Initial Review of Wacom Intuos Photo - Small

My wife got me this new gadget for my birthday. I have been wanting to try one, especially since seeing videos with Elia Locardi and how he claims to get his post processing done faster than with a mouse.

It does make sense to me, using a tablet rather than a mouse for drawing (including using brushes in Photoshop or Lightroom). I must have "hinted" as much since one showed up for my birthday this year!

My wife wasn't sure if I'd like it, or which one to get, and ended up getting me the Intuos Photo - Small, with the idea that I could keep it or exchange it if desired. I had no idea either which one to get. I know Elia is probably using their most expensive version since he's a Wacom ambassador.

I've had it about a week now, and have probably used it for 20 hours or so including a good 6 hour stretch working on a single image just to try different edits with it.. Here's what I think of it so far...

Small is the right size

I've been reading a lot of reviews and tips regarding the tablet, as well as watching YouTubes (phlearn has a couple of nice intro YouTubes). One thing I saw over and over was other people saying the small was the best size. I was surprised, as an American, because doesn't bigger mean better? Well, in this case, I don't think so. For me, and the other photography post processors that wrote opinions, small is better for a couple of big reasons.

First is the desk space. I don't have a huge desk top to put a big tablet on, especially if you orient it in front of the keyboard like a lot of the pictures you see. I have mine to the right of my keyboard (I'm right handed), and have enough space for it, my two monitors, keyboard, cup of coffee, and cup of pens and pencils. My desktop isn't crowded but with the larger size it would start feeling cluttered I think.

The second reason that people like the small size is because it works different than a mouse. With a mouse you typically have your wrist resting and scroll the cursor by dragging the mouse as far as you can without lifting your wrist, picking the mouse up and re-positioning it and then scrolling some more. Most mouse movements are accomplished without a lot of movement. The table works differently.

The tablet represents the surface area of your monitor. And if you have two monitors, the surface of both monitors is represented. To click something in the lower left corner means you position the pen at the lower left corner of the tablet. Then to click something in the upper right corner you must physically move the pen to the upper right corner of the tablet. Even with the small tablet you still must move your hand farther than with a mouse; you can't leave your wrist at the same place and do a series of scroll movements.

With the larger tablets you're moving your hand even farther. After a bit that gets tiring or annoying (I'm guessing somewhat - I have the small).

On the other hand, if you're doing actual drawing or graphic design work, which I don't, people say that the larger size is better for that. 

Set up and Installation

Wacom Tablet Properties

The tablet is pretty easy to install. It comes with a CD or DVD of their software applications. One application is their "Wacom Desktop Center" which allows you to get and install updates, visit their store, etc. The other application is the "Wacom Tablet Properties" dialog which is where you configure the tablet.

The configuration is fairly straight forward. This tablet has four configurable soft keys on the upper corners that you can assign. The pen has a couple of switches on it that you can also assign.

I went to their website, registered my unit, and downloaded the software directly instead of using the included media, as a lot of other folks mentioned. By installing that version you'll be up to date and will likely save the time of installing off of the CD just to find out you need to download the most recent version anyway.

The unit also came with some other Corel software that you can download but I doubt if I'll use it. It also has a coupon for some free prints which I might use, but the software wasn't why I wanted the tablet. If you're already using Photoshop or Lightroom the Corel software probably won't be very valuable.

The one issue I had was that once the table was hooked up (this unit is a wired USB version but you can add wireless  functionality for about $40), my Windows 7 operating system installed it's own tablet drivers and the operation was strange until I uninstalled the Windows drivers.

As I mentioned, this unit comes as a wired device. For my desktop configuration I don't think the upgrade to the wireless system provides any benefit so I doubt that I'll get the wireless kit. I like that it's available and that I didn't have to pay for that up front if I don't need it.

The Tablet and Pen

The tablet is well built, in my opinion. This version only costs about $100 or less so keep that in mind. It's not terribly heavy but it's feet are grippy enough so that it doesn't move around on my oak desktop. There is a cover on the bottom that hides extra pen nibs and has the cavities for installing the wireless unit and battery. They imprinted information too so you know what the various areas are for. The tablet comes with a locking cable attachment too!

There is a small LED on the top that lets you know it's connected. The LED shines brighter when it's working too, which is kind of nice. As mentioned before, there are two soft keys in each corner. I am still working on getting used to using them but they work. When you click on one of them a display pops up at the top of my main monitor letting me know what's assigned to the keys.

The pen is where I have an issue. There are two switches on it, one of which a lot of people recommend setting up as a "right click", which I did. When you use the tablet instead of a mouse you'll find you want that right click, for example to right click on an image file to select opening it with Photoshop. 

The pen that comes with this unit is hard plastic. It spins in your hand causing the switches to rotate. And, when the switches are where you want them (I've been pushing them with my thumb), it still feels akward. When I push on the switches it causes me to move the pen tip. Plus, it's very difficult to tell by touch which switch you're pusing on. I wish they had a bigger gap between the pen switches as well as a bump on one of the switches so you could identify them by touch easier.

