Wacom Intuos3 9 x 12-Inch USB Tablet--Metallic Gray
by Wacom
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Our Price: $599.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $319.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Wacom Intuos3 9 x 12-Inch USB Tablet--Metallic Gray
Customer Review: If you use Photoshop with a mouse but no tablet, you are not using Photoshop.
Summary: 5 Stars
-------5/12/2010
The new Wacom drivers Intuos3 work 100% perfectly with Photoshop CS5 64bit AND Windows 7 64bit since installed. Not a single flaw or issue. Thank you Wacom :)
-------2/17/2010
My Wacom tablet is now an older product.
Photoshop CS4 64bit AND Windows 7 64bit have come out recently.
Wacom recently updated the drivers for the older product anyway.
My older Wacom Intuos3 works to perfection with all 3 pieces of software!
That speaks volumes about Wacom as a company and they just got a life long customer :)
-------Original
This is a note to amateurs; pro's already know about Wacom so no need to read. I'm an amateur photographer. I have been using Photoshop for about 7 years for photo corrections, effects, etc... I just purchased the Wacom 9x12 tablet. I now know the purpose of Photoshop brushes, pens, pencils, and similar tools. Using a mouse, you'll never discover the true power behind Photoshop. I still have volumes to learn to unleash the power behind this tablet. However, Photoshop is now making a lot more sense and is now more useful.
Notes:
1. If you never have drawn, first buy a book on drawing, some paper, pencils, etc... & enjoy getting away from the computer a few hours a week while learning a new skill. Make sure you like drawing before spending a lot of $$$. You don't have to be great, but understanding the basics is important.
2. You can download 30 day trial versions of Photoshop or Elements from the Adobe[...] site
3. You get what you pay for... Wacom & Photoshop are pricey, but they are best of the breed.
4. Although the Wacom driver software is cheesy circa 1980, it's effective. Get the latest version from Wacom[...].
5. If you are a student, buy[...] has an academic version for less than 400, free shipping, etc...
Customer Review: great product, but you might also consider a smaller pad
Summary: 5 Stars
What more can I say about this great product that 350 other Amazon reviewers haven't said? I've been a Wacom owner for 7 years now and can't go back to using a mouse, even for everyday point and clicking. This tool is really indispensable and once you've gotten used to it, you won't go back to clumsy mice either.
I'm a power user and use a lot of shortcuts. I can't stand seeing people right click with the mouse, scroll down to the menu choice they want and click it. It just takes up too much time-- something like 5 seconds compared to the fraction of a second it takes to just tap in the shortcut combo. I save even more time with the Wacom by how i've set mine up. What I do is rest my keyboard on top of the upper portion of the Wacom and remap the pen coordinates to the lower half of the pad. I keep the pen in my hand and just shift it back and forth between the pad and the keyboard, without wasting time moving my hand to pick up and drop the mouse. The pen is light and comfortable, so you can hold it all day without even noticing. Sometimes, I put it in my pocket and forget it's there.
I'm a graphic designer/illustrator/web developer and I've owned Intuos 1, 2, and 3's in a number of sizes, but predominantly use my smaller pads.
If $400 is too much for you, consider a Wacom Intuos3 6X8 Pen Tablet. It's about $300. I've found my 9x12's to be a bit too big for my desk. 4x6 or 6x8 is perfect for users who don't have a lot of space, or don't want/need to swing their arms around a lot when they work. The smaller sizes are also more portable, so you can take them back and forth, if you commute and your job is too cheap to pay for one (as previous employers have been reluctant to do).
Customer Review: One of the BEST tools you could ever have as an artist
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using Photoshop/PS CS for several years and this was the first artist tablet I have used. It's bigger than I had imagined, so you need to dedicate a lot of room for it.
It can feel extremely awkward using it initially, it feels too alien to naturally draw with; I think that's especially true for this one because of how large the tablet is.
But once you play around with the wacom tablet preferences--and you will want to keep adjusting them as you go along--you will notice a huge difference and it does feel like second nature after a while.
One of the things I first did to get used to the "feel" of it was to adjust the active screen area (so that the whole tablet is only working on one section of your screen), for some reason that helped speed along the level of comfort remote-drawing. This is also helpful for tracing or speed sketching when you dont want to worry about going off your photoshop canvas.
Another thing that is very helpful is the customizable buttons. I have the right panel left to default settings and have customized the left panel with CTRL+ALT+Z, Copy & Paste, and CTRL+T functions.
The sensitivity/pressure preferences need to be experimented with for quite a while until you can feel the difference with the slightest changes in setting combinations. But they are VERY powerful especially when you team them up with the detailed customizations you can do in photoshop's own pen pressure related brush settings.
This may be a little too intimidating for beginner artists, but if you are already comfortable with your traditional mediums, and know your way around photoshop/paint/gimp etc, then this will allow you so much more creativity. It looks as professional as it works, and the pen feels and weighs like a real one.
Customer Review: Outstanding product
Summary: 5 Stars
What an outstanding product. I have had it for about a month now and am very impressed in how it has enhanced my abilities to use Photoshop.
First off, I got the 9x12 thinking that bigger is better. That is not necessarily the case here. The larger the drawing surface, the longer your stroke must be in order to draw from one side of the screen to the other. In my case I have to move my arm an entire foot to draw across my screen. If I had bought a smaller one, then my drawing distance would be shorter and much easier. However, Wacom software allows you to minimize your drawing area so that only a portion of your drawing surface represents your entire screen. This is a real help and compensates for my overly large tablet.
Secondly, the drivers Wacom made uses VERY LITTLE system memory(about 18 megs)and overhead to operate----as a gamer this is important to me.
I don't use the buttons on the tablet as I am so use to the keyboard shortcuts with Photoshop. But what is cool is it allows you to program the tablet keys to practally anything you want in Photoshop.
So far I have used my tablet in Corel Draw, BodyPaint 3d, Cinema 4d and Photoshop CS3 and am thrilled with it.
I definately recommend it to anyone who wants to get one.
Customer Review: Oh the pleasure!!!! Wish I bought it sooner!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent upgrade for me as a designer who worked on an old Wacom baby 4x5 pad for years. I don't retouch often, but now I have a big project to retouch, I thought I can justify the upgrade and went for it. I am SHOCKED by how much faster retouching with this monster board is!! The Express Keys that allowed me to customize, makes a WORLD of difference. I changed my customization a few times while I worked, until I felt "at one" with the Express Keys, both left and right. I put it on my lap to work, and voila, I am speeding through, moving around, zooming in and out, and changing my favorite tools in a heart beat without touching my keyboard! Productivity went up big time!! I suggest having System Preference out for Mac the first few times, just as you work, to go back and customize your setting more.
Size wise: The 9x12 I initially worried might be too big, turns out to be the same width almost with the 6x11. I was debating hard between the two, budget is an issue, I thought screen ratio might be as well, but when I finally got to the store to compare, I was pleasantly surprised that I prefer the bigger 9x12 (I'm 5', and desk space is prime real estate). Go for the 9x12 if you're choosing between the two. I don't think I was "all over the place" using it, at all. I leaned it against my desk, even though I have space to lay it flat. I think it's more ergonomically correct that way and it really does feel natural as the company suggested. For about the same price, I was happy to have gone for the larger and know that I'm using larger motion. Oh, this tablet rocks!!! I am so happy with this I just want to share with everyone!