Operation Photo Rescue's Online Community

Hi everyone,

I'm curious as to how many of the volunteers are using Wacom tablets, and your thoughts.  I've had my tablet two years, and it's the best thing since sliced bread.  I cannot image not having a tablet for my restorations.  I'm a lefty, but am ambidextrous.  I use the pen with my left hand, but the mouse with my right.  Before my tablet, I was doing restorations right-handed with the mouse.  I have no idea how I did that!

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Christine

Hi Christine,

Like you I'm lefthanded but ambidextrous.  I've been using my Wacom tablet for a week and I think it is great!  It is so much easier to do all the fine detailed work in photo restoring.  For anything else I find it a little too sensitive but that is because I have not found the time yet to sit down and configure it to my liking.
I also find that pen in the left hand and mouse in the right hand works best for me.
Hopefully my work will be much better now that I'm using the right (left in my case) hand!  ;D

Hannie

Couldn't do without it! Period.

Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but I too am lefty/ambidextrous.  I've fallen in love with my tablet and cannot imagine going back to using a mouse with my righthand. It took me a bit to get used to using my right hand for keyboard shortcuts instead of the reverse, but it is well worth it.  I use the pen and tablet for everything now. I never use the mouse that came with it because for some reason I just can't get used to lefty mousing.

Well to break up the monotony, I'm right handed and NOT ambidextrous!  I use a Wacom Intuous3 6X8.  I love it because I can set my opacity/exposure/etc. to Pen Pressure and have a lot more control over my work.  Love it!

Kurt

Hi!

I'm the no vote, and I'm sad to say that I've had a tablet for nearly a year, and haven't taken the time to get comfortable enough with it to use it on the restorations.  It's another of those "when I have time -- i.e. when my hours are cut" maybe I'll be able to get it out, use it, and be as happy with it as everyone else seems to be.  You're all giving me incentive to find the time!

Glenna

I use a Manhattan tablet and I love it!! Makes things so much easier :up:

I'm with you Ratz, I use a Manhattan tablet, doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Wacom, but I haven't learnt to use all the features it has yet, I don't know how I used to do this work with just a mouse.

Max

I've never heard of the Manhattan tablet.  Is this the "down under" version of the Wacom?

And Glenna...get your butt in gear girl and hook up that Wacom!  It probably took me two hours at most to figure it all out, and using it came very naturally to me.  You're going to kick yourself for waiting so long to learn to use your Wacom.

Christine

Hi Christine,

No Manhattan hail from the old US of A, maybe their marketing is not strong over there.

http://www.icintracom.com/index.php (http://www.icintracom.com/index.php)

Max

Hi Christine,

I've had a Wacom tablet for about a year now and love it!

Quote from: cmpentecost on August 06, 2007, 12:59:40 PM
Hi everyone,

I'm curious as to how many of the volunteers are using Wacom tablets, and your thoughts.  I've had my tablet two years, and it's the best thing since sliced bread.  I cannot image not having a tablet for my restorations.  I'm a lefty, but am ambidextrous.  I use the pen with my left hand, but the mouse with my right.  Before my tablet, I was doing restorations right-handed with the mouse.  I have no idea how I did that!

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Christine

I thought I was the only one who used the pen with the left hand and the mouse with the right hand.  :)

I'm also left-handed, but  trained myself to use the mouse with my right hand when I worked in an office because my co-workers were all righties.  When I started photo restorations, I was useless with the mouse.  I can't work without my Wacom pen in my left hand.

I find that the Wacom tablet gives me much more ability to do fine, detailed work because it's so pressure sensitive.


Lorraine

I guess I am the odd ball here.  I am right handed and I use left hand for mouse.  I don't have a tablet so I am using my left hand to do restoration.  Does that make me ambidextrous?  Or would that be a good excuse of not being able to paint well  ;D

A tablet is one of the next things I want together with a new computer and a new monitor.  I have to remind Santa about that.

Do I need a larger tablet to go with a larger monitor?

Hi Schen,

You aren't an odd ball, but that's a first for being right handed and using the mouse with the left!  As for the size of the tablet, I spent several days at a photography workshop where we had a Wacom rep with us the entire time.  He said the bigger the tablet, the more you have to move your arm/hand around.  He said the ideal size for a desktop computer is the 6x8.  And, with the 6x8 Intuos tablet, you have the buttons on both side of the tablet, so it won't matter if you are left or right handed, you will always be able to easily use the buttons.

I did a bit of research today, and Amazon.com had the cheapest Wacom tablets...by quite a bit on some of them.  The website for Wacom, is www.wacom.com. 

Christine

When I was young, I had to do some delicate work.  Switching hands was always a risk.  So I trained myself to be ambidextrous.  When I get older, I occasionally have aches and pains of my shoulders.  It is nice to be able to offload the side that hurts.  I still use my right hand to do writing and painting.  I am sure I will use my right hand for tablet.

