wrote:
I’m looking for recommendations for a good quality mouse for use in Photoshop. My work consists of restoring antique documents, usually at around 700% magnification where every pixel location is important. Sometimes I’ll have good mouse days, sometimes not. Much seems to depend on the humidity too.
The two button and wheel MS mouse just doesn’t cut it but it’s the only one small enough to fit my hand comfortably. Can’t find anywhere that makes custom-sized ones either.
Has anyone tried the new laser ones meant for gamers? I wouldn’t mind the cost but after a cordless one that died a week later and a few others that weren’t anything wonderful, I hesitate to spend the money and have it sit on a shelf because it doesn’t do what I want.
Any recommendations from dedicated P’shop artists?
I used to use a Wacom Graphire tablet because "everyone" said that you really HAVE to use a tablet with Photoshop. However, I went back to a mouse. Now I am using a gaming mouse, just like you asked about.
A Wacom tablet will give you some things that a mouse won’t. You get to hold the control device like a pen. That is great for artists who have been drawing with a pen for years. It also assumes that mice are hard to learn and use – obviously not true.
Another thing that you get with a tablet is the pressure sensitive activation of your pen. This means that most Photoshop tools will change in size or amount depending on how hard you push down. This can be very sensitive. It can also be a great tool for drawing lines and painting shading that will vary. A wonderful artist’s tool.
However, I don’t draw in Photoshop. I don’t have any skill at drawing on paper either. I use Photoshop for editing photos. I found the pressure sensitive feature really annoying for tools like Rubber Stamp and Healing Brush. Every time I clicked on the spot it was a different and unknown size. I spent a lot of time redoing the last thing I did. I know this has to do with my lack of fine motor control, but that’s why I can’t draw. Every time I click with the mouse, I know exactly what size the brush it going to be. I find that keeping my left hand on the "[" and "]" keys is a much better way of working for me.
The other thing that a tablet will give you is a non-relative mapping to the pointer placement. i.e. The pen location on the tablet is directly related to the pointer location on the screen. If you put the pen down in the lower left of the tablet, the pointer shows up in the lower left of the screen. This gives and artist a more direct connection to the work. It makes them feel closer to doing artwork directly on paper.
This takes some practice and rewiring of the brain before it works smoothly. Well, for me. When I was on the picture doing editing, I got it down pretty well. I was always a bit annoyed that the menus and tools seemed harder to hit. I was never very good at following a deep menu selection. It was particularly annoying for those programs that jumped out of the menu when you missed. Yes, I know I could use the mouse that comes with the tablet, but my brain never cared for that switching back and forth between the relative mapping of the mouse to the direct mapping of the pen.
So, don’t believe those who tell you the only way of working in Photoshop is with a tablet. It seems to be for most people, but not for everyone. I much prefer my mouse.
I just had a Logitech MX700 mouse die on me. Not bad for a year’s worth. It was a cordless that worked very well. I put NiMh rechargeable batteries in it, but I had to change them every 2-3 days. The laser pickup was very good on some surfaces. Shiny mouse pads and my desk’s glossy wooden top were a bit of a problem. The unfilled grain in the wood confused it in the holes. I mostly work on a leather mouse pad anyway and it worked fine there.
I recently got a Logitech G5 corded mouse. It is a gaming mouse that I absolutely love. The pads on the bottom are super slick and it will glide on any surface. It is very light weight; well, after a battery filled cordless anything would be. It comes with weights, if you want it heavier. I like the scroll wheel that I can push sideways to scroll sideways. BTW, this mouse seems to work on every surface that I’ve tried. The mouse isn’t particularly small, but the curved shape seems to make it work for all size hands; it’s just where you put your hand.
The thing I really like is the buttons on the mouse to change the resolution/speed of the mouse on the fly. If I want to do some fine editing, I put it at the slowest speed of 400 dpi. Most of the time I leave it on 800 dpi. The third setting is for 2000 dpi, but it is customizable in the software. At that speed you barely have to move the mouse and the pointer flies around the screen. I haven’t got used to that yet. (That lack of fine motor skills raises its head again.) Even at 800 I mostly use the mouse with my finger tips. I never have to lift the mouse and adjust it at that speed. This has been a feature that I have found to be great. Any mouse in my future will have to have that.
I would highly recommend the Logitech G5 mouse for use in Windows and Photoshop. It’s not for Mac or left handed people though.
Thanks,
Clyde