RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Intuos’

Wacom expands Intuos Pro tablet and pen line with new ‘Small’ option

11 May

Wacom has expanded its creative pen and tablet product line with the new Intuos Pro Small. This model joins the existing Medium and Large size options to offer professionals a less expensive, more portable alternative. The Intuos Pro Small includes a Wacom Pro Pen 2 and pen stand.

The Wacom Intuos Pro tablet line is designed for photographers, designers, and other graphics professionals. As with the larger sizes, the new Small variant sports a TouchRing and ExpressKeys, though there are only six keys instead of the eight found on the two larger sizes.

Bluetooth connectivity enables the Intuos Pro tablets to connect with both PC and Mac systems. The companion Wacom Pro Pen 2 offers 8,191 levels of pressure, lag-free tracking, and tilt recognition; the company includes 10 replacement nibs with the pen and pen stand.

The Intuos Pro Small size option is now available from Wacom and retailers through which its products are sold, including B&H Photo and Adorama, for $ 249.95 USD. In comparison, the Intuos Pro Medium costs $ 379.95 USD and the Large costs $ 499.95 USD.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Wacom expands Intuos Pro tablet and pen line with new ‘Small’ option

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Review: The Wacom Intuos Pro is a workflow-boosting machine

06 Dec

Wacom Intuos Pro
$ 299.95 | Wacom.com

When it comes to precision photo editing, a tablet may be the tool you never knew you desperately needed. Although the Wacom tablet has long been a favored tool of graphic designers and digital artists, it’s also an excellent piece of editing gear for photographers.

The Wacom Intuos Pros allows you to return to your roots of putting a pen to paper to create an image – a tactile experience that many younger digital artists may be out of touch with. If you’ve spent a number of years editing with a mouse or trackpad there will undoubtedly be a a bit of a learning curve when it comes to using the pen, but with a little bit of practice you will likely find this device speeds up your editing process and make tools like dodging, burning and clone-stamping much more precise.

Key features

  • 338 x 219 x 8mm / 13.2 x 8.5 x 0.3 in
  • 1.54lb / 0.7kg
  • Wacom Pro Pen 2 with 2 programmable buttons
  • 8192 pen pressure levels (up from 2048)
  • 8 Customizable ExpressKeys
  • Built-in Bluetooth connectivity and USB connectivity
  • Pen stand with 10 replacement nibs (tips)
  • Choose between ‘standard’ or ‘felt’ nibs for added friction
  • Mac and Windows compatible

What’s new

The Wacom Intuos Pro tablet is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, so it occupies less real-estate on your desk. Despite this, the active area is larger thanks to a slimmer bezel and he surface plate can be swapped for a variety of different textures depending on your preferences.

The Wacom Intuos Pro is designed to imitate a large piece of paper

The new version utilizes the Wacom Pro Pen 2, which comes with a weight base (shown below), and is slimmer than version 1 – It also features two programmable buttons and 8192 pressure levels (up from 2048). Wireless Bluetooth connectivity is also new to the Wacom Intuos Pro.

Design

The Wacom Intuos Pro is designed to imitate a large piece of paper. The user chooses the orientation of the tablet and how it will map to their computer screen – this makes it a great tool regardless of your computer setup or dominant hand. On one side of the tablet you will find eight customizable express keys and the touch ring. The power switch and the touch functionality switch are located on the side of the tablet near the express keys and the optional USB plugin is on the opposite edge of the tablet.

The Wacom Pro Pen 2’s stand stores additional nubs. The pen itself has two customizable buttons – flip it upside down and you can use it as an eraser. The tablet itself has rubber grip on the bottom to keep it in place, and its slim profile makes it easy to travel with or store away when space is limited.

