Graphics tablet

[Jane Eden]

Hi Experts

Do you use a graphics tablet? If so are they good, what size is it, make, cost, etc?

Jane

[deadants]

I the world of graphics, most professional retouchers use a graphics tablet as it gives a more natural responsive feel.  Once you have master how to use one, your speed in doing a task increases dramatically. It does take a bit of getting use to as it relies on pen pressure as well as using the buttons.

As far as what type to get, you get what you pay for. If you do a google search you will see there are plenty of cheap tablets out there but look at a wacom. They make quite a few different models at different price ranges. Of course the bigger the more expensive they get. I was given a large graphic tablet but it was at the cheaper end of the market and once I started using it It became apparent why it was so cheap. Some of the cheaper ones don't have drivers that work in all software which is not a good thing.

So once again, you get what you pay for. Look at a Wacom model. They have a good reputation.

[Jane Eden]

Does the size matter. Lots of them are A6 but are A5 and A4 more accurate and better for photos or will the A6 one be OK?

Jane

[deadants]

There is a bit of a balancing act here. The small ones are cheaper but you have less room to manouver. Imagine you  have a large scanned image and you have a small tablet, small movemets on the tablet gives big movement on the screen so it may be a bit finicky to handle. The bigger the tablet the more your geting to a 1:1 movement providing you are using a descent tablet.

[vhansen]

I use a Wacom Intuos 2, with a working area of 4x5.
From my experience, the only reason size would matter, is if you are tracing  (the tablet has a flap that lifts). Otherwise, the active area works just as your mouse does on a mouse pad. You don't need a huge mouse pad, and you don't need a huge tablet. I find that what throws people off about using a tablet, is not reading the instructions for setting up the tablet orientation. (Because artists have different uses for the tablet, a choice of orientation is given).
Prices vary because of sizes and features. Some tablets come with a strip along the top, similar to keyboard functions keys, that you can program to do specific tasks or run actions. It's not necessary, but convenient if you can afford it.
I really think a tablet is a must have for retouching.