PS & Lr Editing with tablets

[bradleyanderson]

I’m fairly new to the whole post processing of images in photoshop/lightroom. I’ve watch a lot of videos with people using a wacom tablet and pen to do the editing and would like to move down that path. I’ve been looking in to these in the price range of $300 plus depending on size and model. I also see the surface pro 3 has a pen but it only has 254 pressure levels. Will this be a problem as the wacom have 1000+? I see the real advantage for the surface pro is it’s a windows based OS which will take Ps & Lr and also the mobile factor that I can edit while away for the weekend.
Has anyone used or are using a table to do editing if so how does it work for you? Any feed back would be great.

Brad.

[ricktas]

For me, the issue comes down to editing on a 10 inch tablet. I cannot compare editing capability on a 27 inch 98% adobe gamut screen that has been colour calibrated, to using a tablet. What you can see on a larger screen when editing that you cannot see on a tablet is mind boggling. I use a wacom pad and love it, but would not consider using a tablet to edit anything worthwhile. Snaps for Facebook, sure, but that would be all.

[bradleyanderson]

Thanks Rick for the feed back. I was thinking more along the lines of using it as the touch pad/pen setup and out putting the screen to a 24inch when at home. Some in turn to work like the "wacom cintiq 13HD " with the large display of your PC and also your table and pen having the same display. I’m more worried about the pressure level and if that is going to cause problems with the large defence.

[ricktas]

Ah, OK. Now I get it. I am not a fan of the pressure sensitivity of most tablets, personally I would prefer to use the Wacom. However I have not used one of the Surface range so could well be swayed if I had.

[Hamster]

Ah, OK. Now I get it. I am not a fan of the pressure sensitivity of most tablets, personally I would prefer to use the Wacom. However I have not used one of the Surface range so could well be swayed if I had.


Sorry to hijack OP but I'm thinking of getting a tablet too, mainly to make selecting and masking a bit quicker. Is there a minimum usable size you'd recommend for any Wacom tablet ricktas (or even a size beyond which it's not worth going)?

[MissionMan]

I have both the Wacom (attached to a Mac) and the Surface Pro 3. The Wacom I have is one of the cheaper low end ones as I don't use it often. Working with a tablet is great if you do a lot of layers, combining of images but I find with refine edge in photoshop, I don't use it as much as I used to. I know people who create footy cards and they live on them 24/7. That said, its not for everyone and it really depends on the individual as to whether you will like it or not. As for what size to buy, bigger is better, but you pay a price for it, and if you end up hating it, it may not be an expensive lesson.

On the issue of the Surface Pro 3, it actually works surprising well with a stylus and the ability to use fingers (for zoom in and out) combined with the stylus is very good. The stylus accuracy is actually pretty close to spot on so I could sketch an outline around a person in a lot less time than I could on a mouse.

As to whether you would buy a Surface Pro 3 for that, I'd be inclined to say, if you have a requirement to replace your laptop and you are looking at something compact like the surface pro 3, it's a great choice. It's the same spec as a Macbook Air (which I have) and it handles my 24MP D750 files with ease in both Lightroom and Photoshop. The retina display is really good quality BUT i would still put it together with a 24-27" screen external display, because, as Rick mentioned, the screen size is just too small for using every day.. If budget is a concern, you could always use a cheaper 24" and get a better photographic quality later.

[ricktas]

I have a wacom intuos 3. I have not tried the smaller wacom tablets, like the bamboo etc, so I am not really in a position to extol the virtues or otherwise of the differing wacom models.

[farmmax]

I'm totally a wacom tablet user and have been for years. I don't have a mouse attached to the computer. I have a smaller intuos tablet that gets attached to the laptop. After using a pen and tablet, a mouse is like trying to use a brick in your hand.

For editing, in particular for fine work, there is no comparison. For moving around in the computer, the pen is much, much faster. The only downside, is I have my pen speed set fairly high, but it is extremely sensitive, so I have to be very careful where I wave it when in my file system :)

My tablets have always come from Ebay second hand. Mainly from people whom buy one, then don't get around to using it. Both tablets I have at present are Intuos 3's. They also have buttons around the edges to preset to do all sorts of things, for me mainly opening different applications. I've never tried any tablets but the Wacom Intuos. They also have the advantage of the pen doesn't need any batteries, and it has a blunt end which I have set to be erase, and another rocker button to which you can assign things like right click, back, forward etc.

If you get an wacom tablet, in the file properties, change the pen to run in mouse mode, other wise the tablet will probably drive you bonkers. Adjust the speed to what ever you are comfortable with, and as you become more familiar, you can up the speed.

When you first use a tablet, I very strongly recommend you find some tablet exercises to practice on, and put a lot of time into practice. Here is a link to some http://dustyghost.com/tutorial/2012/07/26/graphics-tablet-tutorial-making-change/

[Brian500au]

I have both a Wacom Intuos 4 (medium) and a small bamboo.

I have used the intuos with my desktop for years and could not see myself editing a file without it. in the last couple of years I have spent a lot of time travelling and use a macbook. The medium Intous is too large to travel with so i bought a small bamboo. For laptop editing this is ideal - does not quite have the features of the Intuos 4 but still does a great job. I bought it from Amazon here in the US for under $80 whereas the Intuos pro small is over $300.

Once you start editing with a tablet you will wonder how you ever did editing with a mouse. There is a small learning curve but the results are worth the effort.

[Hamster]

Re my previous question re size. This video (http://phlearn.com/use-wacom-tablet) answers the question for me, since I too like to make small movements not sweeping hand gestures. This is because I tend to zoom in tightly to do detail work. If this is you too then using a portion of the total area provides this small movement and linked sensitivity and hence a big tablet isn't needed.
Incidentally Phlearn do some good videos and are worth noting for future ref.