Mice and grips and stuff oh my!

cdonovan

I am doing some christmas shopping for myself this week, and wondered what yer suggestions may be for a few different items!

I am looking for a new mouse, one that's photo edit friendly and most of all comfortable to use..
i have a medium sized hand! I was at business depot today and saw a new mouse with a bunch of wheels and rollers on it
here it is
http://www.it-enquirer.com/main/ite/more/logitech_mx_revolution/

I am also shopping around for the battery grip for the rebel xt and wondered if you could give me some pros and cons if there are any.

After the new year I am going to purchase a very basic laptop, I have external memory drive, and the laptop will be to take to shows, and shoots just to help store the pictures and run a slide show if necessary...I want cheap! But i am wondering if there are any things that i should shop for that will make using the two computers any easier....

SloYerRoll

cdonovan wrote:

I am looking for a new mouse, one that's photo edit friendly and most of all comfortable to use..

It has a comfort and "ease of use" learning curve. If you want to do photo editing though. Get a pressure sensative graphic tablet. Wacom is the standard in this field.
If you talk to anyone that has gotten past the strange feel when you first start using this. You will hear that there is no turning back. There are things you can do that not even a 16 button mouse can do!

Just my .02 Merry Christmas and good luck find what fits you perfect!

claudermilk

A Wacom tablet is THE tool to use for photo editing. A mouse just doesn't come close for the level of control you have. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's well worth the climb.

hgernhardtjr

claudermilk wrote:

A Wacom tablet is THE tool to use for photo editing. A mouse just doesn't come close for the level of control you have. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's well worth the climb.

I, too, STRONGLY agree ... and have been using a graphics tablet for many years. So long, in fact, that except for assisting my students on their student-lab computers here at my college, I use my two Wacom tablets and PENs exclusively (and even carry one with my laptop). I hate mice and do not even know where the "gratis" ones that comes with the tablets are!

gpphotos

i have the "notebook" version of that logitech mouse, and i love that thing. its smaller than the one you posted and doesnt have the thumb rest. i tried both and decided to go with the smaller one because it was cheaper, and also because i use it with my laptop. the USB reciever actually slides up into the mouse itself so you dont lose it. it also turns the mouse laser off. it has a nifty little eject button to remove it.

jbswear

"I am also shopping around for the battery grip for the rebel xt and wondered if you could give me some pros and cons if there are any. "


I bought the battery grip from Opteka here: http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Battery-Canon-Digital-Rebel/dp/B000EDB1II . I ordered it before my new XTi even came in the mail. Yes, I love it. Much cheaper than the Canon OEM, and so far works great. The XTi is my first dSLR, and I went with the advice of others here and on other websites: "Get a battery grip." Not only does it add battery life, but it also makes the camera much easier to handle.

Some note that it has a 'sloppy' fit to the camera. I don't notice any. Once attached, it doesn't move at all. Some don't like the 'mush' of the shutter release (not an issue for most pics, but might affect when you use it for vertical shooting), but I don't notice any trouble.

I love it, think it's great, and highly recommend it. You really can't go wrong with it. Deliver time was 2 days from ordering.

HTH!

Brad

cdonovan

This has all been extremly helpful

Soo if you had to choose between the graphire 4 4x5 or 6x8


or the battery grip

Which would you think would be most valuable?? that's kind ofo the amount of moula that santa wants to spend

jsedlak

cdonovan wrote:

This has all been extremly helpful

Soo if you had to choose between the graphire 4 4x5 or 6x8


or the battery grip

Which would you think would be most valuable?? that's kind ofo the amount of moula that santa wants to spend

a graphire. I have neither, and I want both but I rather worry about battery life than getting into what the graphire can offer. Man, I am dying to get one of those.

Shima

I recently got a laser mouse and they are just sweet... easy to control and super super accurate. If you're getting a mouse and not a tablet that's what I'd go with.

Art Scott

Any one tried an I-Pen mouse...looks like a rather large ball point but is a wired or wireless mouse (upto 800dpi)......I was think of getting one to replace my tablet....one small thing for European move .... Wacom tablet has tablet, mouse and pen.....so cutting down on items a little at a time.

nikos

Logitech MX revolution

cdonovan wrote:

I am doing some christmas shopping for myself this week, and wondered what yer suggestions may be for a few different items!

I am looking for a new mouse, one that's photo edit friendly and most of all comfortable to use..
i have a medium sized hand! I was at business depot today and saw a new mouse with a bunch of wheels and rollers on it
here it is
http://www.it-enquirer.com/main/ite/more/logitech_mx_revolution/

I am also shopping around for the battery grip for the rebel xt and wondered if you could give me some pros and cons if there are any.

