Mouse Substitute for Lightroom Mac Desktop

[KimberlyArtist]

I'm new here, so apologies if this has already been discussed. Very recently, I've developed pain in the top joint of my right thumb, and I'm just certain it's from using my mouse to process my photos in Lightroom on my Mac desktop. I am wondering what good substitute I could use to replace the mouse so I don't do real damage to my hand. Is a touchpad the way to go, or the Apple Pencil? I'm right-handed with the mouse and touchpad, but left-handed when it comes to writing with a pen/pencil. Any experienced advice is very appreciated, thank you.

 

[wobe]

You did not say if you use Apple’s ’magic mouse’ but if so I’m not surprised you have pains - IMO the worst mouse design ever and not at all ergonomic. There are plenty of much better mice on the market that work great with a Mac and are actually shaped for your hand to avoid stress points.

Do not have much experience of trackpads etc though I know people who swear by trackballs.

P.S. Depdending how much you use your phone, if you scroll through pages with your right thumb this could also be a stress point.

 

[Deon Reynolds]

It's been five years since I used a mouse. I use a trackpad most of the time but when I'm cleaning up scans in photoshop I use a Wacom intros pen tablet. Tablets open up more Lightroom and Photoshop options, worth the look if you use your computer a lot.

 

[Ozzie_Traveller]

I'm new here, so apologies if this has already been discussed. Very recently, I've developed pain in the top joint of my right thumb, and I'm just certain it's from using my mouse to process my photos in Lightroom on my Mac desktop. I am wondering what good substitute I could use to replace the mouse so I don't do real damage to my hand. Is a touchpad the way to go, or the Apple Pencil? I'm right-handed with the mouse and touchpad, but left-handed when it comes to writing with a pen/pencil. Any experienced advice is very appreciated, thank you.

G'day KA

Firstly - Welcome to the Photography Forum - there are plenty of others here with heaps of knowledge and skills to share

As to mice / alternate methods, you are in good company with "issues".
Personally I am right-handed for text and left-handed for mouse work ... trying to use the mouse right-handed my 'click-finger' was never in the correct place and twisting of my wrist gave me heaps of pains. Left-handed, well everything works "real beaut mate" and has done for the 30+ yrs that I have been using mouse + keyboard

Again personally, I have found my finger across the sensor-pad is clumsy and very imprecise, so have abandoned it long ago. My experience with a hand-pen and pad is restricted to using architectural software and so I cannot comment re- image processing

Hope this helps
Phil

 

[Deon Reynolds]

After I wrote the first note, I went back to work on cleaning up scans in photoshop and realized I was using an Apple trackpad with my left hand to move the image about as my right hand was on the Wacom with the pen tool...

 

[KimberlyArtist]

You did not say if you use Apple’s ’magic mouse’ but if so I’m not surprised you have pains - IMO the worst mouse design ever and not at all ergonomic. There are plenty of much better mice on the market that work great with a Mac and are actually shaped for your hand to avoid stress points.

Do not have much experience of trackpads etc though I know people who swear by trackballs.

P.S. Depdending how much you use your phone, if you scroll through pages with your right thumb this could also be a stress point.

Thank you for your response. I gave this some thought, and yesterday bought a Trackpad. I've used it only an hour after I got home, but I think this will help my problem significantly. I appreciate your time.

 

[KimberlyArtist]

It's been five years since I used a mouse. I use a trackpad most of the time but when I'm cleaning up scans in photoshop I use a Wacom intros pen tablet. Tablets open up more Lightroom and Photoshop options, worth the look if you use your computer a lot.

Thank you for this information, it's quite helpful. I'll keep this in mind if I decide I need something a bit more refined than I can achieve with the trackpad. I appreciate your time.

 

[KimberlyArtist]

G'day KA

Firstly - Welcome to the Photography Forum - there are plenty of others here with heaps of knowledge and skills to share

As to mice / alternate methods, you are in good company with "issues".
Personally I am right-handed for text and left-handed for mouse work ... trying to use the mouse right-handed my 'click-finger' was never in the correct place and twisting of my wrist gave me heaps of pains. Left-handed, well everything works "real beaut mate" and has done for the 30+ yrs that I have been using mouse + keyboard

Again personally, I have found my finger across the sensor-pad is clumsy and very imprecise, so have abandoned it long ago. My experience with a hand-pen and pad is restricted to using architectural software and so I cannot comment re- image processing

Hope this helps
Phil

Thank you for your practical information. It's helpful to know there are a variety of these tools, and it's a matter of finding those that work best for each individual. Part of my issue was that I didn't know all the alternatives, learning more about that now thanks to this forum.