What Can Wacom Do For You?
By Nick Shulman
19 May 2008
Tablets are a pros best friend. Be they photographer, designer, architect, or cartographer, many respected professionals have been using tablet input systems for years. I have always been afraid of them. I suppose it's the same way people who have never seen a mouse are skittish around them. Contemplating their potential efficiency boost, I can't help recalling playing Cranium as a child; the drawing game in particular. In this game, the player must draw an object without looking at the paper while his/her partner guesses what it is they are depicting. Needless to say, I wasn't very good at this game. Thinking of drawing without looking at the tip of my writing utensil is not the most intuitive concept. However, how intuitive is anything in a computer?
The one system I have seen that remedied this problem most efficiently was in a local photography shop. The Wacom Cintiq is an impressive piece of hardware, with an equally impressive price tag: $2499 USD. The Cintiq is a 17" tablet with the monitor underneath the plastic covering. Through some mystical voodoo, they have made a surface that is both transparent and touch sensitive. Unfortunately, it's a little out of my range.
I have long been interested in tablets, but couldn't ever bring myself to purchase one. I have tested them out at stores, and even believed that I would get used to the mode of operation, but I was never sure that there was a great use for them. What am I missing? What can't I do with ye olde mouse?
My nagging desire was removed this past week when I was lucky enough to be lent a Wacom Intuos 4x5" tablet. It is a lightweight compared to some of the bigger ones, but it gets the job done. The size of the writing surface is important for two main reasons. Firstly, the bigger the board, the more precise the user can be. Secondly, due to the recent trend in monitor technology, most people have wide screens with an aspect ratio of 16x10 (difference illustrated). Some professionals have two 16x10 displays side-by-side, which makes the effective aspect ratio 36x10. The problem that this poses is the recognized area on the tablet. For the pen's movement to be registered, the software must map the screen area to the tablet. I happen to (temporarily) have two Dell 2007FPWs, which are 16x10, 20" displays. Luckily for me, the tablet has the ability to only move the mouse on one of the two screens. This minimizes the problem of screen mapping, but it does still have an effect. The 4x5 physical size of the tablet combined with the 16x10 aspect ratio of my monitor makes for an effective tablet size of 5.02x3.14" (pictured). This is not ideal, but is easily forgotten by simply zooming in further when editing photos.
As soon as I plugged the tablet into my brand new Mac Pro, it was recognized by the computer. Depending on your operating system, your mileage may vary. Apple computers generally don't require any kind of driver, but a software CD was included in the packaging. The extra program is simply a toolbar that allows the user to write memos, and even convert them into typed text using Apple's Ink application. All in all, the Macintosh side has excellent (preexisting) driver support, and an unnecessary program on the CD. I did not test the tablet on a PC, nor Linux, but I am quite confident that the CD contains the drivers and software necessary to replicate the experience on Windows. Vista may be a problem for now, as drivers for that platform are few and far between, but support is slowly but surely ramping up. Linux is not an officially supported platform, but if you are one of the renegade users of said platform, then I am certain you will be able to find home-brew drivers for whatever distribution is your favorite.
The experience as a whole was not one that is easy to write about. The tablet is an amazing tactile perception shift. A mouse is an entirely abstract idea, whereas the pen and paper is something we use all the time. The Intuos has really changed how specific I can be, but more importantly, my interaction with my photos. A tablet user will use the same programs and tools: Photoshop, dodge, burn, selection tools, etc. The difference is, that a tablet user can actually shade the pictures, instead of moving a mouse from side to side. It is difficult to say if this type of input device will really improve my images, but at the very least, it feels more like I am drawing over the areas that I want to change, and I am therefore more connected to these pictures. The motions that are required to modify images with a mouse are far less photography-like. All photographers, professional or otherwise are artists. While I must reiterate that your mileage may vary, the experiences I have had with the Intuos 4x5 were far more artistic than the sterile conventional tools. I cannot be certain, but I feel that my pictures are better with this tool, and be that subconscious or fact, having confidence in one's abilities and final products is an essential part of this art.
From the limited time I have had it, it seems to me that the tablet has increased my precision, and more importantly connection to my photos. The ability to select the edges of an object by actually tracing it is fantastic! Actually touching something digital is a brand new experience for me, and it's one I would like to repeat. In my opinion, the device is a superior method of interaction with images in particular. I haven't found any other great uses for the tablet, and I don't plan to throw my mouse away anytime soon, but there is a strong argument in favor of buying one of these very affordable tools.
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