Is it worth 50% more to go from Graphire to Intuos?  I don't understand the features like express key, touch strip, ToolID, or pen tilt support.  Why are there 5 buttons on the mouse?  We had a 5-button mouse at work on the share computer and I couldn't figure out how to use it without clicking the two extra buttons accidentally.

Maybe I should tell Santa I want the Cintiq 21UX.  I would solve my monitor and tablet needs together.

Hi Schen,

If Santa brings you the Cintiq, then I want one too!  I've seen it used, and it's amazing.  As for the difference between the Graphire and Intuos, other than cost, it has to do with pressure sensitivity of the pen, which is very important to those of us doing restorations.  I have the Intuos 3, and I can push on the pen hard for a big efffect, or barely touch the pen, for a light effect.  You won't have that with the graphire tablet.  As for the touch strip and express keys, I use mine all of the time.  I have mine set for certain key strokes on the keyboard, and often times, don't even touch the keyboard.  As for the 5 buttons on the mouse, I do not use them as often.  I use some, but not like the express keys and touch strip.  I called Wacom just yesterday to understand the difference between the Graphire and Intuos.  The guy said that the Graphire is more for scrapbookers, and casual users of photoshop or photo editing software, but for the more serious Photoshopper or graphic artist, the Intuos is the way to go.  They aren't cheap, but in my opinion, worth every penny. 

As we talk of all of our ambidextrous volunteers, my Mom is 70 and a lefty.  She often shares the story of when she was young, the teacher forcing her to use her right hand, and making her stay after school if she used her left hand.  My Mom grew up to be VERY left handed, and extremely artistic and creative.  Thank goodness we don't have to deal with that type of thinking anymore.

Christine

Before I decided on the Intuos3 I also was thinking about the Graphire.  Now apart from the obvious benefits like pen pressure etc. there is another important difference: the surface of the tablet. 
The Graphire has a smooth shiny plastic surface.  I read several reviews where people didn't like the feel of that surface for drawing very much and thought the Intuos surface felt much more natural.

For that same reason I am wondering about the Cintiq 21UX but really would love to try it s.t! 
Schen, I hope Santa heard you so you can tell us all about it soon!

Hannie

Thanks, Christine for the detailed explanations.  That will help me decide which tablet to buy.  My computer is getting outdated and very slow for Photoshop work of large files.  I was going to replace it then I changed my job and the new job came with a laptop.  Now I don't use my own computer much except Photoshop work and a few other things.  The urgency of replacing home computer dropped.  I might have access to Photoshop at work through network soon.  I don't know how that is going to work.  And there is this issue about Vista.  I am glad I held off the decision to buy a new computer when Vista was the only OS.  I would love to get a Mac but my work uses solely PC stuff.  I am also sitting on the decision of upgrading from PS7 to CS3.

Half of my household are left handed.  My wife was forced to become very right handed in her childhood.  My son is left handed but plays right handed violin and guitar without any problem.  Scissors are the most uncomfortable tools for left handed person I know.

I think I will have to start dropping hints for in readiness for Christmas  :up: Seems the way to go!!

Sanbie

Quote from: schen on August 08, 2007, 08:04:38 AM
Thanks, Christine for the detailed explanations.  That will help me decide which tablet to buy.  My computer is getting outdated and very slow for Photoshop work of large files.  I was going to replace it then I changed my job and the new job came with a laptop.  Now I don't use my own computer much except Photoshop work and a few other things.  The urgency of replacing home computer dropped.  I might have access to Photoshop at work through network soon.  I don't know how that is going to work.  And there is this issue about Vista.  I am glad I held off the decision to buy a new computer when Vista was the only OS.  I would love to get a Mac but my work uses solely PC stuff.  I am also sitting on the decision of upgrading from PS7 to CS3.

Half of my household are left handed.  My wife was forced to become very right handed in her childhood.  My son is left handed but plays right handed violin and guitar without any problem.  Scissors are the most uncomfortable tools for left handed person I know.

those new iMacs are pretty nice.

ummmm....what's an iMac?

Christine

Here you go Christine. All in one, no box. http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebObjects/australiastore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=163AA6A5&node=home/desktop/imac

Wow they are dearer than my whole computer put together!! :funny:

Sanbie

Well Sanbie, you know the old saying"An Apple a day keeps the Doctor away" so after you pay for one of those you can't afford to go to the doctor. :funny:

I didn't delve to far into the site, maybe they throw in a mouse and keyboard, my second computer back in 1982 was like that, everything was incorporated into the monitor, all 256KB of it and cost more in real terms.

Max

Quoteummmm....what's an iMac?

:mad:



;)