WacomIntuos Photo Pen and Touch (Old Version)

I have loved using this tablet for photo editing. I bought the Art Version of the Wacom Intuos because it was cheaper than either of the other two versions at the time and the only difference was the free software and some add-ons like a free canvas print and a photo book. I had only planned to use it with Lightroom and Photoshop, both of which I already had, so the photo editing software that comes with the Photo Version wasn't much of a draw for me.This table is much smaller than the pro version and has only four buttons, plus two on the pen as well as the pressure of the pen on the tablet. You can set one of the buttons to bring up a wheel on your screen that you can use to select a lot of other options, too. I have enough trouble remembering what I set each of the four buttons to do (which can be different for each program you use) so I think the 8 buttons on a Pro would be too much. Also, the pro is way more expensive.Both Lightroom and Photoshop have several editing tools and brushes that take advantage of the pressure sensitivity of the pen and tablet, which has been a game changer for my photo editing. It's much easier to be very precise while editing a photo using a pen with 2048 pressure levels instead of holding a mouse button down and trying to color within the lines with only one level of sensitivity.Being an amateur photographer and not a graphic artist, I haven't used the included drawing software more than just to play around with it, but it looks like it can do some pretty good stuff if you know what you are doing (and there are tutorials available), like how to mix paints to get the right color and texture.I have a two monitor setup on my computer and I have it set so that the tablet covers the entirety of both screens, about half of the tablet representing each screen. You can also map it so that it only covers one screen at a time so that you can get more precise control with more physical tablet space per screen pixel. The tablet can also be used without the pen as a finger touch pad with multiple options for different touches, like a two or three finger touch meaning something different than just one. You can even do both at the same time. Using the art software, I can use the pen for painting, but then using my left hand to rotate or zoom in on the canvas at the same time. The tablet can be set in left or right handed mode so that it doesn't take inputs from the hand that is holding the pen while it is close by.

I bought this tablet bundle as a student who plans to learn zbrush at a university. I don't have $900 to blow on the full version of Zbrush, nor do i have a tablet adequately functional enough to use the trial version of zbrush or really do anything beyond play Osu! So I bought this bundle. As an experienced computer user and troubleshooter I had no problem at all with drivers or software licensing at all. Initially it felt a bit laggy and latent, but I pretty quickly realized it was a setting issue. I've had no problems using this tablet for its intended purpose, utilizing the excellent pressure sensitivity and nicely large surface area for lots of digital sculpting. Eventually, the copy of zbrushcore can even be upgraded to the full version of zbrush for a reduced price! Has no problem mapping specific areas of the tablet, as I pretty easily figured out how to map Osu! exclusively to a small central portion of the tablet while allowing normal area use outside the game. Wacom desktop center is the program used to manage tablet settings and such, and it's fairly intuitive and easy to figure out. The back of the tablet has a pretty easily removable plate that has a few helpful things under it: spare pen nibs, a little pinhole to wedge a nib tip into so you can pull out nibs and replace them without tools, and labeled compartments for an optional wireless "upgrade" kit (i prefer wired). The little "Wacom" tag at the top is the perfect diameter to fit the pen in back end first, making it hard enough to get out that I know it won't slide out on its own. really useful format, even if there's a slim chance it wasn't intended. As a side note, though not high on my priority list, it does have a really nice aesthetic finish and feels surprisingly light and thin in my hands. Moving it around my desk is easy enough and it slides between my tower and my wooden router headboard with room to spare. I would be careful when moving it around as it functions as a trackpad in addition to as pen digitizer, and I've closed windows and such on accident several times. There is a finger tough gesture system and buttons on the top which I'm sure are useful, but hundred of hours in 3DS max has trained me to keep my left hand ofn the keyboard 24/7 and so I don't terribly value the buttons. I'm sure if you took the time to learn you could develop some productive habits involving the buttons but I have a workflow already *shrug*. I'd consider this a must-have for artists and students, and an excellent quality product.... if only it came bundled with some better artistic talent for me