I find my tablet indispensable for painting in Photoshop. Also, I have some difficulties with tendinitis in my mouse-driving hand, and simply changing my primary input device has helped quite a lot with that. The big downside to it for me is the lack of a middle mouse button. I've configured a button on the tablet's surface to fill that role, but it's still difficult to navigate in Maya, which requires middle mouse for quite a few tasks. Also, any time I have to manipulate something on my secondary monitor, I still have to grab the mouse, since the Wacom is mapped only to the primary screen.
As far as getting used to it, I played a few hours of Neverwinter Nights with the thing, and now it's even more natural to use than the mouse. It's a little strange, though: I have a widescreen monitor, so horizontal movement is more dramatic than vertical movement. That takes some getting used to.
The biggest advantage I find in Photoshop is the ability to use pen pressure to control line width. That allows me to get very nice tapers for things like rivers. Some people like to use pressure to control opacity or flow from their brush. This allows for a much less mechanical look in painting than is possible with a mouse. The primary disadvantage for me is space. I am short on USB ports, so any time I need to plug in my external hard drive, I have to unplug something else. I suppose a USB hub would take care of that, but desk space is also at a premium. The tablet takes up quite a lot of territory when I have it out, and I have cables running everywhere for far too many devices. Someday I'll have a real workspace and a good-sized desk with some reasonable cable management. For now, though, adding the tablet to my mess just makes the spaghetti a little bit worse.
Anyway, the only thing that makes my mouse superior to the tablet in any way is that middle mouse button issue I already mentioned. In all other ways, I consider the tablet the better choice.
edit: Oh, and I wouldn't consider any brand other than Wacom at the moment. They're miles ahead of their competition in terms of quality, compatibility and support.
Reply With Quote