After the new year I am going to purchase a very basic laptop, I have external memory drive, and the laptop will be to take to shows, and shoots just to help store the pictures and run a slide show if necessary...I want cheap! But i am wondering if there are any things that i should shop for that will make using the two computers any easier....

I picked up the Logitech MX Revolution a couple of days ago from Best Buy that had it for $80.00. Thus far, I'm liking it. It's built well, the software is good (Mac OS 10.4.8) and, overall, the mouse is vey responsive & accurate.

I was given a photo-restoration job yesterday and I decided to see what the new mouse can do (for me) as I customized the buttons to the PS CS3 beta. Simply put, the mouse takes a little getting used to, but the customizable buttons & 2 scroll wheels are a great convenience.

I configured the scroll wheels for zooming, scrolling & panning. Pressing the thumb wheel down magnifies the image to 100% and the two thumb buttons increase/decrease the brush size.

I'm going to be giving this mouse a Photoshop workout after Christmas so if anyone's interested, I could put together a much more detailed review.

Nikos

DavidTO

nikos wrote:

I'm going to be giving this mouse a Photoshop workout after Christmas so if anyone's interested, I could put together a much more detailed review.

Nikos

Yes! We could put it up on our review site.


I'm late to the game with advice for xmas, but here's my 2cents: Wacom tablet, for sure. There are things you just cannot do without a stylus. There are also things that you cannot do WITH a stylus, which is why they give you a mouse, too. For what we do, I don't see the need for anything more than the $80-100 Graphire. It's fine. You don't need bigger (you may like it, but at the cost delta, meh) and you don't need things like angle sensitivity, or whatever they call it where you can change the angle of the stylus, so that it looks like you're writing with the side of the pencil instead of the point. You get my point. Graphire is fine.

hgernhardtjr

DavidTO wrote:

I don't see the need for anything more than the $80-100 Graphire. It's fine. You don't need bigger (you may like it, but at the cost delta, meh) and you don't need things like angle sensitivity, or whatever they call it where you can change the angle of the stylus, so that it looks like you're writing with the side of the pencil instead of the point.

True ... however ...

The Graphire is my minimum, and highly recommended choice for someone on a tight budget; I have one and use it with my traveling notebook.

But having moved to the Intuos 3 on my main editing computer here at home, I have found that many of its features are very usable, especially if you do artistic painting. To that end, my second "pen" for well over a year is an "airbrush" from Wacom. It fits, feels, and controls virtually like any fine Paasche ink airbrush on my Intuos. You do not get that with the Graphire. While costing a bit more than twice as much, the Intuos is significantly more versitile.

However, for photoediting alone the Graphire is outstanding and mice, even the laser mice such as I have purchased for use in my computer lab due to cost considerations, simply suck. IMHO and personal work-styles of course!

DavidTO

Yep. I was just talking about photo editing. If you're doing anything artistic, step it up.

nikos

Would I benefit from a tablet?
Okay, since we're talking tablets now, I would like your experienced opinion to whether I could benefit from it.

Here's my situation:
I'm a lefty, but have been using a mouse with my right hand from day one (eons ago). Although I'm very quick and accurate with using the mouse right handed, I find that I have a better chance of poking my eye out holding a stylus than drawing a straight line with it.

As for my Left hand, well, I'm a keyboard person (mac thing). I can quickly navigate the keyboard to access photoshop's shortcuts while simultaneously using the mouse with my right hand. I believe that I'm very efficient with this combo, and with the purchase of the new Logitech mouse, I don't have to access the right side of the keyboard anymore due to the customized buttons.

So, my take is that if I invest in a Wacom type tablet, I would definitely have to use my Left hand to hold the stylus -- meaning that I would not have my quick access to the keyboard shortcuts anymore and thus be less efficient.

Is my reasoning flawed or are there any left handed tablet users that benefit greatly from using a tablet.

Nikos

claudermilk

It takes some adjustment time, but you will still find the tablet better. My arrangement is Tablet-Keyboard-Mouse and I just move from one to the other as needed, so Left on the table & right on the keyboard for PS editing, then shift to left on the keyboard & right on the mouse for other work. After a while it becomes natural.

cdonovan

So my graphire4 6x8 is sitting here just waiting to be used...bluetooth enabled, and i don't have bluetooth in my pc...so I have had to wait to use it:cry Our stores are closed on boxing day here so just staring listfully at it, and reading everything i can in the meantime! stores open tomorrow (thank god)

Thanks to everyone for your suggestion and pointing me towards the tablet! my photog friends are jelous of my new toy!!!

jdryan3

DavidTO wrote:

Yep. I was just talking about photo editing. If you're doing anything artistic, step it up.

My main question is how much better is the Graphire for doing selections (magnetic lasso or whatever) than the mouse? For the paintbrush when masking? I use the Logitech Cordless Trackman FX and love it - all fingertip motion - except for those selections.

And what do you think the mouse is better for?