Learning is about getting out of your comfort zone, and as I've used the Intuos3 tablet from Wacom, I've got to say, I feel like I've learned a better way.  The tablet does a great job, except for one HUGE flaw.

I hadn't used a tablet device before six months ago, and I'm still the only person at my workplace who uses the pen exclusively.  That being said, I'm a progressive geek, and when I feel like I've found a better way, I rock it.  And I rock it hard.  I've been using the tablet on a daily basis, and this is a time-tested review.  If you've been intrigued by the concept of "mousing around" with a pen, read on for my review.

As a tablet, and general input device, the Intuos3 is great.  Wacom champions the tablet as a solution for repetitive stress injury, and a familiar interface for artists.  The tablet itself has a nice design, and the surface feels very natural.  The "command" buttons are a nice addition to the surface.  Each application can have its own custom setup for the 8 buttons.  As for the touch strips to the sides of the command buttons, the jury's still out on their usefulness for myself.  I find myself saying "this is cool, it should work well."  But each time I enable them, my wrist accidently hits the right strip, due to the fact that I'm right handed.  The strip is a good idea for scrolling and zooming, but more often than not, I disable the right strip and just use the left for scrolling.

As for the tablet's usability, using the pen feels very natural in your hand.  Since I'm using a larger version, it feels like it fills the screen properly, and as I point, I know exactly where my mouse will go on screen.  Initially, it took two days of just doing it, despite the speed decrease, for me to become used to the style of point and shoot, rather than incrementing position.  I found myself trying to move the cursor, instead of the cursor following me.  As I started to become used to the pen, I found it much more comfortable than mousing around for graphics applications.  Tracing elements in Photoshop's extract tool became a whole lot easier, not to mention the general added performance boost I've seen in general purpose graphic apps and After Effects.

Physically, the pen is quite a bit larger than your regular run-of-the-mill ballpoint.  The size is comparable to one of those useless executive pens that runs you $85.  The tablet pen works by positioning the pen about an inch above the surface of the tablet.  As you move it around the surface, without pressing down, your cursor is drawn to the equivalent spot on the screen.  By pushing down on the pen, your pen triggers a click.  The click is pressure sensitive for apps that understand pressure sensitivity.  For example, the brush tool in Photoshop can gets larger, the harder you press.  Flipping the pen over, it works just like a regular eraser, with the same style of pressure sensitivity.  When you flip it over, the eraser works without switching tools, so when you're done erasing, go back to drawing immediately.  Pressure sensitivity works with more than just Photoshop, check Wacom's site for a full list.  There's a couple other buttons, dubbed "Ink" buttons.  Presumably, pushing the buttons switches which tool you're using, or color, etc.  I've set mine to be a right-click and middle-click.



The biggest flaw with the Intuos3 is, well, the medium it's least intended for: the mouse.  Within a few minutes of mousing around, I felt almost angry with it.  The included 5-button mouse doesn't feel precise at all.  In fact, it feels quite the opposite.  Its responsiveness is slow and counter-intuitive.  The only thing going for it is a lack of batteries and trackball.  If you've used any sort of optical mouse, guaranteed, it feels much better than this.  One of my coworkers has gone as far as purchasing an optical mouse for use along side his tablet.



Wacom bundles software, that frankly, most people buying a tablet wouldn't find useful.  You get Photoshop Elements 3, and Corel Painter Essentials 2.  Fortunately, it also includes a bunch of brushes for Photoshop that will actually be of use.  The drivers are nice and well designed (for Mac at least).  Its definitely an advantage to be able to set the command buttons, as well as the ink buttons, separate for each application.  I've got cut and paste commands global on my command buttons, and in Photoshop I've got custom buttons for each tool, same with After Effects and Motion.



The Intuos3 does have a few technical issues.  When my computer comes out of sleep, sometimes the tablet won't properly wake up.  An unplug/replug will typically fix this though.  If you boot your computer with the mouse on the surface, it will report an error, that will, again, require an unplug/replug.   Precision is difficult sometimes, but more due to a shaky hand, than to shaky software.

For me, editing with a tablet isn't my cup of tea. With the caveat that I don't edit using a tablet everyday, I still prefer the increment style of movement, as opposed to the point and shoot, for editing.   Sometimes It's hard to be precise when trimming clips or rolling through edit points.  However, the few times I have edited with the tablet, I have found it successful if you do have a lot of screen real-estate and can make each track fairly large.  But for my style, it doesn't really work.  I'd prefer my viewer, bins, audio mixer and color scopes large, as opposed to supersizing my timeline.

All-in-all, I'd say I really do like Wacom's Intuos3 tablet.  It's GREAT for Photoshoppers/traditional artists.  Its a really good solution for compositors and motion graphics artists, but for video editing its not my favorite.  If you can't use a tablet for general purpose computing (surfing the web, checking e-mail) you need to get an external mouse.



The Intuos3 is Wacom's pro entry.  Priced at $220 for the 4" x 5", its definitely a pricey investment.  The tablet I'm using is a 6" x 8", and that runs about $290.  If you're really rollin' deep, go with the 9" x 12", but its pretty costly at $400.

If you've used another tablet, Wacom or otherwise, leave your impressions in the comments!