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Elohim
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High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 2:15 pm

Hi All,

I've got a friend who does a lot of artwork on his computer and wanted to get him a nice mouse for his birthday. He currently uses a cheap Logitech mouse from the local Wal-Mart store.

I was wondering if those of you here who use your mouse to draw in things like Adobe Illustrator could recommend something for me to get him. I'm looking to spend in the $50 - $100 range as far as money goes.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!
 
titan
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 2:33 pm

You might want to look at getting him a tablet instead of a mouse. Many artists seem to prefer that instead. I can't make any recommendations though as I lack experience with those devices.
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randomtask
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 2:36 pm

There is nothing wrong with a cheap mouse for an artist. A mouse is pretty much a mouse. Expensive mice are generally geared toward gaming. they have removable weights and very fast optical sensors. The slow plodding of tracing or pen work can be performed just as well with a cheap logitech mouse. I prefer a cheap mouse to more expensive mice... cheap mice are smaller and easier to work with for photoshop and they aren't covered with buttons that you inevitably accidentally hit and do something you didn't intend to do... like page back.

I have a laser notebook mouse i like a lot, but i don't find it to be more sensitive / accurate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826104084

I have a razor gaming mouse and i prefer using the old BJ series logitech for graphics work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826153028
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/ ... 2_66924416 (best mouse ever)

so an expensive mouse probably won't help.

a wacom tablet will.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823100047
 
firestorm02
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 2:47 pm

He should start using a tablet, wacom's are really the bees knees.

If he really is a true mouser then a gift certificate is your best bet. Using a mouse for drawing is very dependent on individual preferences and drawing style. My self, I use a cheap $10 OEM logitech mouse for 3d model building & CAD as I prefer it over more expensive mice.
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ssidbroadcast
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 3:22 pm

I am going to join the chorus of "get a tablet" advice. I recommend Bamboo. (too lazy to google it now)
 
JdL
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 3:34 pm

As a designer myself, I have tested many and prefer the Logitech VX Revolution or MX Revolution. I've tried many other logitech models and without question, the precision and control that these both afford cannot be compared.

I also do FPS gaming (heavy mouse work). On even the best 50-player-plus servers, my scores usually look like 100, while the next closest guy to me is only in the 70's.
JdL
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Elohim
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 3:57 pm

Wow, lots of input and all of telling me tablet and forget the mouse. Problem is he does have a Wacom tablet. So.... next question for you guys.

He currently uses a 22inch wide screen Acer monitor. The specs for which can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009102.

My friend, his wife, and I run a small business and he does the artwork for us. We can right off some or all of a new monitor purchase for him. I've heard that some monitors are MUCH better for color reproduction than others. Can I get a reccomendation for a monitor for him from someone here?

Thanks!
 
mattsteg
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 4:04 pm

Elohim wrote:
Wow, lots of input and all of telling me tablet and forget the mouse. Problem is he does have a Wacom tablet. So.... next question for you guys.

He currently uses a 22inch wide screen Acer monitor. The specs for which can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009102.

My friend, his wife, and I run a small business and he does the artwork for us. We can right off some or all of a new monitor purchase for him. I've heard that some monitors are MUCH better for color reproduction than others. Can I get a reccomendation for a monitor for him from someone here?

Thanks!

HP 2475. Maybe that dell s-ips that was in hot deals recently if it's still on sale. Disclaimer: I own neither but would buy the HP if I was to buy a display right now. If color's a concern, you really should get a colorimeter and use it as well. We're well beyond mice, now.
...
 
titan
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 6:50 pm

He'd probably really like a 30" monitor.
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MadManOriginal
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 7:26 pm

mattsteg wrote:
Elohim wrote:
Wow, lots of input and all of telling me tablet and forget the mouse. Problem is he does have a Wacom tablet. So.... next question for you guys.

He currently uses a 22inch wide screen Acer monitor. The specs for which can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009102.

My friend, his wife, and I run a small business and he does the artwork for us. We can right off some or all of a new monitor purchase for him. I've heard that some monitors are MUCH better for color reproduction than others. Can I get a reccomendation for a monitor for him from someone here?

Thanks!

