Wacom & (Other) Tablets Editing in Photoshop

[DC3400]

I see that some online Mac retailers are starting to close out the Intuos3 Wacom tablets and was possible interested. I've never used a tablet before, but I am interested in finding out if it can be used for one specific purpose:

I am making scans of some antique paperwork, which I need to "clean up" in Photoshop. Generally I am able to use the magic wand tool to select and copy individual design elements from a vintage graphic. However, many time this is not immediately possible so I first need to remove (or draw over) individual pixels with the pen tool; or remove areas with the lasso or area select tool; so the magic wand will properly select the area I want.

1. Is the Wacom tablet going to let me do this faster than a mouse?

2. The tablet comes with a mouse - so can I still use my Apple mouse for other computer work without having to constantly uplug and plug it in (my big hands love using the large Apple hockey mice).

3. Any advantages in buying a bigger tablet other than more work space. I see that an old article on About.com mentioned that some of the tablets can be used for tracing artwork by placing the artwork under a special clear tray on top of the tablet (?).

4. Recommended Accessories?

I see Amazon offers a kit of extra pen tips and such, and a air brush pen (don't see much use for an airbrush pen as photoshop has a tool for this ?).

I am not too concerned with this model having older bundled software as most of my Macs with dual screens are older.

 

[Aljovido]

1. It takes some getting used to, but once you learn you'll never want to do any photoshop work without it again! I think it does make things faster, and so much easier.

2. I honestly don't like the Wacom mouse. Its a bit strange, because it only works on the tablet surface, so you might find yourself running out of space.

3. Larger tablets aren't necessarily better. The surface area of the tablet basically maps your screen. So if you put the pen in the upper left corner, thats where the cursor will go. Its not like a mouse where you 'push' your cursor around. Because of this, large tablets often times mean that you'll be moving your hand all over the place, especially if you're working with a smaller screen. The Intous3 6x8 (or sometimes 6x11 for dual screens) is the standard size.

4. There aren't really any necessary accessories. If you find the pen that comes with it too 'thick' to hold, try the classic pen. Its much more like a real pen, but it costs quite a bit. Also, I find the black 'felt tip' nibs to be far better than the standard plastic ones, but they wear out faster. The box should come with a few different ones to try to see what you like.

 

[sevadox]

Pretty much agree with what was said above.

1)once you're used to it, you'll work much faster. (usually a few days)

2)yes you can use both your tablet and your original mouse so long as you have enough USB ports to accommodate both.

3)the only advantage of bigger tablets comes when you are used to using your whole arm to draw. for the work you do, i would see no benefit in a large tablet. a small one, such as a bamboo, should be more than enough. and cheaper too.
Also, yes there is a plastic overlay which you can slip paper under but it's not very good for tracing as you're looking at the physical tablet; not the screen. so your line on screen is going to be super ugly.

4)i wouldn't bother with extraneous accessories, everything you need comes in the box.


For what it's worth, I'm an artist working in the game industry and I paint with my tablet all day long :]

Cheers

 

[DC3400]

Thank you for the information and your time!

I think I'll go with the 4 x 6 INTUOS3 to see how I like it (as a new one is less than a $100.00) - and an "accessory kit" ($20 +-) consisting of extra nibs, as it was mentioned they wear out.