Drawing tablets for photo retouching.

[DanOstergren24]

It's something that has been recommended to me in the past, but I never saw it as a serious investment. Oh mylanta, I should have gotten one of these things as soon as I started digitally editing photos (so pretty much as soon as I owned my very first camera four years ago). Even the cheap little $45 tablet I got has completely changed the quality of my retouching in a very good way. If you have $45 to spend on some gear, get this: Amazon.com: Adesso 6 x 4.5 Inches Graphics USB Tablet - Mac and PC (CyberTablet Z8): Electronics .
It's simple, easy to use, lightweight and portable, and it works. I'm a cheap-ass and don't like to invest a lot of money into things unless it's a camera lens, so cheap works for me, and this thing works great. You won't regret it at all if you re-touch your photos, and especially so if you are meticulous about it like I am. And it kind of makes editing more fun.

I just thought I would share my good experience with getting one of these, and would encourage anyone serious about re-touching to do the same even if you are on a budget.

 

[tirediron]

Tablets are THE best editing tool. Period! The one thing that I'll add to Dan's commentary is (like iwth many things): The bigger the better. I moved from a small to large Wacom Intuous a few years ago, and that made things soooo much easier, especially for fine cloning work and similar.

 

[cynicaster]

For months I’ve been intending to pick one of these up but I just keep putting it off for some reason. I’ve never used one so I have no idea what to expect, but the consensus among those who use them seems to be that they are an indispensible tool.

How do they work with respect to software drivers? Do all editing programs just recognize them and support them? I’m a bit concerned because the version of photoshop I’m using is pretty old.

 

[DanOstergren24]

For months I’ve been intending to pick one of these up but I just keep putting it off for some reason. I’ve never used one so I have no idea what to expect, but the consensus among those who use them seems to be that they are an indispensible tool.

How do they work with respect to software drivers? Do all editing programs just recognize them and support them? I’m a bit concerned because the version of photoshop I’m using is pretty old.

I don't think you will have anything to worry about. In a way it just replaces your mouse, but it has pressure sensitivity. Essentially you can use it for anything you use your mouse or track pad for.

 

[tirediron]

Most can simply be plugged into a USB port and will function just like any other basic pointing device, but to get the maximum benefit, you need to install the tablet-specific drivers which will allow you to take advantage of the pressure control and other specialized functions.