Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Digital Image Processing => Topic started by: Alan Klein on February 09, 2020, 03:20:34 pm
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I use Lightroom 6 classic (purchased) on my Windows 10 desktop. What Wacom type pad would you recommend for doing post editing with Lightroom and other programs? Or as an alternate, would a Samsung android or WIndows tablet be better? What about when travelling?
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I have been using Wacom tablets since about 2002 regularly upgrading as new features become available. Honestly the new features have been a waste for me. I don’t use any of the buttons on the tablets I have owned. I have set them up taking great care then never use them but use the standard keyboard shortcuts on the keyboard. The actual working area has f the tablet is all that matters.
The big issue is size. The bigger the Wacom the finer the resolution when making movements such as painting. The bigger the Wacom the more you need to move the pen around quite obviously. I used to employ 5 retoucher and most of them preferred a smaller tablet, about A6 to A5. I prefer a medium tablet, a bit bigger than an A5. I do have a large tablet but find the gestures needed to be too big and it takes up ok much space on the desk. Smaller tablets are easier to travel with of course.
I know some very talented retoucher that use a mouse. I couldn’t work without a tablet. Whenever I employed a new retoucher or hired someone to train they would be given a tablet and told they had to use it. I gave them no choice. They would moan and complain and say they didn’t like it then after about three days they would suddenly get used to it and after a week they were sold. That happened every time. The reason I insisted on a tablet is that it always produced an increase in both quality and productivity.
The only tablets I have any experience with are made by Wacom
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To further Martins observations, I have used 2 Wacom medium size tablets over the last 8-10 years. A tip that was given to me years ago was to put your mouse somewhere inconvenient when starting to use the tablet. A couple of days to get used to and you will be set.
I do have the active area of the tablet set to slightly smaller than than the full usable tablet space. This reduces the hand movement I need to move around the screen. I have a 27" screen. This is set in the software, make sure you have keep screen proportions checked when adjusting the active area.
One weak point in the Wacom is the USB connector, my cat stepped on the cable and damaged the female plug. This is a common complaint. Instead of replacing the tablet I bought a replacement battery and charger, about a $20 investment. I now swap charged batteries about every day and a half and have remained wireless.
Since switching to the tablet I no longer have thumb joint issues and I can use programs like Lightroom with much greater fluidity.
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To further Martins observations, I have used 2 Wacom medium size tablets over the last 8-10 years. A tip that was given to me years ago was to put your mouse somewhere inconvenient when starting to use the tablet. A couple of days to get used to and you will be set.
I do have the active area of the tablet set to slightly smaller than than the full usable tablet space. This reduces the hand movement I need to move around the screen. I have a 27" screen. This is set in the software, make sure you have keep screen proportions checked when adjusting the active area.
One weak point in the Wacom is the USB connector, my cat stepped on the cable and damaged the female plug. This is a common complaint. Instead of replacing the tablet I bought a replacement battery and charger, about a $20 investment. I now swap charged batteries about every day and a half and have remained wireless.
Since switching to the tablet I no longer have thumb joint issues and I can use programs like Lightroom with much greater fluidity.
Pending on the model, I believe there are replacement cables on Amazon
Or example: https://www.amazon.com/Listed-USB-Cable-Wacom-Intuos-Intuos5-Touch-Digital-Art-Drawing-Tablet-Pad-Data-Charging-Cord/dp/B00OKXROKM/ref=pd_sbs_147_t_2/145-1776410-8488342?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00OKXROKM&pd_rd_r=1f9e2b57-f5da-4be5-926d-71cb1007e9e5&pd_rd_w=y8uYx&pd_rd_wg=ictlA&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=WMDKTVZE9AD1J28XDPT2&psc=1&refRID=WMDKTVZE9AD1J28XDPT2
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Unfortunately it is the USB connection on the tablet itself and not the cable. I did research on this issue when it happened a couple of years ago and it is a known weak spot on the tablet. Before the cat stepped on it It worked flawlessly for several years.
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How about one of these Wacom Intuos Pro Creative Pen Tablets:? Will they work with Lightroom 6 (purchased LR, not the CC) also Photoshop Elements 2020 and Photoshop Premiere Elements 2020 (video)????
6.3 x 3.9" Active Area
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1466614-REG/wacom_pth460k0a_intuos_pro_pen.html
and the larger 12.24 x 8.5" Active Area
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1298745-REG/wacom_pth860_intuos_pro_creative_pen.html
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Yes, these will work with all your software and are the most high-end models from Wacom. The pen tablets are an alternative to the mouse as a pointing device and are a major improvement for doing local edits. The pressure sensitiveness is especially interesting for cumulative edits where you would need several passes at a given opacity / with a given flow to get a similar effect with a mouse.
As others have stated, the small size is ideal when on the go. I would not recommend the large size unless you know it will be what you are looking for. I personally would try to choose between medium and small, knowing that the pressure area can be adjusted to match that of the small one on the medium tablet.
Cheers,
Fabien
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A tablet is nice, I have used one for years. But a mouse in my opinion is a necessity in conjunction with the tablet. You can pick a point on the screen with much more precision with a mouse. With a pen you are hovering above the point and your hand is not steady so when you go to pick the point you will be close but not spot on. The mouse will be exact.
The mouse is less tiring to use than the pen. You are resting your hand on the mouse, you are grasping a pen and holding it upright. Takes more effort, over a long editing session this counts.
