Mouse vs. tablet

[MittenNinja]

I picked up one of the smaller cheaper wacoms about 8 months ago and I have yet to find any problems with it whatsoever. The tip is still in nearly perfect condition, so unless these people are really pressing down hard on the thing I can't see it wearing down too fast. Picked it up for about $100 and now I actually use it for everything on my computer with the exception of gaming.

P.S. For a fun time try playing Counterstirke (or any first person shooter for that matter) with a tablet.

[palehorse]

My wife and I picked up one of the first generation Graphire ET's back when they first came out. (I couldn't even tell you how many years ago that was, but it was before our son was born, so over 5 years.) They're great; we've never had any trouble with it. And we're still using the same stylus it shipped with.

[RobA]

I only have one issue so far. I move the pen when clicking the tip down, so to use it as a "mouse" is a pain. i.e. clicking on a link in a web browser doesn't always work, as it is seen as a click-drag. There doesn't seem to be a way to adjust the sensitivity of that, either (that I can find).

I did map one of the buttons to a middle click, so I can use that to put application into "scroll mode" to pan about.

I think I have found a good way to work now. I have a dual screen configuration (notebook at 1400x1050) and LCD as an extended screen to he right at 1024x1280 (it is rotated). I have the graphire mouse set to be in mouse mode, and lets me cover the full to screens, and I have the pen set to map to my notebook screen only, to get better accuracy and control with it.

That does mean that I change between mouse and pen, depending on what I am doing, but it works for me so far...

-Rob A>

[Robbie]

I have my pen buttons mapped to [ and ] which allows me to quickly change brush sizes while working. Its VERY convenient. I also make heavy heavy use of the scroll strip and the alt-shift-ctrl-space buttons...the space button makes panning around my work easy.

[palehorse]

I have my pen buttons mapped to [ and ] which allows me to quickly change brush sizes while working. Its VERY convenient. I also make heavy heavy use of the scroll strip and the alt-shift-ctrl-space buttons...the space button makes panning around my work easy.

Yeah, I remapped the front-click on my stylus to the Space Bar, because I pan a lot but I pretty much never right-click in Photoshop. Then I can just Alt-click and Ctrl-click on the stylus to zoom in and out while I'm at it.

[RobA]

Yeah -

Unfortunately there are no additional buttons or a scroll strip on the graphire series

Though I can use the scroll strip on my notepad touch-pad simultaneous to using the tablet.

-Rob A>

[RPMiller]

For anyone that might be interested:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=WP5540

I'm not sure how good DigiPro is, but for $50 is it worth it?

[Hoseman]

There is not a lot of info out there on the DigiPro (made by Taiwanese company UC-Logic) but what I found was positive. You won't get the tilt sensitivity of the Intuos 3 (the Graphire doesn't have it either) but other than that I've read they're functionally similar. Same sensitivity levels, etc. And unlike Arcana (he's a little trendy still...makes good money and no kids yet :wink: ) and some others, I DON'T think the Wacom is the only real choice. This seems to be put together pretty well. For the price, might be a perfect tablet for a beginner or hobbyist.

Dang, I think I convinced myself! I might buy one soon, just to see what you get for the money. However, I'll probably scour Ebay for a really good deal (although its cheap enough at retail prices to make that almost unnecessary). If it will quell the carps in my tunnels, then it might be worth it.

[RPMiller]

Not necessarily a tool for our 2D needs, but as a 3D tool.... Woot!

It starts at $59 US.

http://www.3dconnexion.com/

[RPMiller]

Ok, so I found out today that I am getting a sizable bonus from work. I think it is time to get myself a Christmas present. Let's just say that money is not really an object, but I don't want to get something I'll only use a couple features of.

So, what do all you experienced tablet users recommend model wise? I'm getting a Wacom so we don't need to worry about brand, but I need to know which model and also what dimension to get.

Basic usage guidelines:

• There is a good chance I'll be mobile with the tablet, but I don't want to set that as a restriction yet.
• I'll be using it with PhotoShop, Poser, Bryce, Carrera, MapTool and hopefully other standard applications.
• I'll be using it for hand drawing stuff as well as using vector based programs.