The Best Wacom Tablet for Photographers in 2020

In this review, I will show you the differences between the Wacom Intuos Pro, Wacom Intous, and the One by Wacom. This was created specifically for photographers since we don’t need all of the high-end features for the simple things we would be using a tablet for. In the video, I go in-depth into all the physical differences and how they all perform. I’m very impressed with all of them and sum up the pros and cons of each below.

Wacom Intuos Pro

Pros

  • Extra space for your hand to rest, making it the most comfortable to use.
  • Six programmable buttons that are easy to access.
  • Pen is extremely comfortable to use, has a larger squishy rubber grip.
  • Bluetooth worked well for me with no lag.

Cons

  • Expensive (around $250)
  • Slightly large and heavy so not the best for travel

Wacom Intuos

Pros

  • Four programmable buttons
  • Affordable ($80 without Bluetooth, or $100 with Bluetooth)
  • Small and lightweight so great for travel
  • Pen holder sleeve, good for travel again
  • Option for Bluetooth to work wirelessly
  • Pressure sensitivity is perfectly adequate for photographers
  • The pen feels pretty good in the hand, has a slightly rubbery grip, but not nearly as nice as the pro.

Cons

  • Buttons are slightly awkward to use since they are on the top.

One by Wacom

Pros

  • Extremely affordable ($60)
  • Small and lightweight
  • Pen holder sleeve
  • Pressure sensitivity is perfectly adequate for photographers

Cons

  • No option for Bluetooth
  • Pen feels cheap and is not comfortable to use for long periods

Conclusion

  • I would recommend the Intuos with Bluetooth for most photographers. It has some shortcut buttons, works wirelessly, and is so small and lightweight that you can easily travel with it.
  • The best value is the Wacom One, it’s not fancy but it gets the job done.
  • If you have the extra money to spend and only plan to use your tablet in your office, go for the Intuos Pro.
  • Size – Most photographers will want to stick with the small size. You might want a medium if you have dual monitors.

Full Disclosure – B&H Photo loaned me these tablets to review, but I keep my reviews unbiased and will always tell you if I didn’t like something! I ended buying the Intuos Bluetooth for myself (and a teal one for Jennifer). The links in this review are affiliate links which help support us in continuing these types of reviews and does not cost you any extra. Thank you for the support!

About the author Exploring Exposure

David is a professional landscape and nature photographer originally from Loveland, Colorado who is now traveling the American West full-time in an RV with his photography and life partner Jennifer Renwick, and their two cats.

David has published an eBook called Nightscape and has in-depth videos on post processing. David and his partner Jennifer Renwick find joy in teaching others photography in their photography workshops, and through their blog.

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  1. Excellent post. Thanks for sharing……….
    Wacom is pretty expensive, I suggest any XP-Pen tablet. I started off with the XP-Pen Star G640 : https://www.xp-pen.com/product/51.html , it’s fine with both photo editing and digital drawing. The tablet is really good. The overall build quality is excellent, the tablet is responsive, and it just looks really nice to have.

  2. Hi David,

    Thanks for your thorough review! In addition to photo editing, I’m curious how the tablets do with handwriting, or mocking up diagrams, say on a PDF file or in PowerPoint. I’m asking because, with COVID, I find myself teaching/interacting online quite frequently, and wanting something better than my mouse. Does the Wacom stylus+pad result in natural handwriting, like the iPad pencil? Many thanks for your insight.

    Cheers,

    Justin

    1. Hey Justin, you will find the tablet is light years better than a mouse for this type of use! It’s probably not quite as natural as the apple pencil since you are not writing directly on the screen, but I think you will enjoy it.

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