This is the big one for me. There is no wheel to scroll. For LR ans PS is does not matter but you also do much more than that. Scrolling pages on the internet is not go good with a pen.
Might just be my tablet but when I pick an icon it often takes a couple of jabs to select it. The mouse is responsive most of the time.
Forget the bells an whistles of the tablet. Programable buttons and other features are more convienently implemented by other tools, keyboard etc.
That said, I do use a tablet but for what it is good at.
Larry
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A tablet is nice, I have used one for years. But a mouse in my opinion is a necessity in conjunction with the tablet. You can pick a point on the screen with much more precision with a mouse. With a pen you are hovering above the point and your hand is not steady so when you go to pick the point you will be close but not spot on. The mouse will be exact.
The mouse is less tiring to use than the pen. You are resting your hand on the mouse, you are grasping a pen and holding it upright. Takes more effort, over a long editing session this counts.
This is the big one for me. There is no wheel to scroll. For LR ans PS is does not matter but you also do much more than that. Scrolling pages on the internet is not go good with a pen.
Might just be my tablet but when I pick an icon it often takes a couple of jabs to select it. The mouse is responsive most of the time.
Forget the bells an whistles of the tablet. Programable buttons and other features are more convienently implemented by other tools, keyboard etc.
That said, I do use a tablet but for what it is good at.
Larry
So Larry what do you find a tablet is good for?
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For me it replaces a mouse. I use it for everything you would use a mouse for. Holding and moving a pen stylus is much more natural and comfortable than gripping a mouse.
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How about one of these Wacom Intuos Pro Creative Pen Tablets:? Will they work with Lightroom 6 (purchased LR, not the CC) also Photoshop Elements 2020 and Photoshop Premiere Elements 2020 (video)????
6.3 x 3.9" Active Area
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1466614-REG/wacom_pth460k0a_intuos_pro_pen.html
and the larger 12.24 x 8.5" Active Area
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1298745-REG/wacom_pth860_intuos_pro_creative_pen.html
I have an older model Intuos with an intermediate size. The active area is 6x8 inches, which is plenty large for me. Half that size would also do because one can set it up to map to the area that you've zoomed in on-screen. So when zoomed in you can do detailed work with lots of precision, even on a smaller area. I could imagine that someone with good drawing abilities would like to use a larger surface, but for retouching I find the more modest size workable and it's easier to get out of the way if reverting to the mouse.
On the subject of mice, I use a Logitech gaming mouse, because it's very responsive (very high refresh rate), and the DPI resolution can be switched up or down very easily. That allows to also change how large a stroke is needed for a given distance. It's also easy to switch between lefthand- or righthand-use, for those who need that.
But for tracing contours and by making use of the pressure sensitivity, a tablet offers a real benefit in speed and accuracy.
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So Larry what do you find a tablet is good for?
Brush work, dodging and burning, that sort of work. Use it a lot with the clone tool. Anytime I have to build up an effect using pressure sensitivity.
Don't get me wrong, I would be lost without a tablet, but to say that it is good for everything is BS. It is not good for perusing FB or this forum for example. Man does not live in PS exclusively.
Maybe I am old and doddering but when I have to use the Pen tool in PS for precise selections, I find that the mouse is much easier to place the selection point where you want it than the pen. Quick selections, the pen: accurate selections, the mouse.
I have a highly customized workstation: two monitors and two keypads with macros. The tablet sits above and slightly behind the mouse pad. The mouse pad is at a level so that my hand rests on the mouse with my arm resting on the chair arm. I can switch between mouse and tablet quickly.
I'll show two pictures: the mouse/tablet and the keypads. They are messy looking and they are: I am more interested in efficiency than looks. The paper on the tablet is because I find the surface of the tablet too slick and does not give good feel. The paper make the pen strokes feel much more natural. The red tape on the pen is so that I am using the right end when I pick it up.
Unfortunately the odd looking keypad is a Logitech G13. No longer available except used on Ebay for exorbitant prices. It is extremely useful. The keypads are right at the left hand when resting on the chair arm. I do not want to reach up and over to the keyboard to use claw commands (ctrl alt shift).
Larry
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They have three different small units. Why one over the other. I just need it for Lightroom 6 purchased. Also, I've been reading that many WIndows computers are having trouble with Wacom. What's your experience? I use Windows 10.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Wacom_Intuos_Pro_Creative_Pen_Tablet_Small_vs_Wacom_Intuos_Bluetooth_Creative_Pen_Tablet_Small%2C_Black_vs_Wacom_PTH451_Intuos_Pro_Professional_Pen_%26_Touch_Tablet_Black%2C_Small/BHitems/1466614-REG_1386907-REG_1002452-REG
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They have three different small units. Why one over the other. I just need it for Lightroom 6 purchased. Also, I've been reading that many WIndows computers are having trouble with Wacom. What's your experience? I use Windows 10.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Wacom_Intuos_Pro_Creative_Pen_Tablet_Small_vs_Wacom_Intuos_Bluetooth_Creative_Pen_Tablet_Small%2C_Black_vs_Wacom_PTH451_Intuos_Pro_Professional_Pen_%26_Touch_Tablet_Black%2C_Small/BHitems/1466614-REG_1386907-REG_1002452-REG
The problem with windows, in the past, was ‘w8ndows ink’. This can, now, be easily turned off.