In use

It had been a number of years since I’d used a tablet for photo editing, and I can confirm that the learning curve was certainly there. But after a bit of practice with the pen and tablet I found the process of retouching scanned negatives in Adobe Photoshop to be more precise, faster and less taxing on my wrist than it would have been if I were using a mouse. Put another way, the difference between retouching with the Wacom pen vs. the mouse is like hand-writing a note with a fine tipped Sharpie vs a paint roller. The eraser is precise as well. I found it to be particularly helpful when creating multi-layer image compositions.

The vast degree of pressure responsiveness in the Pro Pen 2 is something I really appreciated, especially when it came to dodging, burning and light retouching. Press hard and the results are more pronounced, use a lighter touch and everything is more subtle. If you are particularly heavy-handed you can adjust the overall sensitivity of the pen.

The difference between the Wacom pen and a mouse is like hand-writing a note with a fine-tipped Sharpie versus a paint roller

The buttons on the side of the pen make it easy to control the brush size. At first I found myself accidentally pressing them as I edited, but I eventually learned to slightly rotate the pen while I worked to avoid this problem.

Also of note is that I observed no noticeable lag time between tablet and computer screen when it was connected via USB. The Bluetooth connection also seemed quite good, though I did notice a little bit of latency when using the paintbrush tool for extended periods of time.

Of course, Photoshop is not the only application the Intuous Pro is good for; I also used the tablet to work on images in Adobe Lightroom. And while it was useful for cloning and healing, I found it to be a little unwieldy when making adjustments to the slider. Ultimately I think I still prefer utilizing the mouse and the keyboard shortcuts that have been burned into my muscle memory for Lightroom work.

Bottom line

If you’ve never used a tablet and pen setup – or if it’s been a number of years since you’ve picked one up – the Wacom Intuos Pro will take some getting use to. Give it time though, because if you are doing a lot of image retouching, image compositing or light graphic design work, this editing accessory will certainly boost your productivity. And the customizable functions will make it appeal to a large variety of users. In all, we think that this tool can help take your editing workflow and the final image results to the next level.

What we like:

  • Pen delivers precise results
  • Pressure sensitive tip
  • Lightweight and travel friendly
  • Highly customizable
  • Excellent to use with Adobe Photoshop

What we don’t like:

  • Somewhat laggy Bluetooth connectivity; not a huge problem for light retouching jobs, but could become problematic when making large scale image composites that require a lot of painting.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Review: The Wacom Intuos Pro is a workflow-boosting machine

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Wacom reveals new, ‘significantly upgraded’ Intuos pen tablet

07 Mar

The Wacom Intuos pen tablet is one of the first major photo editing upgrades a beginner typically invests in, and today, Wacom launched what its calling a significant “get creative” upgrade to this popular lineup.

On the hardware side, the new and improved Small (152.0 x 95.0 mm | 6.0 x 3.7 in) and Medium (216.0 x 135.0 mm | 8.5 x 5.3 in) Wacom Intuos pen tablets boast Bluetooth connectivity (not all models), improved accuracy, and a smaller footprint despite having the same active tablet area as previous models. They also have a built-in pen tray, four express keys, an LED indicator and, if you buy one of the Bluetooth models, a 60% improvement in battery life.

The included pen, meanwhile, uses Wacom’s battery-free EMR technology to deliver 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity from an “improved ergonomic design with increased weight and soft touch grip area, in-pen nib compartment and nib extractor.”

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_5805875283″,”galleryId”:”5805875283″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });

The hardware upgrades are not insignificant, but the Wacom announcement actually seems more keen on software than hardware—more specifically: on the software that comes bundled with the new tablets.

Wacom has partnered with several creative software manufacturers to give users access to up to “$ 160 worth of creative software” alongside the tablet. These include Corel Painter Essentials 6 for design and illustration, CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO for comic and Magna creation, and Corel AfterShot 3 for photo editing.

The Wacom Intuos comes in three flavors: The Intuos S for $ 80, the Intuos S with Bluetooth for $ 100, and the Intuos M for $ 200. Depending on which one you pick, you’ll get access to 1, 2, or 3 of the software options mentioned above so you can start getting creative right away.

