixel-tapping remains easy. For ultimate accuracy (say when drawing a mask or selection), just enlarge the image on screen ...
 
What I meant to say was, I think it's natural to zoom in when working on small details. I don't feel I need more accuracy. I just zoom in without thinking about it.

Also, often, say, when masking, and I don't always need varying transparency, so I change the pressure sensitivity from "opacity" to "brush size". Push hard and you can cover big areas with a big fat brush. Then press lightly, and the brush is small to go round fine details.
 
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Great. Good luck with it. The more who buy tablets other than Wacom, the better.

incidentally, an advantage of smaller tablets is you can push them aside, when not in use much easier. And slide them back when needed. As they are lighter and take up less room at the side of the table.
 
To dig up an old thread like your long dead hamster.
I've just got the Huion H610pro, very happy so far, bit of a learning curve for sure but combined with keyboard it's efficient.
One thing though, sweaty hands can be an issue, dragging on the surface. Might be worth investing in one of those graphic tablet gloves.
 
Was thinking about getting one of these a few days ago - might have been the Huion H610 from memory.

Does anyone know if it (or others) can be configured to work with just one screen when multiple screens are attached to PC?
 
Wissel said:
Was thinking about getting one of these a few days ago - might have been the Huion H610 from memory.

Does anyone know if it (or others) can be configured to work with just one screen when multiple screens are attached to PC?
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In the tablets software you have the option of selecting the monitor. But as I only have one can't really say if the tablet would only work on the selected monitor.

Give me a few hours and I'll give it a try by hooking the TV up.

UPDATE:
So you can select which monitor the tablet appears, but it's very buggy. When I selected a second monitor it was stuck at 720p (monitor is 1080p) so the tablet curser wouldn't go to every area.
So I selected first monitor and it seemed to work ok'ish but the tablet curser can still wander to the second monitor.
 
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