HP 2475. Maybe that dell s-ips that was in hot deals recently if it's still on sale. Disclaimer: I own neither but would buy the HP if I was to buy a display right now. If color's a concern, you really should get a colorimeter and use it as well. We're well beyond mice, now.


The HP is nice but it's wide gamut (aRGB) so he'll have to be careful about color management and which programs he uses. A calibrator is also recommended for serious professional work.
 
firestorm02
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 13, 2009 8:01 pm

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=65951

BTW I have had mine for aboot a week, and it is to die for. Keep in mind this is prob the best IPS (E-IPS) for under $400 CAD, the next step up is 7-800 HP or Samsung panels.
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JdL
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Thu May 14, 2009 8:50 am

MadManOriginal -- wide gamut is a good thing (you make it sound bad almost).

titan: 30" is pretty big. A decent 24" model with 1920x1200 resolution is plenty to get work done on -- I actually went from 2 20" monitors at 1680x1050 each to a single 24" 1920x1200 and I am more than comfortable.

I personally have a Gateway FHD2400 with 92% color gamut (standard displays are ~70% or less; laptops are generally ~50%), and although it is a TN panel, I love it.

I would highly recommend the DoubleSight DS-265W, which is a good 26" and has both high color gamut and an IPS panel! At $399 it cannot be beaten. It's been one of the most talked about displays, and I've heard nothing but good things. If I had to get a new screen, that would be it.
JdL
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mattsteg
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Thu May 14, 2009 11:29 am

JdL wrote:
MadManOriginal -- wide gamut is a good thing (you make it sound bad almost).
It's very important that you understand what you are doing when using a wide-gamut display. If under incorrectly it can be a (very) bad thing. if you're developing for the web, most people are going to have normal gamut displays vaguely approximating sRGB. Unless you profile your display, understand color spaces, and are careful about color management, you can easily end up releasing stuff to the world that looks far different to them than it does to you. Conversely, unless you are careful about it, a lot of stuff from other people will look substantially more saturated than it should. If you select a wide gamut display, you need to be very careful about color management, as your display device does not match what most people use and is far removed from the default assumptions made by uncalibrated display systems.
...
 
MadManOriginal
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Thu May 14, 2009 12:26 pm

JdL wrote:
MadManOriginal -- wide gamut is a good thing (you make it sound bad almost).

titan: 30" is pretty big. A decent 24" model with 1920x1200 resolution is plenty to get work done on -- I actually went from 2 20" monitors at 1680x1050 each to a single 24" 1920x1200 and I am more than comfortable.

I personally have a Gateway FHD2400 with 92% color gamut (standard displays are ~70% or less; laptops are generally ~50%), and although it is a TN panel, I love it.

I would highly recommend the DoubleSight DS-265W, which is a good 26" and has both high color gamut and an IPS panel! At $399 it cannot be beaten. It's been one of the most talked about displays, and I've heard nothing but good things. If I had to get a new screen, that would be it.


No offense but you sound like a 'moar higher number = better' sucker for marketing without understanding what it really means. What mattsteg wrote is correct....wide gamut isn't inherently bad but it's not inherently good either. For print artists it's useful, for non-color aware apps it makes colors look blown out or oversaturated. That may or may not bother an individual but it doesn't change the fact. I have the LP2475W btw ;) so I know first hand.
 
Kurkotain
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Thu May 14, 2009 12:39 pm

any calibrator you would care to recommend?
Asus x83vm-x1, that's my main system: p8400, nvidia 9600m gs, 4g ddr2 (currently 2)
 
JdL
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Tue May 19, 2009 10:28 pm

MadManOriginal wrote:
JdL wrote:
MadManOriginal -- wide gamut is a good thing (you make it sound bad almost).

titan: 30" is pretty big. A decent 24" model with 1920x1200 resolution is plenty to get work done on -- I actually went from 2 20" monitors at 1680x1050 each to a single 24" 1920x1200 and I am more than comfortable.

I personally have a Gateway FHD2400 with 92% color gamut (standard displays are ~70% or less; laptops are generally ~50%), and although it is a TN panel, I love it.