To learn more about these new tablets or order one for yourself today, head over to the Wacom website.

Press Release

Wacom introduces new Intuos pen tablet to “Get Creative”

Technologically and ergonomically improved pen tablet bundled with creative software provides an immediate start into digital art

TOKYO, andPORTLAND, OR | March 6, 2018 – Today, Wacom announced a new, significantly upgraded version of its Intuos pen tablet for creative beginners and enthusiasts. Bundled with software for drawing, painting and image editing, the new Intuos tablet offers an immediate start into digital art. Anyone interested in getting creative on a digital level will be able to enjoy a natural pen experience, improved accuracy and enhanced online navigation capability. Ambitious comic and Manga fans, hobby painters and photographers just need to download a software of choice to “get creative.”

“Wacom has a legacy of providing state-of-the-art technology and full solutions to our customers,” said Faik Karaoglu, Executive Vice President at Wacom’s Creative Business Unit. “We know that only the combination of hardware and software allows for an immediate start. That is why we asked leading software partners to join us in the new pen tablet offer. We believe that our customers will love the new Intuos for its advanced technology and software options.”

Upon purchase of the new Wacom Intuos, users can download up to $ 160 worth of creative software, including Corel® Painter® Essentials™ 6 for design and illustration, CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO for comic and Magna creation and Corel® AfterShot™ 3 for photo editing. Numerous video tutorials by Wacom, Corel and Celsys will help users get started.

New Intuos features include built-in wireless Bluetooth integration on some models, and three color choices. Available in small and medium sizes, all models have the same active tablet area as previous versions but with a smaller footprint and lighter weight. A built-in pen tray, four express keys, an LED indicator and in the Bluetooth models a 60 percent improvement on battery life rounds out the upgrade.

The included pen boasts 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, battery-free Wacom EMR technology, and an improved ergonomic design with increased weight and soft touch grip area, in-pen nib compartment and nib extractor.

Configuration, Pricing and Availability

The new Intuos line comes in small and medium sizes and offers the following features:

Wacom Intuos Small

With Bluetooth

  • Software options offer a choice of two out of three software downloads: Corel® Painter® Essentials™ 6, Corel® AfterShot™ 3, or CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO (in China: UDM PAINT PRO)
  • Color: charcoal black, pistachio green or berry pink (in selected regions)
  • Price: $ 99 USD

Without Bluetooth

  • Software options offer a choice of one out of two software downloads: Corel® Painter® Essentials™ 6, or Corel® AfterShot™ 3
  • Color: charcoal black
  • Price: $ 79 USD

Wacom Intuos Medium

With Bluetooth

  • Software: Purchasers may download all three software options: Corel® Painter® Essentials™ 6, Corel® AfterShot™ 3, or CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO (in China: UDM PAINT PRO)
  • Color: charcoal black, pistachio green or berry pink (in selected regions)
  • Price: $ 199 USD

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Wacom reveals new, ‘significantly upgraded’ Intuos pen tablet

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Overview of the Intuos Pro Wacom Tablet and the MobileStudio Pro for Post-Processing

08 Jun

Around 15 years ago we were visiting my brother-in-law and his family. While there I saw his computer and it had this strange flat thing with a pen on the desk. I asked my husband what it was and he said it was a Wacom Tablet. You use the pen on the flat part, the tablet, and it works just like a pen, or pencil. I said I wanted one, he said I didn’t need one.

So I waited, and one day while trying to do fine detail work in Photoshop and screaming because the mouse wouldn’t do what I wanted, I finally said: “I’m getting one”. In 2011 I got my first Wacom Tablet, the Intuos 4. I haven’t looked back and now consider it a vital part of my photography gear.

wacom tablet the Intuos Pro

The Intuos Pro from above, image courtesy Wacom Australia.

What is a Wacom Tablet?

