# Mouse , Trackball or Tablet ?



## Big W (Jun 7, 2011)

Guys, I am looking to improve my LR workflow, after some great advice on here. 
I have to say its the best forum I have ever used. Its friendly and people are fast to reply / help. Keep up the great work. 

Sorry back to post. I currently use my mouse on my laptop. But wondered if one of the above or anything else might help speed up or make more efficient my workflow. 
I also do some editing in PS5 when needed, so if it can help with that also. That would be great.

Thanks

Wayne


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## clee01l (Jun 7, 2011)

I've never been a trackball fan so I would be the last to recommend it.  I do have a Bamboo Pen & Touch that I use regularly with LR.  It is multi-touch so you get all the advantages and disadvantages of multi-touch on a tablet.  There are times outside of Lightroom when I can't make the multi-touch respond in the way that  I can with a mouse and mouse wheel so when I get frustrated, I pick up the mouse.  I also tend to use the mouse for fine grained adjustments in LR since the mouse is more precise


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## Bosse (Jun 7, 2011)

If you want to be more efficient I´d recommend a tablet in combination with keyboardshortcuts.

To be even more effeicient it is a bonus to be lefthanded like me: tabletpen in left hand and mouse close to my right hand so I can use either (but not at the same time). 
Before i got the tablet I often got a nasty pain in my mousearm shoulder. To much repetitive work for too long.


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## Victoria Bampton (Jun 7, 2011)

Tablet all the way.  It takes a bit of getting used to to start with, but once you do, going back to a mouse feels odd.


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## nu2scene (Jun 8, 2011)

For me a mouse is the last thing I'd want to use for anything. I only used a mouse for about a day, way back when I had my first computer. I felt like I needed a whole desk just to drive the mouse on. And accuracy, forget it. I dumped the mouse within a day, and have been using a trackball up until a few months ago. I bought a new iMac and bought their track pad.

I also have a tablet, which I use if I'm restoring old photos, or retouching in CS5. I'm pretty new to LR, so maybe I don't understand enough, but to me it doesn't seem like LR is made for too much retouching. Editing yes, where you slide the sliders, but I can't see doing major restoration/retouching in LR. I'd think a mouse/trackball would be enough in LR.


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## edgley (Jun 8, 2011)

I ditched the mouse for a trackball a long time ago; gives you an advantage in FPS games too 
I have now switched to the Magic Tackpad, which is pretty damn good.

For LR, I use a Wacom and a Shuttle Pro; great combination.


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