Wacom Tablet Size For Higher Resolution Dual Display

[sean de merchant httpw]

Currently I am thinking about picking up a Wacom tablet and everything

I have read in the past suggests the 4x5 for photo editing (my primary

usage) and smaller displays. The conundrum I have is that I run two

displays at 1600x1200 and wonder if the 4x5 might be too small.

 

So what I am wondering is do the Wacom tablets let me pick up the pen

and continue drawing a line after repositioning my hand/fingers? I do

this all the time with my mouse when acceleration fails to get me

across the screen to coordinate my mouse pad position with my on

screen position and would like to know if this carries over.

 

Any input or thoughts will be appreciated.

 

enjoy,

 

Sean

[Ed_Ingold]

The Wacom tablet has plenty of resolution; the screen size won't matter. My 6x8 tablet has over 2500 lpi resolution.

 

A 4x5 tablet is big enough for photo editing. The large the tablet, the more precision you can make with your hand, but the more real estate is required. A 6x8 is easier for me, as I am not an artists. A 12 inch tablet occupies the entire desk, and for me harder to use - it's more like painting than drawing.

 

You at least two modes of operation with a Wacom - absolute positioning and relative (mouse-like) positioning. In the former, the cursor position corresponds to the position on the pad, and is better for drawing. In the latter, the cursor stays in the same position when you lift and replace the pen in another location, and only responds to motion, like a mouse.

 

The cursor will respond to the pen before the pen actually touches the pad, but action only occurs when the pen is down with pressure on the tip.

[david cunningham]

i had a 6x8 and found that for me it was too big. i switched to the 4x5 and it is perfect. it had

to do with how far i had to move my arm to get from one side of the iamge to the other. i like

the shorter travel distance of the 4x5.

[steven_endres]

Edward Ingold wrote...

>>The Wacom tablet has plenty of resolution; the screen size won't matter. My 6x8 tablet has over 2500 lpi resolution.<<

 

Very true---I think all Wacom tablets have resolution in this range. But another consideration is the resolution at which you can control your hand movements! Most mousepads are about 6x8 and so many people are used to working with approximately this range of motion. I think most people find the 4x5 size too constraining. 6x8 and up should be better.

 

Also, remember that the Wacom drivers allow you to set just a part of the tablet surface as the active area. I got a deal on a 12x18 (which really takes up some real estate) and have it set to use about a 7.5x10 inch area in the lower-left corner. Works great for me, and I have the full surface available for those occasions when it might prove useful.

[Michael Eckstein]

Used a 4 x 5 wacom for years. Switched to an 6 x 8 and will never go back to 4 x 5.

Difference is as night is to day.

[sean de merchant httpw]

Thanks for the input. It sounds like I would be better served by the 6x8 (cheaper than buying the 4x5 and then the 6x8).

[clauder]

Problem is with dual monitors (what I use as well) it will split up the horizontal dimension of the tablet into 2 (it sees the 2 monitors as one wide one), effectively limiting the resolution in the horizontal pane (half of it)... I have a 4x5 and this is really annoying, makes the useable space very small! My advice is buy the 6x8...

[sam_doersam]

Claude,

 

This is not correct. You can indeed select either or both monitors.

 

Execute the Wacom Tablet Setup app, then:

Mapping / speed tab => from the radio button

select monitor 1 from the drop down list => OK

 

Bob