Wacom intuos 5 touch medium

Questions & answers

Below, you will find customer questions and answers about the Wacom Intuos 5 Pen Medium.

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Wacom is the dominant name in the tablet market – not the touchy-swipey kind, but the pen-based input kind, devices that sit on your desk and serve as tools for pointing and clicking.

The company has just announced a total refresh of its marquee Intuos line, its family of tablets made for professional designers, artists and anyone who uses digital production software.

The big news is that with the Intuos5, Wacom's tablets now fully support multitouch finger gestures. So in addition to using the input stylus of yore, you can put down the pen and scroll, pinch-to-zoom, rotate and pan just like you would on the other kind of tablet, or on one of Apple's Magic Trackpads.

The Intuos5 can handle all the standard Mac and Windows gestures out of the box, but it can also be programmed to support custom gestures. If you want to trick out Photoshop to run some automated action when you tap or swipe in a certain way, the sky's the limit.Intuos5 tablets come in three sizes: small ($), medium ($) and large ($). Each tablet comes with a comfortable Wacom input pen (no battery required), a pen holder that resembles an inkwell and holds extra pen nibs, and a USB cable to attach the tablet to your PC. Also available is a $40 wireless kit (a small USB receiver and a hour battery) that lets you run the Intuos5 free of cables.

Wacom loaned me a medium-sized tablet to test for the month leading up to Thursday's launch. I can say that it's a significant improvement over the previous Intuos4 tablets, as well as a suitable upgrade for those who feel limited by the less-expensive, less-capable Bamboo tablets Wacom makes for consumers. However, while the pen-based input is crisper and more intuitive than ever, the multitouch features aren't quite as refined as those found on a glass interface like the Magic Trackpad or a smartphone's screen.

New features are numerous. You get extremely precise and well-defined pen-based input with 2, levels of pressure sensitivity and up to 60 degrees of tilt recognition. You also get a set of eight programmable function keys along the edge of the tablet to modify your taps and drags, plus a circular touch-sensitive ring for scrolling. These function keys (called "ExpressKeys") have a new heads-up display that appears on screen when you hold your finger on of them for a second, sort of like a cheat sheet. It's helpful when you forget which ExpressKey is mapped to "shift" and which one is mapped to "command."

Treating it as a mouse replacement in a standard desktop environment, it fares much better than the inexpensive ($80) Wacom Bamboo tablet I've been using for the past six months. But where the Intuos5 really shines is in the digital production setting. Inside Adobe Creative Suite, the ExpressKeys are suddenly able to modify brushes, and the toggle button inside the touch-sensitive ring transforms the whole circular assembly into a tool for quickly cycling through layers or tabs on a floating palette. The input pen is a marvel – the sensitivity and responsiveness when you're drawing with it are unmatched.

The addition of multitouch support is also nice here. The Intuos5 can handle all the standard Mac and Windows gestures out of the box, but it can also be programmed to support custom gestures, handling up to five fingers. If you want to trick out Photoshop to run some automated action when you tap or swipe in a certain way, the sky's the limit.

I stuck mostly with the standard gestures during my test, finding the most useful ones to be pinch-to-zoom (especially nice in Photoshop, Google Maps, and when reading PDFs) and swiping up and down to scroll. Basically, anything involving pinching or swiping was aces. But moving the cursor around on the screen using my finger instead of the pen wasn't as precise as I wanted it to be. Tap-to-click finger gestures were cumbersome – I often missed my target. Text selection, double-clicking, right-clicking and drag-and-drop actions were more problematic. One positive thing to note: touch input is disabled when the pen is in use, and the tablet never once got confused about which input method I wanted.

Maybe I'm spoiled by the glass touch interfaces on my other devices, but I found the Wacom's matte black plastic surface to be less sensitive and responsive than I was expecting. I ended up keeping the input pen very close by whenever I switched to using my fingers.

WIRED Addition of multitouch support makes Wacom's most popular input tablet even more capable. Ambidextrous design with the option to go wireless. New heads-up display on the ExpressKeys reminds you of your settings in an instant. All the settings and gestures are customizable. Pen is comfy.

TIRED Touch features lack the accuracy and responsiveness of the input pen. Coated plastic surface doesn't come close to the feel of glass. Smoothness of gesture-based input is inconsistent.

Update: This review was updated to add more details about the multitouch features.

Pros: Coming from a Genius F, this is gonna be fun First of all, I really like it. Wacom got the pen nib catching in corners problem solved fine. Rubber feeling of it is really nice and feels good. Lights on the active area is really good, but more to that. Touch buttons work good and the HUD that appears is quite nice, AND does not appear in livestreams nor videos I do sometimes, completely unexpected, but I really love that. Pen is the same, nothing difference about it really. Touch features are ok to say, but I prefer to keep them off when drawing or so, more on this. Do not have wireless module, so cannot comment on that, usb connection is meh though. Drivers are good and work fine.

Cons: The fun part, but not bashing in total. I really wish it had a USB connection on both sides, it is irritating to route the cable the way I have to, as well i sometimes knock the cable attached to the tablet during strokes or so forth. If it was near the scroll wheel, would be better imo. But I can always buy the wireless module (isn't that expensive), so I am not really gonna QQ over that. Pen nib still gets eaten, just to forewarn on that part still. The feel is nice, but even at lowest pressure, it still grinds faster then I like. I use paper over my tablet, reduced it quite a bit "normal printer paper", still with paper fell without the grinding. Buttons on the side do not have lights, hard to see them in the dark, but finger feeling is there for a reason, so its user end on that. Cannot buy replacement surface films if yours wears down. You have to send for replacement. Be careful with the surface. All of the cons I think.

