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geekhack Community => Input Devices => Topic started by: MikeTheBboy on Mon, 07 March 2011, 02:38:56

Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: MikeTheBboy on Mon, 07 March 2011, 02:38:56
What do you guys think would be better for photoshop, a trackball or mouse? I'm mostly interested in accuracy (making really small movements). ty
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: mr_a500 on Mon, 07 March 2011, 06:20:49
I've used a trackball for detailed computer art for decades (well... only two) and I say a good trackball blows away a mouse.
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: kill will on Mon, 07 March 2011, 10:33:31
wacom>mouse>balls
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: manfaux on Mon, 07 March 2011, 11:31:17
why not have both?
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: kill will on Mon, 07 March 2011, 12:27:13
you can draw a face or something with a trackball ?

dang thats some upper level processing i cant do.
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: NamelessPFG on Tue, 08 March 2011, 21:31:03
If people can play FPSs of all things with trackballs, then they probably don't have much issue with using a trackball for pixel-precise tasks.

But since you're talking Photoshop, shouldn't you be using a Wacom drawing tablet of some sort? (If not a Tablet PC or Cintiq?)
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: pitashen on Wed, 09 March 2011, 03:55:13
get WACOM if you do a lot of detail touch ups. Its worth the investment.
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: Azuremen on Thu, 10 March 2011, 12:36:55
Wacom if you do drawing, otherwise a mouse is fine for most things in PS if you understand the Pen tool for more peculiar shapes and lines.

I could never get the hang of a trackball for anything, but that is really just what you've spent more time with I'd say.
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: chimera15 on Thu, 10 March 2011, 21:46:18
The problem with most trackballs is that their sensors are way too low res to do any real drawing.  They're great for 3d apps, but not much for photoshop.   My gaming trackball hack isn't that bad since I can up the resolution to over 4k+, this slows the movement way down however and while I can get straight lines with it, it's painful to get a real stroke.  Tablets are really the only good, practical, and efficient way to use photoshop, plus you really need pressure sensitivity which only wacom tablets do well, otherwise you might as well just use mspaint.
Title: trackball vs mouse - photoshop.
Post by: Surly73 on Fri, 11 March 2011, 07:02:34
Quote from: chimera15;309659
The problem with most trackballs is that their sensors are way too low res to do any real drawing.  They're great for 3d apps, but not much for photoshop.   My gaming trackball hack isn't that bad since I can up the resolution to over 4k+, this slows the movement way down however and while I can get straight lines with it, it's painful to get a real stroke.  Tablets are really the only good, practical, and efficient way to use photoshop, plus you really need pressure sensitivity which only wacom tablets do well, otherwise you might as well just use mspaint.


Careful....  One of the comments I thought of making but never posted is that lots of people use Photoshop in different ways.  I use it for Photo enhancement.  This doesn't mean gluing different heads on bodies, it means tweaking curves, fixing blemishes, whitening teeth and that sort of thing.  I had a Wacom for a year and almost never used it so I sold it.  Photo touch up doesn't "require" a tablet at all and can be easily done with a mouse or trackball.

Other people use Photoshop for drawing and illustrating.  Tablets may be ideal for those users.  Photoshop users cannot be lumped into one type of usage.  Often users in one group forget that all the other groups still exist.