[Michaelina2]

Anyone with hands-on experience using a Wacom Intous.4 Wireless tablet pen...

Wacom Technology - Intuos4 Wireless

... for LR3 editing on a Win7 system?

Pluses..? Minuses..? Interesting Points...? Set-up issues? Learning curve time?

Helpful comments will be greatly appreciated...

Cheers...

[blackcloudbrew]

I can't speak to the Intuos 4, but I've been using an Intuos 3 for about 5 years and love it. It's about a half a day on the learning curve - for it to become automatic. BTW - I'm a LR2 user as well. Set up was a breeze. One odd thing on my sysystem Windows XP professional is that if the mouse (it has both a mouse and a pen which is what I use all the time), is left on the pad the computer will freeze on booting. Quite odd and I've never tried to resolve that issue. As I suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, this system works very well for me.

[JohnBee]

Anyone with hands-on experience using a Wacom Intous.4 Wireless tablet pen...

Wacom Technology - Intuos4 Wireless

... for LR3 editing on a Win7 system?

Pluses..? Minuses..? Interesting Points...? Set-up issues? Learning curve time?

Helpful comments will be greatly appreciated...

Cheers...

Well I'll say you can't go wrong with a Wacom, as they've been the undisputed leader in pen/tablet technology for what seems like forever now... and the interface is definitely worth its weight gold for editing and a host of other tasks like 3D and CAD.

Having said that, if I had anything to say about models and features it would be on the size and what's actually useful between them. One of the reasons I bring this up is because I recently swapped my worn out Intuos for a Bamboo fun /touch which I bought off eBay for our oldest daughter(refurbished), and I was stunned at how good it was compared to my old tablet.

But the best feature(I think) is the medium surface(vs a large one) which allows for a more compact span across the entire screen with less movement than with my old tablet(which is nicer). I think what's happened, is that as the screens have been getting bigger and bigger, it sort of snuck-up on us and we found ourselves sliding half way across the desk to draw a whole line. Okay, I'm exaggerating, the large tablets aren't that big, but they it does take-up quite a bit of desk space and in many cases(as in mine), the end-up needing a secondary table(swivel and clamp) to play nice with a work desk.

And though the Intuos allows the assignment of smaller work area's, the medium size pad is much more convenient because I can actually have it on my desk along with my other toys(3D pointed, mouse, etc). However, since the Bamboo has a touch surface I've gotten quite used to manipulating things with my fingers which has become quite an addictive thing to say the least(zoom, scroll, move etc etc.)

Other than that, I really can't say anything bad about Wacom tablets. I've been using them since the 80's when they were considered exclusively a CAD tool and I've followed the trend since. And of course, since we now have 3D mice, the pen is almost secondary with regards to 3D interfacing but that's a whole other thing now isn't it

Anyways, whatever you get(even the cheapest option) in an environment like Photoshop, you're going to love the control and accuracy you'll gain with it! Though it might take a little while to get used to it. I've had several acquaintances who struggled at first with their own when they tried using them as an all around pointer solution, but I think most settle on using it for specific tasks for the most part.

Good luck and keep us informed on your experience with it! The community could definitely benefit from some reviews on products like this.

[dom777]

The Intuos is a really nice tablet, but for LR only you might get lucky with a much cheaper bamboo. I got one myself and never regreted it. It has replaced my mouse comletely, and I use it for 3D/2D and Video editing too. Of yourse the Intuos is more "professional", but as long as my bamboo works fine I don´t really need one.

As JohnBee mentioned, don´t go for the biggest size. A small or medium is really comfortable to use and more than enough if you don´t plan to do some detailed paintings!

[Wheatfield]

I'm still using a wired wacom, and absolutely love it for editing. I have a pretty big one for detailed work. It's good, sometimes I wish it was a bit smaller, but I can always map it smaller so that's all good.
'

[wlachan]

I have been using the old Graphire2 only and the 1st thing I noticed with LR3 was that it lagged when moving into the right panel, and some slider adjustments too. This also happened when I was using LR2 in Vista for the same PC (E4600 4GB) but fine with XP. I guess my PC is just fast enough. With regular mouse, there is no lag at all. IMHO, tablet is a must for Photoshop retouchig, but mouse alone is fine for LR.

[Michaelina2]

Thanks all for taking a moment and sharing your experience.

My 2010 personal photography improvement plan has me exploring the dazzling world of post processing. After bouncing around between Bibble, Silkypix and some of the free packages (Picasa, Fastone, etc.) over the past couple of years , I've settled on Lightroom running under Win7 Pro64 as my primary PP software tool. Now, I'm looking at compatible accessories that will help make the most of it. So far, I've acquired two:

1. Guide book: Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom… It focuses on LR3's DEVELOP module. I find the book to be excellent, but don't take just my word for it. Read the reviews. Two aspects of PP lightly addressed in the book are output Sharpening (screen and print) and the author's the use of a digital pen table for precise application of an effect and adjustments. Perhaps, a follow on e-book in in the works to address these aspects. Anyway, as I work along, I find what it has to offer greatly exceeds my expectations.

2. Digital Pen Tablet: Wacom Technology - Intuos4 Wireless Given that my experience is limited (2 days - ha!), "Google" it and read the reviews. The only real downside is that it does not include the necessary Bluetooth "Dongle" required to make it truly wireless. So until I find one that works with Win7, I run it off it's USB connection. I understand evolving hard/software and compatibility issues, so I'm not surprised.
----------

War Story: I participated in the recent PS Photowalk. The group was small with only about 15 shooters, all unknown to me. Gear-wise, there was an iPhone, a couple of P&S, a Pentax (only me), and the rest (say 10) had various C&N 'D-class' set-ups outfitted with huge zooms, etc. (Wow... those cameras are BIG! ). Anyway, I used some of the PP principles discussed in the book (above) and produced the "best" image from the ones submitted (K-7 w/D FA 100 MACRO WR) .

Ann Arbor, MI United States (U of M Central Campus) | Worldwide Photo Walk
-----------
In a nutshell... so far, so good. If you have some constructive 'lessons learned' to share along these lines, I will gladly welcome and greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Enjoy the Season and Cheers...

[mysticcowboy]

Congrats on your new Intuos. It's a great tablet.

And David's book is a wonderful resource. I've been a huge fan of his vision first philosophy. It may not be the only Lightroom book you'll need, though. I'd consider Vision and Voice a good second or third Lightroom purchase. It assumes that you have a decent grounding in the basics.