# doubt on wacom tablet size



## sbadaeagle (Jan 30, 2014)

hi, 
anybody has experience with tablet? for the post production of my photos (but i'm only an amateur) with photoshop cc and a 24" monitor is it better the medium or the small size of intuos pro?﻿


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## davidcampbellphotography (Jan 30, 2014)

Everyone will be different but I find that I have to move my whole forearm to cover the medium tablet size.
You have to keep in mind that the area of the tablet covers the area of the screen.

If I had my time again, I would buy a smaller one and then just zoom in to do more detail work.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 31, 2014)

I find the medium size is fine. Its not necessary to have the tablet match the whole screen, but many of us do it that way. If you get a small tablet, and need a finer control, you can have it cover about 1/2 or 1/4 of the screen


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## deleteme (Jan 31, 2014)

As others note, everyone is different.
I thought at first the larger the better. I had a non-Wacom tablet of 10x10. Total pain.
I switched to a 6x9 Wacom and could not be happier.

In truth, once you get used to them you have a hard time going back to a mouse for anything.


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## wayno (Jan 31, 2014)

The medium is the best fit for me. Easy to hold if you need. I've heard complaints about the really large ones.


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## JustMeOregon (Jan 31, 2014)

> Everyone will be different but I find that I have to move my whole forearm to cover the medium tablet size.



I have, and use, both the medium & the small Wacom Intuos tablets. Of course davidcampbellphotography is exactly right "Everyone will be different..." But we end up with very different answers for the exact same reason; after 4 years of formal art classes I was thoroughly brainwashed trained to always draw & paint by moving my entire forearm... Years ago, when I worked in a commercial graphic arts department, I used the largest-sized tablets I could get my hands on. But since I've retired from the the "Photoshop dungeon" my workspace has shrunk and the medium size Wacom tablet is the one I use day-to-day at my desk. I only use the small Wacom tablet when I'm "on the road."

Also, the new Wacom Intuos Pro allows you to also use finger gestures. Once you get used to it, doing your navigating & zooming with the gestures of your left hand while at the same time using the stylus with your right hand is pretty slick. This could be a problem with a tablet that is too small...

Richard


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## leethecam (Jan 31, 2014)

For the last 10 years I've had my trusty Intuos 1 Large tablet. Eventually it gave up and died and I had to revert to my portable medium back-up.

Couldn't manage the smaller size. Great for working on single images but I design albums and use two screens, so dragging images from one to the other proved an issue.

Note you can use the tablet in "mouse" tracking as well as the "absolute" method. The former works better for me and it does reduce the issue of size to an extent.

If you've got one screen probably the medium will do just fine, if you have two screens then perhaps the large may suit better.

As a side note, Wacom seem to have changed the distance at which the pen movement is picked up since the Intuos 3. I think they had it perfect earlier but now the pen needs to be somewhat closer to the tablet - and it takes quite some getting used to, along with being a little more tiring... grrr...


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## Rienzphotoz (Jan 31, 2014)

Interesting thread ... I've thought of getting Wacom tablet for a long time ... this has made a bit for easier to make the decision. Thanks


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## procentje20 (Jan 31, 2014)

I've had three different sizes over time. I used to have a tiny Wacom Graphire 4 with my laptop. Then when I bought a 27 inch imac a bought a huge one with touch. Which I did not like that much. And now when I bought my 5d3, there was a Canon Wacom promotion which landed me a Wacom Intius Pro Small. Which is awesome because its wireless. 

I would not have replaced mine haven't I got it for free (well, not really I had to buy a 5d3 for it) but I'm really happy with the size of this one.


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## pwp (Jan 31, 2014)

I'm with most other people on the size question...check out the Medium. I use it with 30 inch monitors. This smaller size enables you to leave the nice compact Apple keyboard in front of you too. I have the Wacom closest to me and the KB right behind it. Don't cheap out...get the Intuos.

But here's the interesting bit. If you use a Wacom Graphics Tablet and also tend to use a lot of keyboard shortcuts, there's a productivity tool that has transformed the way I work. It's the Nostromo from the gaming device company Razer. http://www.razerzone.com/au-en/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-nostromo/ If you have a Wacom and don't use it very often, this may be the perfect companion to get you to use it all the time. It's comprehensively better than using the buttons on the Wacom. The only button I use on the Wacom now is the Touch Ring for brush size.

http://www.pwp3.com/nostromo.jpg This image shows how I have it set up. Of course there is a mouse (Razer Death Adder) on my right as well. The Wacom, the Nostromo & the mouse don't conflict with each other. When you have the Wacom pen in your right hand, it's brilliant to have a scroll wheel and an enter key on the LEFT side. Plus, every one of the buttons on the Nostromo can be custom configured to execute keyboard commands...single keystroke keyboard shortcuts. You can set up a custom set of commands/macros for each program that you use, like the Wacom. So I have a set for Photomechanic, Lightroom & Photoshop. The Nostromo detects which program you're currently using and switches more or less instantly. If you work through large folders of images every day, this gadget will be your new best friend. I doubt Razer had non-gamers in mind when they made the Nostromo, but hey!

The only downsides are that your teenage kids will want one for themselves for gaming. But the cost is around the same as a decent mouse. The irritating teen focused blue glowing lights can be turned off. You save your settings with Razer's cloud solution, Razer Synapse II which also stores my mouse custom settings. I've bought another Nostromo & Wacom for a second workstation and Synapse II sure beats having to manually configure each command and macro again. 

So there you have it! For me this is a cool toy and a powerful productivity breakthrough.

-pw


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## sbadaeagle (Jan 31, 2014)

There're many different opinions, it's true, we're different...and it's increasing the confusion i've i mind, but it's ok
Now i've a second doubt: the intuos pro is wireless but which tecnology does it use for the wireless? Is there a usb key receiver for the pc, or is it bluetooth?


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## corpusrex (Jan 31, 2014)

+1 on the Medium.

I originally had a medium Intuos 2 then "upgraded" to the large Intuos 4 which I really found too large and unwieldy. I have gone back to the Medium Intuos 5 and find that a much better fit and if I was going to be using one on the road a lot I would probably go for the small.

That being said, you can remap the active area of the tablet to a smaller area if you want on the larger one.

Cheers

Angus


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## corpusrex (Jan 31, 2014)

sbadaeagle said:


> There're many different opinions, it's true, we're different...and it's increasing the confusion i've i mind, but it's ok
> Now i've a second doubt: the intuos pro is wireless but which tecnology does it use for the wireless? Is there a usb key receiver for the pc, or is it bluetooth?


it uses a USB receiver.


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## sbadaeagle (Feb 1, 2014)

At the moment i'd be turned to the medium because is more versatile (if for example i'll buy a bigger monitor or i'll add a second one) and guarantee a more easier fine control.


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