I would highly recommend the DoubleSight DS-265W, which is a good 26" and has both high color gamut and an IPS panel! At $399 it cannot be beaten. It's been one of the most talked about displays, and I've heard nothing but good things. If I had to get a new screen, that would be it.


No offense but you sound like a 'moar higher number = better' sucker for marketing without understanding what it really means. What mattsteg wrote is correct....wide gamut isn't inherently bad but it's not inherently good either. For print artists it's useful, for non-color aware apps it makes colors look blown out or oversaturated. That may or may not bother an individual but it doesn't change the fact. I have the LP2475W btw ;) so I know first hand.


Funny how people say "no offense" and then go on to say something offensive.

Wide color gamut is inherently good. Period. It's ridiculous that you would suggest otherwise -- and quite offensive to anyone in the design profession. Going from a narrow color gamut to a wide color gamut is like going from iron sights to a 24x zoom scope on a rifle. OF COURSE you are going to be more careful.

Only idiots release their graphics to the web without first testing on more than one screen. I test on many different monitors (not including my iPhone and other mobile devices), with color gamuts ranging from the 30% to 120%. The 15" Samsung 151v is by far the worst quality, with my T40 and T60 coming in second place. The best screens are my FHD2400 and new Dell XPS16 laptop, and I have three middle-of-the-road screens: Dell 2001, Samsung 22", and an Acer 22" model.

For print, it's a whole different ball game. Because monitors only understand RGB values and 99% of pro printers are CMYK, good designers HAVE to get proofs printed to check their colors. When I design for print, I'm not as concerned about the colors that appear on the screen as I am about choosing the proper PANTONE or CMYK equivalents and especially ensuring that the gradients are smooth. The choice of print material also impacts color reproduction; colors tend to fade on matte paper and greys are often too light. On glossy paper its the opposite -- high contrast, high saturation.

Technical stuff aside, if you were to take anyone and compare, side-by-side, a screen with 72% color gamut, and a screen with 90% gamut or better, I GUARANTEE that they would prefer the one with 90%+ better.
JdL
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mattsteg
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Re: High Quality Mouse for an Artist

Wed May 20, 2009 8:23 am

JdL wrote:
Funny how people say "no offense" and then go on to say something offensive.

Wide color gamut is inherently good. Period.
No, it's not. It might inherently have the possibility to be better in certain ways, but that doesn't necessarily make it "inherently good".
JdL wrote:
It's ridiculous that you would suggest otherwise -- and quite offensive to anyone in the design profession. Going from a narrow color gamut to a wide color gamut is like going from iron sights to a 24x zoom scope on a rifle. OF COURSE you are going to be more careful.
It's not just being more careful. Good hardware profiling becomes much more crucial, as does understanding color management.
JdL wrote:
Only idiots release their graphics to the web without first testing on more than one screen. I test on many different monitors (not including my iPhone and other mobile devices), with color gamuts ranging from the 30% to 120%. The 15" Samsung 151v is by far the worst quality, with my T40 and T60 coming in second place. The best screens are my FHD2400 and new Dell XPS16 laptop, and I have three middle-of-the-road screens: Dell 2001, Samsung 22", and an Acer 22" model.
Checking on multiple screens is good, but having a screen that you can trust is important too.
JdL wrote:
For print, it's a whole different ball game. Because monitors only understand RGB values and 99% of pro printers are CMYK, good designers HAVE to get proofs printed to check their colors. When I design for print, I'm not as concerned about the colors that appear on the screen as I am about choosing the proper PANTONE or CMYK equivalents and especially ensuring that the gradients are smooth. The choice of print material also impacts color reproduction; colors tend to fade on matte paper and greys are often too light. On glossy paper its the opposite -- high contrast, high saturation.
Depending on what's bing printed, there are plenty of RGB output devices, i.e. for photos. There's also soft-proofing that can help. While you may have your ducks in a row and understand how display gamut affects your workflow, that's no reason to gloss over the drawbacks, pitfalls, and potential gotchas associated with them.
JdL wrote:
Technical stuff aside, if you were to take anyone and compare, side-by-side, a screen with 72% color gamut, and a screen with 90% gamut or better, I GUARANTEE that they would prefer the one with 90%+ better.
What are the two displays showing? Are they properly color managed and configured?
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