Mouse vs. tablet

[RobA]

Does anyone have an Intous3 and what do they think of it? Is it worth getting over the Graphire?

Found this comparison site that looks good: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/abo...osgraphire.htm

The I being considered a professional tool, and the G being a casual/prosumer tool, the big differences (I over G) are (picked from the referenced site):
- Higher resolution results in smoother, more precise cursor movements.
- Double the pressure sensitivity.
- Tilt sensitivity.
- 4 ExpressKeys (versus 2 on Graphire4).
- Touch Strip (versus finger-operated scroll wheel on Graphire4).
- A wide-format 6x11 size is available for multiple monitor and widescreen display users. (which would overcome my previous comment on the graphire)

-Rob A>

[Valarian]

My wife has an A5 (Wacom) pad. I could never get to grips with it due to the pad controlling the cursor even at a distance from the surface of the pad. Personally, I'd like a pad that didn't have this, but only had cursor control when touched to the pad surface. Ideally, pen thickness would be controlled by pressure of the stylus on the pad. Are there any pads like this, or do they all work on the hover mode?

[RobA]

Pressure sensitivity is a function of the software. AFAIK, all of the wacoms support this if set up. Only angle sensitivity is a feature of the higher end models. Though A5 is the size, not the model... is it a Graphire or an Intuos?

-Rob A>

[Valarian]

I would think a Graphire, it's a fairly basic model. The major issue I had with it was the float over the surface control of the cursor. I hated it. I want a tablet that only works when pen hits the surface. I couldn't find anything in the settings to stop this.

[ravells]

I think the problem is that touching the surface simulates a left mouse click and all the software that supports tablets uses that convention.

[Valarian]

Sounds like I just won't get on with any tablet then. I just want something that works like pen and paper.

[ravells]

I found the tablet really awkward for the first couple of weeks, but once I got used to it, it was just magic. I tend to use it when I need to do freehand work, but I'll still use the mouse when dealing with menus and such.

[RPMiller]

My wife has an A5 (Wacom) pad. I could never get to grips with it due to the pad controlling the cursor even at a distance from the surface of the pad. Personally, I'd like a pad that didn't have this, but only had cursor control when touched to the pad surface. Ideally, pen thickness would be controlled by pressure of the stylus on the pad. Are there any pads like this, or do they all work on the hover mode?

Hm... That could be frustrating... Do the rest of you see this behavior as being true with your setups?

[ravells]

That's how they're supposed to work, Rob!

As to the kit you're buying that's pretty much the kit I've got. Heavy users say that the pentips stop working or break after two years or so, so I think I'll get a least 5 years out of mine. One of the nibs is an 'airbrush' nib which is spring loaded. i didn't get the transparent overlay, but I suspect it's just a piece of acetate. They one you are getting is the A4 sized one which is the largest practical size (imo), the other one we are talking about (A5) is half the size of the A4.

[RPMiller]

Got ya. It will definitely take some getting used to. My puck experience was it only worked when placed on the surface and a button pressed, but I don't think this will be a problem once I get used to the way the input works.

Regarding size, do you think the 6x11 might be too big? All my monitors are wide screen formats so I wanted to match that format with the tablet which sounded like good advice and I wanted to get something close to the size of a page so that I could do tracings and such.