Wacom Tablets come as two pieces, the tablet, and the pen. The tablet sits flat on your desk and you use it like a piece of paper. So when you put the pen, or stylus, on it the tablet communicates with the computer.

The pen is similar to a mouse in that as you move it over the tablet, the cursor onscreen follows. The active part of the tablet covers the whole screen, but unlike a mouse, you have to lift the pen from the surface to move the cursor. When you want to click on something you just touch the pen to the surface of the tablet.

What do you use it for?

Have you ever considered how good it would be to be able to draw on your computer like you can on a sketch pad? The Wacom Tablets allow you to do that. The pen becomes your drawing instrument and the tablet part your paper or sketch book.

wacom tablets Intuos Pro medium

The Wacom Intuos Pro medium, image courtesy Wacom Australia.

Getting starting using a tablet

There is no doubt that a lot of people have trouble using a tablet when they first start. The pen can be a hard concept to get your head around. It does not work the same way a mouse does. It works more like a pen, and you need to think of the tablet like a piece of paper. When you want to move from one part to another you lift the pen up and move it. The pen talks to the tablet and knows where you are going.

Getting used to it

After you have been using a tablet for a while it becomes second nature. You just move instinctively with it, and in many ways, more so than with a mouse because pens have been around a lot longer.

Wacom tablet

The Wacom Intuos Pro from the side, image courtesy Wacom Australia.

The Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet

After having the Intuos 4 for a few years I decided that it was time to get a slightly bigger one, and I opted for the Intuos Pro Medium. It is larger than my previous one but has some options which were not available with the older model.

The Pro series allows you to use the tablet wirelessly. Which is really good for people who don’t have a permanent place for it and what to move it around. You have the choice of having it sit on your desk plugged in, or if you want to move it you can remove the plug and not have to worry about connecting it. Mine sits permanently on my desk and so I tend to keep it plugged in.

The tablet part can also be a touchpad. So if you find you are used to using your fingers to move around on the computer then the touch pad area may suit you. This feature certainly helps people that use your computer and don’t know how to use the pen. The touchpad can easily be turned on and off as you want it. The top button on the tablet is set as the default switch for the touchpad feature.

There is also a stand that holds the pen when you aren’t using it. In the bottom of the stand, you will find a storage area for more nibs for the pen. You can purchase them separately, many options are available or both the stand and extra nibs.

I have the older model of the Intuos Pro. The new updated version includes Bluetooth. The pen that comes with it now, the Pro Pen 2, has over 8192 levels of sensitivity with pressure and tilt response. The one I have only has 2148 level of pressure sensitivity. The tablet part is also much thinner on the newer model.

The Wacom Intuos Pro Medium retails for $ 349 at B&H, or you can shop for it on Amazon.com as well.

leannecole-wacom-tablets-08

St. Kilda Pier long exposure taken at sunrise and processed with my Wacom Intuos Pro.

Using the Intuos Pro Pen

The Intuos Pro comes with a lot of default settings, but you can change them so the tablet and pen will work the way you want. There are four buttons on the pen. Clicking the nib is like doing a regular left-click. I have changed the settings on my pen, so the two buttons on the side now do a right-click (the bottom one) and middle-click (The scroll wheel on a PC mouse is also a button you can click. If you middle-click a link it will open it in a new tab. If you middle-click a tab it will close. It is very handy, and one I use a lot.). The one at the top of the pen has the factory default setting of erasing, but I’ve changed mine to double-click.

You can change how fast to double-click, or how much pressure you can use. It is all there for you to set up exactly how you want. It is good to play around with it so you can try different things. As you get used to using it you may find that you want to change other things as well.

I’ve been using a tablet for years now and when I purchased the Intuos Pro I decided I would use it for everything, so I threw away my mouse. I now use my tablet as my mouse whether I am processing or not. I have gotten very used to typing with the pen stuck between my thumb and hand. In fact, I almost find it difficult to type if it isn’t there. It has become like an extension of my hand and I will often find myself in the kitchen making a coffee with it still attached.

leannecole-wacom-tablets-09

This image of the Seafarers Bridge has lots of fiddly bits and the Intuos Pro just makes it much easier to edit.