Overall Review: Quite large to say, larger then I expected in compare to my Genius F They are almost the same size, yet different active area sizes. The touch gets annoying sometimes, esp if I am typing while the pen is in the holder, and accidentally touch the tablet, it click elsewhere Or sometimes the touch Gestures do not work like they should, could be driver, but not saying anything on that. In all, I really love it. But this is my first Intuos, and well thought I would get a Intuos 5 since they just had came out during my time of shopping for one. I do arm strokes for my sketches, so 8x6 was a must, 4x6 was just to small for that. If you have a Intuos 4 and it is still good and all, stick with it unless you REALLY want the touch features or wireless.

You will get:

• Pen
• Pen Base
• USB Cable
• Wacom Tablet

Getting started:

1.) To properly use the Wacom tablet, you must first download the necessary drivers.  This can be done by visiting http://www.wacom.com/en/support/drivers. In the “tablet model” menu, select "Latest Driver for Intuos".

2.) Click “run” and “accept” for the file to properly download.

3.) Plug the USB provided in the box into your computer, and then plug into the right-hand side of the Wacom tablet.

4.) The pen tool can be used to select, double click, right click, and erase using the buttons as follows:

5.) This tablet can also be controled by touch:

Your pointer finger can also be used in place of the pen as a selection tool.

6.) Tapping with three fingers, as seen in the picture above, will display the radial menu, which give you these options:

Radial menu options can be selected using either your pointer finger or the pen.

7.) The buttons on the left-hand side of the tablet have the following functions:

To move between the four option on the dial (auto scroll, circle layers, brush size, and rotate), press the center button. The light at each corner indicates which option is selected.

Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch Features

Key Features

• Pessure sensitive grip pen, pressure-sensitive eraser
• levels of pen pressure, with up to 60 degrees of pen tilt
• Ergonomic design
• Customisable expresskeys, 6 on small, 8 on larger versions
• Expressview display (on screen)
• Multi funtion touch ring
• Multi touch surface
• Active area: x mm
• Overall size: xxmm
• Available in small, medium, large
• 2 year warranty
• Wireless accessory kit available (same wirelss kit is used on the Bamboo and Intuos 5 making it easy to upgrade from the Bamboo to the Intuos 5 if wanted)

Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch Handling

Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch Performance

Wacom Intuos 5 Sample Photos

Value For Money

Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch Verdict

	The Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch makes an excellent product even easier to use.

Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch Pros

Wacom Intuos 5 Pen and Touch Cons

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Dive into your digital image.
Intuos5. The intuitive way to create. Redefined.

The new Intuos5 may impress with sleek design but it diverts all attention to where creativity comes to life: on screen. Once again this pen tablet will redefine the way creatives work, allowing them to focus entirely on the job at hand.

The Intuos5 is equipped with up to eight ExpressKeys which can be configured individually. Fitted with new haptics they enable you to &#;feel&#; the interaction with the computer application and allow you to work even more intuitively. But wait until you have tried the multifunctional Touch Ring – it&#;s incredibly easy and intuitive to use. It features four programmable functions for every application: for instance scrolling, zooming, brush size, canvas rotation or layer selection. As these can be tailored to your requirements work gets faster and more efficient. You only need to hover your finger over an ExpressKey to review the settings on screen via the Express View display. As a result distraction is minimised – and concentration on your creation maximised.

But it doesn’t stop there, as the Intuos5 Grip Pen with 2, pressure levels opens new possibilities for accurate and artistic work. The four different nibs add to the pen-on-paper feel. Additional comfort is provided by the soft-touch surface of the pen tablet. An ergonomic wrist rest makes even longer sessions enjoyable – no matter if you&#;re left- or right-handed.

Also, the radial menu cuts production time for retouching and design through structured and fast access to shortcuts.

Aside from many new technical innovations the Intuos5 offers even more freedom through the optional Wireless Accessory Kit. So, if you are looking for more efficiency, productivity and precision the new Intuos5 is just the right tool for you.

Intuos5 – for the best creatives in the world.

Key features

Focus on your work with the revolutionary Express View display on-screen
Gain new freedom via the optional wireless accessory kit
Deliberate ergonomics: the new soft-touch surface designed for maximum comfort
Highest pen precision: 2, levels of pressure sensitivity and pen tilt for a real pen-on-paper feel
Intuitive: up to 8 individually configurable ExpressKeys with new surface feel
Efficient: multifunctional Touch Ring with 4 freely programmable functions per application
Proven Intuos technology for maximum productivity
Pressure-sensitive grip pen

Reproduce the experience and artistic control of traditional brushes and markers at 2, pressure levels.

Multi-touch surface
Rotate, pan, scroll, zoom, flick, navigate at the touch of your fingers.

Customisable ExpressKeys™

Speed up your workflow using application-specific shortcuts and functions.

ExpressView display

Stay focused on your creation. Easily access and view all settings on your monitor.

Multi function touch ring

Control up to four user-defined functions such as scrolling, zooming, brush size, canvas rotation or layer selection.

Wireless accessory kit available

Just plug in your optional kit for wireless connectivity and enjoy total freedom. Not included in this item.

The size of the Intuos5 M pen tablet marks the most versatile choice among many serious creatives, since it is sufficiently large to be suitable for large monitor or dual-monitor environments, yet still compact enough, so it doesn&#;t take up too much space on the desktop.