Inkscape Forum Inkscape > Any advice on Tablets?

Posted by Aaron Elmquist (Guest)
on 14.08.2008 03:58
(Received via mailing list)
Looking at buying a tablet.  How does a 6x8 vs a 6x11 vs a 9x12 compare 
for
ease of use?
Posted by Shawn Corey (mungo)
on 14.08.2008 04:05
(Received via mailing list)
On Wed, 2008-08-13 at 20:58 -0500, Aaron Elmquist wrote:
> Looking at buying a tablet.  How does a 6x8 vs a 6x11 vs a 9x12
> compare for ease of use?

I don't have any advice but this is on my wish list:
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/

(The biggest one of course.)

--
Just my 0.00000002 million dollars worth,
  Shawn

"Where there's duct tape, there's hope."

"Perl is the duct tape of the Internet."
        Hassan Schroeder, Sun's first webmaster
Posted by Aaron Elmquist (Guest)
on 14.08.2008 04:10
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Yeah, that really would be the way to go.  Wish I had an extra couple 
grand
lying around.  :-)
Posted by Rob Antonishen (Guest)
on 14.08.2008 04:34
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I use a 6x8, as I tend to work close-in anyway.  Large tablets tire my 
arm.
If you are used to working on larger conventional media it may not be an
issue, as you will use your arm more than your hand when drawing.

-Rob A>
Posted by john cliff (Guest)
on 14.08.2008 04:38
(Received via mailing list)
Ive had the really little ones, upto stupidly big (really old wacom that 
I
rescued from a junk pile at work not sure what size but bigger than 
9x12), I
use a 9x12 these days, its a good size if you want to do big strokes, 
you
can always map a smaller area if you find it tiring. You cant map a 
bigger
area if its too small...



2008/8/13 Rob Antonishen <rob.antonishen@gmail.com>
Posted by Aaron Elmquist (Guest)
on 14.08.2008 04:47
(Received via mailing list)
I didn't really realize that I could map a smaller area if I felt the 
area
was too large which is making me lean towards the 9x12.  Plus I'm 
thinking
it might be nice to have the option to trace things from a standard 
piece of
paper if I want to sketch something prior to working on the pc.

Thanks for all the input,

Aaron
Posted by Jon A. Cruz (Guest)
on 14.08.2008 06:29
(Received via mailing list)
On Aug 13, 2008, at 6:58 PM, Aaron Elmquist wrote:

> Looking at buying a tablet.  How does a 6x8 vs a 6x11 vs a 9x12  
> compare for ease of use?


I'd say that 6x8 is probably the minimum you'd want. (For me it is
quite nice).

Also very important are things such as tilt, pressure, etc. The Wacom
Intuos line, for example, has better sensitivity and X-tilt, Y-tilt
and twist. They also have those handy buttons and touch-strips on the
side.
Posted by Joshua Boyd (Guest)
on 15.08.2008 18:12
(Received via mailing list)
On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 08:58:06PM -0500, Aaron Elmquist wrote:
> Looking at buying a tablet.  How does a 6x8 vs a 6x11 vs a 9x12 compare for
> ease of use?

I see other people talking about various features you want.  Let me
simplify that for you.

Buy a wacom.  Only a wacom.  Nothing else.  Now, all you have to worry
about is size.

I think bigger is better for drawing.  However bigger is worse for mouse
replacement, and bigger makes menus and such more irritating.  When I
used a 4x5 wacom, I used it completely instead of a mouse regular.  Now
that I have a 6x8 wacom, I find I have to keep a regular mouse attached
to use for regular programs.

In considering 6x8 versus 6x11, consider your display.  If you have a
wide screen LCD, you probably want 6x11.  If you have a 4:3 LCD or CRT,
you probably want a 6x8.  If you get a 6x8 (or 4x5 or 9x12) and you have
a wide screen, it is possible to configure the driver to only use a 16x9
portion of the tablets active area, which is what I've done since I have
a 6x8 and a wide screen LCD.

In short, I'd start with a 6x8 or 6x11, and if it feels too big then
sell it and get a smaller one.  If it feels to small and you can justify
it, then upgrade.
Posted by Joshua Facemyer (Guest)
on 15.08.2008 18:34
(Received via mailing list)
This is all good advice.  I have the Intuos 3 (it's 6x8) and I find that
it's really good for drawing size, but just large enough that it makes
menus and interface stuff a little uncomfortable, but not unbearable.
There's always going to be a tradeoff between the two, but if you're
buying a drawing tablet, I think it might as well be better for drawing
than menus, since you can use a mouse for that (and key commands, etc).
Also, the buttons and scrollbars help with that stuff.

Definitely stick with Wacom.  More expensive but much better, for the
reasons mentioned.

JF
Posted by Rob Antonishen (Guest)
on 15.08.2008 19:55
(Received via mailing list)
That is a good point.


> In considering 6x8 versus 6x11, consider your display.  If you have a
> wide screen LCD, you probably want 6x11.  If you have a 4:3 LCD or CRT,
> you probably want a 6x8.  If you get a 6x8 (or 4x5 or 9x12) and you have
> a wide screen, it is possible to configure the driver to only use a 16x9
> portion of the tablets active area, which is what I've done since I have
> a 6x8 and a wide screen LCD.
>
>

I normally use my tablet on a laptop (1400x1050) with a secondary 
monitor
attached (1280x1024) but set up the tablet area to map to only the one
screen.  If I set the 6x8 tablet to cover the whole view space across 
both
screens it is quite hard to work with accurately.

-Rob A>
Posted by Manfred Hainer (Guest)
on 15.08.2008 20:28
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Please delete me from this list.

Beste Gruesse / Kind Regards
Manfred Hainer

www.ubs-hainer.com
UBS Hainer GmbH, Am Zickmantel 16,
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+49(0)6641 6551 0
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Joshua Facemyer schrieb:
Posted by Manfred Hainer (Guest)
on 15.08.2008 20:29
(Received via mailing list)
Please delete me from this list.

Beste Gruesse / Kind Regards
Manfred Hainer

www.ubs-hainer.com
UBS Hainer GmbH, Am Zickmantel 16,
D-36341 Frischborn, Germany
+49(0)6641 6551 0
Geschaeftsfuehrer / Managing Directors:
Dipl. Math. Manfred Hainer
Karsten Philipp Betriebswirt DV
HRB Fulda: 4225
USt.-Nr.: DE 185 890 642
St.-Nr. : 18 247 001 43



Rob Antonishen schrieb:
Posted by Patrick (Guest)
on 15.08.2008 20:40
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There is a link at the bottom of every Inkscape email, please use it