I saw someone else post a tip where he added some gummy pencil grips to help. I have done that too. The gummy type work good because they stretch and are easy to trim. You'll want to trim them so they don't cover up the switches. I put a full size one on the upper end of the pen so that it rests where the pen lays in my hand. This tip helped a lot but I still find the pen akward. It doesn't feel natural or like a writing implement I would choose for anything else. But it's now more usable since it doesn't spin around. One more note - I wish I had grips that were not round so that when I lay the pen down it doesn't roll away.

So how does it work?

Again, I don't have a lot of time with it. I did work on an image for quite a while yesterday, watching YouTubes regarding configuring Photoshop brushes to be controlled by the pressure sensitivity. I'm still learning that aspect. 

What I can say, however, is that using the tablet is certainly different than using a mouse. I put my mouse up and am trying to get to where all I use is the tablet. It's hard to do certain things and I may not keep up this practice. I find it hard to copy and paste text. Even though I have a pen button set for a right click, I have a lot of problems with it. I configured one of the tablet soft keys to use as a right click and I have better luck with it. That alone is about enough to make me not want to use this as my sole pointing device but I'll keep working with it.

I also find it harder to pick up the pen and use it than reaching for a mouse. I don't know where to put the pen when I lay it down, for example to type. My desk is level but still the pen seems to roll away, like next to the keyboard, and then it takes more effort to dig it out than a mouse sitting patiently waiting for me grip it again.

The tablet supports various gestures similar to a laptop touch pad. I don't use a laptop so I'm not very familiar with that. I'm learning that and sometimes it's easier to use that way than using the pen. This is especially true if the pen has wandered away. Note that I generally have very little light on in my studio room and the unit is black - it can hide pretty easily!

One of the options the tablet has is to configure the mapping of the tablet to your monitors. I have mine set up to be "proportional" - the relative size of my two monitors is mapped to the tablet which means I'm not using the full surface of the tablet. I like that set up so far. You can even map into a smaller area to reduce your hand movements even more.

On the other hand, regarding actual post processing, Iike it better than a mouse. On the image below I used the brush to darken and add contrast to the clouds and the small hills in the background. You can see what is happening on screen as you draw with the pen, including how the pressure affects the size of the brush. It was much easier to draw along the hills than with a mouse. I used a brush to do some dodging and burning, and again, I really like how the pen works for that over a mouse. 

I can see that the drawing part of post processing is better. I just have problems with other controls, especially with cropping. But I'm willing to try to learn that. And, if you have the room on your desktop, there's no reason you can't have the mouse and tablet both hooked up. I have a feeling that I'll end up using that configuration. 

The bottom line for me after about a week is that I really like the unit for working with brushes in Photoshop (I haven't tried using Lightroom with it yet) but I find the other actions (copy and paste, right click, etc.) more difficult.

Photograph of Tucson, Arizona
Edited with the Wacom Intuos Photo - Small

My Photography Bug

This has not been a good year for me health-wise. 

I started in January by losing a bit of eye-sight in my left eye. It's not permanent but it's so minor that the doctor's won't operate on it. The bad thing is that the default is right in the center of my vision. It really bothers me to read because I can only see about 2-3 letters of a word with my left eye. The good thing is that I use my right eye to look through the view finder of my DSLRs.

Then I started having sinus issues (well, I started those the previous November or December, they just got significantly worse starting in January. I went through various treatments with my allergist, then through 2 surgeries from my E.N.T. I just met with him again this last Monday and he's saying I may need a third surgery. Hooray, a surgery every 2 months! This has been the most traumatic issue - it's kept me from getting outdoors with my DSLR other than maybe half a dozen days for the first 7 months of the year. And, I just bought a new lens shortly before this last go-around. I've maybe taken 25 images with that $1,400 lens!

I had to have a dental crown installed. During the course of that I got lockjaw that prevented me from opening my mouth far enough to eat a sandwich. I couldn't get my index finger into my mouth. And, it made it painful to sneeze which my allergies tried to ruthlessly impose. I underwent about 5 weeks of physical therapy to resolve that issue.

Overall I've had maybe 5 weeks in 7 months where I haven't felt pretty crappy and missing work.

What I have realized, however, is that the photography bug is even more powerful than my other bugs. All I've though about is how depressing it is to not be out in the wilderness, even to the extent that I do it, and to not being taking photographs. And, I've thought about how important it has become to me to get outdoors and to try to shoot photographs since starting this hobby 3 years ago. I am very pleased with what this hobby has done for me. I had not been getting outdoors much for quite a few years before picking this photography hobby up.

And now, as August is just around the corner, I have made reservations to visit Yosemite National Park for the first time at the beginning of September. Barring another surgery, I am looking forward to the trip very much - to the exclusion of most other things! I know it's not the best time of year to go - I'd actually hoped to get out there in the spring - but I don't care now. Even if it's not the best time of year for photography I can enjoy the park and scout out photography locations. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm sure I'll still take a photograph or two. But since it's only about a 10 hour drive, there's no reason I can't get over there more. I just hope I don't have any other bugs that prevent me from going!