My family don’t like it because they can’t use my computer with it. I have a mouse in a drawer for them now.

Why use a tablet and pen?

If you get frustrated by trying to do details with a mouse, then the Intuos Pro could be exactly what you need. A tablet and pen allow you to do fine detail work that you can’t do with a mouse or your finger unless you are really good with them. A mouse frustrating for me and would shout a lot, which, in the end, was why my husband agreed that I needed a tablet. I haven’t looked back. Now with the pen, I can trace around curved lines, or get into small spots to change things easily. I couldn’t live without a tablet and pen anymore.

Wacom come into their own for post-processing work on the computer. Whether you are using Photoshop or Illustrator, or another program where you require a lot of control over what you are doing, you will find the tablet is perfect.

 

leannecole-wacom-tablets-05

A cityscape of Melbourne one of many images that I have used the Intuos Pro to edit.

Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13 512GB

The Mobile Studio Pro another tablet style unit from Wacom except it looks more like what we have come to expect from a tablet. It has a screen and you can use it independently from your computer. It is a computer itself, and you can run Windows on it as well as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. This model has Wi-Fi and works just like a regular tablet.

wacom tablet

You can use it as a tablet or as a laptop, although you would have to get an external keyboard if you don’t like the keyboard on the screen.

With Bluetooth capabilities you can pair other devices with it easily as well. So getting a Bluetooth keyboard is a really good option, especially the one by Microsoft that folds in half and is easy to carry around.

wacom tablet

Taking the MobileStudio Pro out for coffee and a bagel.

It doesn’t have the usual ports for connecting devices and uses USB-C. That will soon become the standard, but for now, you will not be able to connect any others to it. You can get adaptors for USB > USB-C.

Pros and cons

PRO: Without a doubt, the best thing about this particular model is that it is exactly like drawing in a sketchbook. You are working straight onto your image. It is great to be able to move it around and work the angle that is needed for your image. Your hand can get in the way sometimes, so being able to turn it is a definite bonus.

leannecole-wacom-tablets-03

A long exposure of the Seafarers Bridge in Melbourne. The MobileStudio Pro was fantastic for processing this image.

PRO and CON: It does have touchscreen capabilities, and that can be great for browsing the internet and using other programs. However, for processing images with the pen it was very frustrating with the touchscreen on. You put your hand somewhere and then something else would go off, or get deleted. In the end I turned the touchscreen feature off when I was processing the image, but turned it back on when I was doing everything else.

leannecole-wacom-tablets-06

Getting out of the house to process an image is such a luxury, the MobileStudio Pro makes it to easy, it even goes well with a latte.

CON: You do have to think a bit differently when using a tablet, especially if you are used to using keyboard shortcuts. I use them all the time, so when working on an image I have one hand on the keyboard, and the pen in the other. You have to find other ways of doing delete, save, etc. I was told by Wacom Australia that you can set up shortcuts on the tablet. For the short amount of time that I had the MobileStudio tablet, I didn’t worry about it, but it’s good to know. As previously stated, you are also able to use an external Bluetooth keyboard if you wish.

leannecole-wacom-tablets-07

The final image.

PRO: The Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13 512GB is perfect for anyone that travels a lot and wants to work on their images on the go. You can take it anywhere and with a battery life of 4-6 hours, you have plenty of time to do what you need. I took it with me when I met friends for coffee so I could work if they were late. It’s small, isn’t very heavy, and will fit anywhere most laptops do. I also used it to edit images while I was watching TV.

CON: It does come with a hefty price tag as it retails for $ 2499 at B&H (with the 512gb hard drive, smaller ones are available for less as well – 256gb is $ 1999 and 128gb is $ 1799). If you want the larger 15″ model, then you will need to pay an extra $ 500.

leannecole-wacom-tablets-04

One of the first images that I edited using the MobileStudio Pro.

