Magic Trackpad Photo Editing
Valorie Carlee
Thank you and I use Logitech mouse on windows, though that's a bit irritating with charging too! The recharge doesn't last anything as long as wireless mice with rechargeable AA batteries, more like a couple of weeks rather than three months or so.
Use the intuous pen and tablet for most of your photoshop work. As far as general use in most apps, I prefer the trackpad. It took awhile for me to get used to it after decades of using a mouse, but I would not go back to a mouse now.
I would say that for Word and Excel as you have mentioned in the header, would be a lot easier to navigate using a mouse in comparison to a trackpad, since it's more of like a 'pointer' instead of dragging your finger around, but that depends on personal perference.
The Magic Mouse is an ergonomic abomination. The Magic Trackpad is wonderful. I find it much easier to trace shapes with my finger on the Trackpad (a poor man's tablet) than with any mouse or trackball, and multi-touch gestures are mighty handy.
I have used the mechanical Kensington Orbit trackball for around 15+ years (I own two). Kensington dropped its software support years ago so I use SteerMouse to configure the cursor parameters and program the trackball buttons.
I use the Orbit while resting my wrist on a small gel pad. The index finger does most of the "work" while the thumb and a finger take care of the buttons. Wear and tear on the hand/wrist is nonexistent. I tried using the Orbit model with a scroll ring but it just isn't for me.
My Mom has a Magic Mouse, and I hate it. Since switching to Mac many years ago, I hate all mice, except for gaming. The Magic Trackpad takes up a finite space on your desk, unlike a mouse that you have to move around. Also I use BetterTouchTool, which allows me to create my own gestures, which I use extensively for Lightroom (though not so much for Photoshop, but that's because I do most of my work in LR). I reach for the Wacom whenever I want to do extensive manual masking, painting, etc.
If you're going to use a mouse on a Mac, skip the Magic Mouse and get one of the much nicer offerings from Logitech, Razer (although Razer's software is a PITA on Mac), etc. If you're really used to using a mouse for certain things, get one of those, but I'd still recommend trying the trackpad for general use, then you can reach for the mouse (or wacom) as needed. Only reason I'd use a mouse on my Mac is if I used it for gaming, but I've got a PC for that.
The Orbit is just OK without the gel wrist pad. With the wrist pad the hand naturally drapes over the device with the thumb and 4th finger directly on the side buttons. Most of the weight is transferred to the lower palm of the hand resting on the pad. My arm is supported by my chair armrest.
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I recently ordered a new 27" iMac with the Magic Trackpad. i went with the trackpad because the gesture shortcuts seemed appealing. However I'm not sure how well it will work for editing photos, particularly as it relates to precise selections, painting, and erasing. Does anyone have experience using the trackpad and can provide some insight on how it compares with the mouse for photo editing?
For my photo editing, its magic mouse all the way. I never could dial in the track pad to where I liked it. But it is really a preference thing. I'm sure some here would swear by the Trackpad for photo editing. Me, I got frustrated trying to click and drag and getting mistakes. I gave it a few months then put the Trackpad in a drawer. The real kicker for me was I could never get the Trackpad to balance range of stroke with ability to select exactly what pixels I wanted.
I use both for my iMac and just the mouse for my MBP, have done for years. The built in trackpad however good they are (and the MBP is better than most) are still a phaff when editing, either photos or videos.
Anyone who has spent hours editing their work on a computer will know how painful it can be on your body. While there have been various ergonomic improvements to the mouse over the years, you are still ultimately doing those same repetitive actions which can leave you aching the next day. Graphics tablets are a good alternative to a mouse and have been on the scene for some years now. If like me, you have resisted the idea of making the switch, this video by the team over at B&H Photo Video may just help you to decide if a graphics tablet might be a good idea.
The video features tablets by manufacturer Wacom which if you don't know, is one of the industry-standard makers of graphics tablets. The two tablets mentioned are the Wacom Intuos Pro Creative Pen Tablet ($379.95) and the Cintiq Pro 24 Creative Touch Display ($2,499.95). These tablets are quite different not least in their price tags and the video sets out to explain their differences. It was interesting to learn about the various changeable nibs which can be used in the stylus and how they can affect how the pen reacts with the tablet. My interest was also piqued when I saw how customizable the many buttons on both the pen and tablet are. I think many of us probably use a core handful of tools in our favorite programs and thanks to these programmable buttons could have most of these actions distilled down into a few button presses. This would be much more efficient than trying to memorize various key combinations or wasting time hunting through menus.
The video goes on to demonstrate how a tablet can be used in the context of some food photography images that need to be retouched. One of the two big takeaways from this was seeing how smaller more controlled movements are used on the tablet compared to a regular mouse. The other takeaway was seeing how fast he was able to jump between settings and menus to complete his edit. I'm sure those who have spent long hours using a mouse would be interested in embracing something which could speed up the editing process and also help to minimize wear and tear on their bodies. All-in-all this video is an in-depth look at some of the main features and benefits of using a tablet to edit your photography. I have personally resisted using a tablet in the past because I'm not a fan of change. That really isn't a good enough reason not to embrace new technologies especially if a tablet can help reduce the time sitting in front of a computer. Less editing for me would mean more time doing what I love most and that's taking pictures. After watching this video, I have a much better understanding of the benefits a tablet can have for photographers day-to-day. The fact a tablet can actually replace your mouse means there isn't really a point in having both. I think it could be time for me to say goodbye to my beloved mouse once and for all.
Paul Parker is a commercial and fine art photographer. On the rare occasion he's not doing photography he loves being outdoors, people watching, and writing awkward "About Me" statements on websites...
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