What I'd really like to know: how small a tablet can I get away with? I use a 32" Dell monitor with the usual suspects (FCP, PS, AE) and look forward to using a tablet to do lots of masking, which is quite tedious with a mouse.
I can see arguments on both sides of the size question: larger tablet means you have to move the pen further to reach opposite sides of the screen, right? otoh, too-small makes it harder to zero in on those tiny icons, etc. And, there's my crowded desk to consider. It's already crowded, with keyboard, mouse, ShuttlePro, and lots of notes.
If someone has tested various sizes, &/or has a definite answer as to the optimal size, I would be very happy to hear from him or her.
Re: Wacom Intuos optimal size/aspect ratio? by walter biscardi on Sep 25, 2008 at 11:08:09 am
The larger your tablet, the more precise you can be with masking. If you have a small tablet, you're covering a lot of screen with a small space. I really like the 6x11 as the smallest.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.
Re: Wacom Intuos optimal size/aspect ratio? by Joe Procopio on Sep 25, 2008 at 2:54:00 pm
we use 6x11s, editors seem to like them the best
i use a 12x12 on an AVID DS, you can set the portion of the tablet being used to cover the screen, so it is adjustable...i do a lot of mattes in DS, and the larger tablet works great for that...but in FCP, a 6x11 wide should be fine...(we have a 20" left monitor and a 24" wide monitor on the FCPs BTW)
Re: Wacom Intuos optimal size/aspect ratio? by Jason Porthouse on Sep 25, 2008 at 7:57:43 pm
I've got the A5 Wide. The usable area is 6.5 inches by 4.5. I find sometimes, for dual screen work, on the odd occasion I need to drag from one to the other, I'll run out of room on the tablet. It's led to a few expletives filling the air as I've dropped a file on the desktop... I've learnt to plan better now. As I use it in 'mouse' mode (relative instead of absolute) it's not quite such a problem, and for me as a freelancer the portability is handy... however, I can see me getting one of the larger widescreen models for my suite in the future. It's a nice price/size/performace ratio though...
HTH
Jason
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