Different tablets available

Wacom offers a wide range of tablets so you can choose from a small one, up to very large ones. Most of them work as mentioned here. They aren’t as expensive as you may think (they start at about $ 199 for a small one) so if you want to try one out you should be able to find one that fits within your budget.

The new ones have screens built-in and work like similar to other tablets (like an iPad). You use the pen directly on the screen so you can see exactly what is happening to your image real-time. They are a lot more expensive, but if you really want to get serious it could be just what you need.

There is another version for those that want to process on the go. So if you are traveling a lot, you can use it as your laptop and for processing your photos. There are also much bigger ones that sit on your desk and work in a similar way.

Whatever level you are at, they have a tablet for you.

Finishing up

If you are serious about your photography, or more so if you are serious about editing your photos, then a Wacom Tablet is an essential tools that can help you to make fantastic images. They have a massive range available, so you will have to decide which one is right for you.

The post Overview of the Intuos Pro Wacom Tablet and the MobileStudio Pro for Post-Processing by Leanne Cole appeared first on Digital Photography School.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Overview of the Intuos Pro Wacom Tablet and the MobileStudio Pro for Post-Processing

Posted in Photography

 

Review of the Wacom Intuos Photo Pen and Touch Tablet

05 Dec
Intuos Photo Creative Pen and Touch Tablet

Intuos Photo Creative Pen and Touch Tablet

In this article I’ll review the Wacom Intuos Photo Creative Tablet Small. Wacom brought out this model, and three other similar ones, back in September 2015. The only difference is they come bundled with different software. Otherwise the specs are the same.

Can you benefit from using a tablet?

The short answer to this question is, yes. Do you actually need one? Possibly not. But, if your workflow demands a lot of retouching to your images, then you will indeed benefit from using a tablet. The pen (stylus) essentially replaces your mouse, and allows for more precise actions where pinpoint accuracy, especially pressure sensitivity, are indispensable.

I’ve being using a Wacom tablet for a number of years. Although, I will admit when I first got my Graphire4, I took it out of the box and thought, “Hmm that looks nice” and put it straight back into the box. Long story short, some time later, I was about to give it away when I decided I’ll give it another go. Initially, it did take a little bit of getting use to. Whereas now, I would find it difficult resorting back to a mouse for editing my images.

The Graphire4 served me well even though it had only 512 levels of pressure sensitivity. So it was time for an upgrade.

two-tablets-side-by-side

The Graphire4 tablet on the left versus the new Intuos Photo Small on the right

The new Intuos Photo has 1024 levels of pressure, which was immediately noticeable, and very responsive. It has four Express Keys (the Graphire4 had only two) which you can configure to whatever shortcuts you choose. There also two buttons on the stylus, which offer the same customization.

ExpressKey

There are 4 ExpressKeys on this tablet, two on the left and two on the right, which can be customized for shortcuts.

I didn’t notice any lag time when moving the stylus across the surface, and the pen feels so intuitive, just like a real pen. It’s is very responsive and doesn’t have that scratchy feel when using broad brush strokes, you might expect because the surface is matte.

Features and design

This tablet is small, slim, and lightweight, which makes it very portable. Although it is light, it does feel solid.

slim-tablet

I’m holding the Intuos Photo between my fingers to illustrate how slim it is.

It has multi-touch gestures, which operate in the same manner as a trackpad. I wouldn’t use this feature, as I use my keyboard for shortcuts, but it’s cool nonetheless. There is a switch at the back to turn this feature off. My hand would activate the zoom feature, which was distracting.

If you turn the tablet upside down and slip this portion of the base off, you will find slots for the Wireless bits to go. You have to purchase the Wireless Accessory Kit separately. You get four spare pen nibs tucked away neatly, saved for when you need them.

back-off

Back of the Intuos Photo where the Wireless kit goes (sold separately).

