Wacom

[Barry Beckham]

I have been using Wacom graphics tablets since the very early days of Photoshop (14 years ish) and currently use a Wacom Bamboo

I did a one to one tutorial with a person recently at their home using their equipment and attached to the computer was a pretty nice mouse on a mat with a nice wrist guard.

There was nothing wrong with the mouse, but it was absolutely rubbish for the work we need to do in digital photography and it brought home to me just how good a graphics tablet is for digital photography. It was like trying to sign my name with a pen glued to a brick. The difference in the speed and quality of the work you can do with a graphics tablet just has to be seen to be believed.

If your not using one, you really need to ask why.

They take about a week to get used to, but bluetak the pad to the bench to the right/left of your keyboard and keep it in one position and you will find the learning will be 100% easier.

Unplug your mouse so the first time something feels awkward you don't immediately bolt back to the old familiar mouse and you will not regret it.

Finally, if you are a Photoshop user, turn off the pressure sensitivity of the pen from the brush palette in Photoshop and use the preferences along the top of the screen for brush size and flow.

The difference this tool makes to the quality of your images is worth triple the cost of the graphics tablet. It's been years since I used a mouse in Photoshop and this one to one really brought home how superiour the graphics tablet and pen is

[Bruss444]

I couldn't agree more about the Wacom graphics pad. I have been using one for around 4 or 5 years and when processing photos or working with graphics in Photoshop it just is so much better and easier. It took me too about 1 week and then it just was natural. Bill