How to Accurately use the clone tool or do I need a Trackball?

[lostsoulal2]

I sometimes struggle to align the clone tool accurately in Photoshop, it is more apparent with Macro / close up shots.

What I do is to Zoom in as far as practicable and then press the ALT key down to get the Cross Hatch symbol - then move the mouse and line up the centre of the cross hatch to what I want to clone and click down the Left key on the mouse.

Then I move to the area I want cloned and mouse left click to start the process, but it feels like its hit and miss especially if the item I want to clone is on a slant and the resulting cloned area does not look natural or is mis-aligned. (Before I click the Left button I use the Alt key to get the cross hatch to try and work out where the clone stamp should start.)

I sometimes feel the mouse is moving slightly as I click the left button, I am using the mouse with my injured right arm which makes it a tad difficult to control and may add to the issue.

Are there any tools within Photoshop that I could or should be using to accurately align the clone and other tools ?

Or would I be better off using a Trackball instead of a Mouse? If so, any recommendations? The Logitech Trackman looks good.

 

[swanseamale47]

I haven't tried a trackball but A lot of people prefere a pen tablet. You can also click ALT (without left click) to get the cross hairs back, or use capslock to get them back over the clone image.

 

[lostsoulal2]

Hi Wayne,

I did briefly try a pen tablet, but my arm injury made it difficult for me to use, so I went back to the mouse - I might try one again and persevere a little while longer next time.

Good tip of putting the Caps lock key on - that makes it a lot cleaner and easier to locate where the clone tool is going to be located as instead of the round circle bisected by the cross hairs, it just shows the cross hairs - Much easier

Thanks

Roy

 

[MisterE]

I've used a Logitech Trackman Wheel for years - the type that uses your thumb on the ball as opposed to the other type with the bigger ball operated by fingers. I've always found it to be superbly controllable and easy to use, much more so than a tablet, and wouldn't have anything else.

I'm not sure that they're still made and available, although ebay sometimes has some - at a price. Hence I got a couple for spare a while ago.

 

[DemiLion]

Get a mouse with adjustable DPI sensitivity levels, it should be a lot cheaper than a track ball. A Logitech G500 is about £35 for example.

 

[lostsoulal2]

I've used a Logitech Trackman Wheel for years - the type that uses your thumb on the ball as opposed to the other type with the bigger ball operated by fingers. I've always found it to be superbly controllable and easy to use, much more so than a tablet, and wouldn't have anything else.

I'm not sure that they're still made and available, although ebay sometimes has some - at a price. Hence I got a couple for spare a while ago.

Is it this one that you mean?

That was the one I was referring to above (found that play.com has then for sale)- I also saw that Logitech has just released a newer cordless version, but could not see any major benefit.

Thank for the vote.

 

[lostsoulal2]

Get a mouse with adjustable DPI sensitivity levels, it should be a lot cheaper than a track ball. A Logitech G500 is about £35 for example.

I would not have thought of looking at what I would normally consider to be a Gaming Mouse, but can see the adjustable DPI could be of benefit, so will do a bit of research.

Thank you.

 

[MisterE]

Is it this one that you mean?

That was the one I was referring to above (found that play.com has then for sale)- I also saw that Logitech has just released a newer cordless version, but could not see any major benefit.

Thank for the vote.

I have 2 or 3 of these that I used at first, but now have a couple of cordless ones, for the desktop and laptop. The cordless ones I have aren't newly released ones though. I've had these for some years and I haven't seen them anywhere except on ebay in recent times.