I did find the engraved instructions neat. It did appeal to my sense of aesthetics!

stylus-spare-nibs

Close up to show the four spare nibs for the pen (stylus). Notice the neat engraved instructions.

Size can matter!

Before I purchased the Intuos Photo Small, I wasn’t sure whether to choose this size (6 x 3.7 inches) or go for the medium size. The medium is called the Wacom Intuos Art Pen and Touch Tablet Medium (8.5 x 5.3 inch active area). The larger model retails at $ 199.95.

The price wasn’t just the only determining factor for me. I have a 24” monitor so I wasn’t sure if this size tablet would match the monitor? I’ve found no issue, the size is good for me. However, if I had a bigger monitor, I would probably have gone with the medium tablet. Another factor to consider is how much space do you have on your desk? The Intuos Photo is small and compact.

What software is included?

  • Macphun Creative Kit
  • Corel AfterShot Pro (Mac)

In order to get the software, a download key is printed on the inside of the box. I have downloaded the Macphun Creative Kit (Tonality Pro, Intensify Pro, Snapheal Pro, Noiseless Pro) but that’s as far as I got. I haven’t tested out the software yet.

My verdict

Wacom tablets are a leading brand. Their Intuos Pro range are expensive. However, the Pro range offer 2048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity, wireless connectivity, and other features. So this makes the Intuos Photo Small a really good deal for the price. I find the pressure sensitivity levels suffice for my workflow.

Another plus, if you suffer from RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) issues, especially if you spend a considerable amount of time in front of your computer editing your images, I certainly find holding a pen preferable to gripping a mouse for any length of time.

To sum up, if you have a (much) older Wacom tablet, I would recommend the Intuos Photo as an upgrade. If you haven’t used a tablet before and are thinking of buying one. This model is a good place to start and it is competitively priced.

Cons (or maybe quirks)

This is more of an observation rather than a gripe. The USB cable supplied is 148cm (58 inches) in length! Not sure of the rationale behind this…maybe a ploy to get you to buy the Wireless Accessory Kit, which is sold separately.

USB-cable-very-long

USB cable measuring 148cm(58 inches) in length.

The stylus is much lighter and slimmer compared to the chunkier and heavier model I was more use to. It does feel a little cheap.

I’ve found the pen inclined to roll between my thumb and fingers, so that at times, I had to keep rolling the pen around again to where the two buttons are at the side to access them. This was getting quite irritating. I feel a rubberised moulding would help in preventing the pen from rolling around. Similar to the rubber grip found on ordinary pens. So I came up with my own inexpensive solution to modify the pen.

DIY hack for the stylus

I bought these pen grips at a local stationary shop. I cut one in half and rolled it up until it reached just below the two buttons. This way, I can grip the pen better, and roll it more easily, so that the two buttons rest next to my thumb for easy access. The four in a pack came to less than $ 2USD.

pen-grips

Ordinary biro pen grips that are sold in stationary shops.

DIY stylus holder hack

The Intuos Photo has a fabric sleeve to house the pen, which I presume is for when you’re transporting this tablet in your bag. The sleeve is tight fitting, so this is not practical for everyday use while sitting working at your desk. The tablet doesn’t come with a pen holder.

So, while I was in the same stationary shop to get my pen grips, I spied this pencil sharpener with eraser holder and thought that would make a great stylus holder. It was a perfect fit (see photo below). Again, this item cost less than $ 2! Just to add a little weight stability, I put fishing lead balls in the bottom part, only because I had them anyway.

Stylus-hack-holder

DIY stylus holder hack from a pencil sharpener with an ordinary pen grip on the stylus.

Do you use a tablet or a mouse? Which is your preference for editing your photos? Share in the comments below.

googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );

googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );

The post Review of the Wacom Intuos Photo Pen and Touch Tablet by Sarah Hipwell appeared first on Digital Photography School.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Review of the Wacom Intuos Photo Pen and Touch Tablet

Posted in Photography