Wacom Intuos Pen Small opinions

[hoakin1981]

I am in the market for a tablet to take my PP skills to the next level. Unfortunately the Wacom Intuos small is the only affordable option at this time.

So, my 2 main concerns in case someone can advise:

1. Is the "Small" size enough for image editing/retouch purposes? This one has an Active area of 152 x 95 mm or 6 x 3.7 in which seems to be really small on paper but I have no idea what this means practically speaking. I know the "Medium" option is the most recommended, with an active area much bigger but as said, the price is too steep.

2. Resolution. The Small model in question has 2540 (same as the bigger one), is this enough for image editing work?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pioneer]

I am a rank amateur at this but I bought the small Wacom tablet for the same reason, affordability. Personally I am very happy that this small one is available. Otherwise I wouldn't even have considered working with the tablet at all.

I am just learning to use it but I already like it far better than working with the mouse. Though small, so far I haven't had any big problems. I'm sure the medium would be nicer but for now I am very happy with this one.

1. Yes, for my work it is just right. Small like a notebook but large enough for the majority of my editing work, which is primarily spotting and working with curves. I do have to scroll around a fair amount at higher magnification but I was already doing that with the mouse.

2. Resolution doesn't seem to be an issue for me. To be honest I am not sure I can make an unbiased judgement here since I don't own, nor have I ever used, the larger tablets with the higher resolution.

My work area for digital editing is actually pretty small, so I don't have a lot of room to work in to start with. My Wacom just seems to fit into that minimalist space very nicely and it is easy to set it aside when I don't need it.

 

[lenny]

I have a 6x11 inch size, and I like it. However, I know Pros that love the smaller size as well...

What it means in real life is that you will have to zoom in a little more for the same resolution... where I might be working at 66%, you might go up to 100% on the screen. As long as you know the command keys for moving up and down it should be no problem.

Lenny

 

[toyotadesigner]

You might try to check ebay for used Intuos 3 A5 wide tablets. Area is almost European A4 format, and the prices are pretty much down - so far down that I decided to keep my Intuos 3 until eternity or until the USB system will be abolished.

 

[Richard Boutwell]

I just made a blog post about this exact thing on my new site. Switching to a pen tablet can open up a new way intuitive way of interacting with your images, and for me, that is what it is all about.

I think the small would be fine for almost all uses. I have both large Intuos 3 and a medium intuos 4 (and small bamboo for travel). I think the large is almost too big, and I end up using about the same amount of the available area on both, no matter what computer I'm working on. I wouldn't worry too much about the scroll wheel or the programmable buttons. I keep my left hand hovered over the cmnd/z/spacebar/shift/x buttons.

The only nice thing about the medium/large sizes is that when you are working with a dual monitor station you can map the usable area across both screens and still have a good amount of real estate of the tablet to work with. I only use the small on the laptop without a second screen so I can't comment on how it functions across a dual monitor setup.

One thing that I really would recommend is to map the working area to about 1cm inside the total usable area. It is just makes it a little easier when you are going up to the menu bar or working near the edges of your display.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Like Richard I have the small tablet because,I wanted to try tablets on a budgetand like the OP,I was hoping it would take me to the next level.after a year my conclusion is :
the functionality of tablets is overrated.Yes,they are better and feel more natural for some thingssuch as freehand painting and touch ups,but, for other things such as menu selections they are plain clumsy.what I do now,and it works well,use mouse and tablet togetherwith the keyboard not to far either. the mouse is a hard-to-beat input device.my tablet is mostly gathering dust. I wait until I can afford on-screen editing.