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Hi folks,
I'm going to be buying a Wacom tablet & pen pretty soon, but i'm not sure which to go for. I use a fancy Ituos4 at work and I don't like it - the extra buttons/screens on the tablet are pointless and I disabled them straight away - I don't want to waste money on functions I don't need - I've also had to resort to taping a sheet of clear plastic over the surface to stop the nibs wearing down so quickly - hardly ideal. They're also very expensive (A5 is nearly £300!). Ideally I'd like an Intuos3 but they don't make them anymore, and I don't want a 2nd hand one....

I guess basically what I want to know is: Are the cheaper models (like the Bamboo) any good, bearing in mind I'm going to be using it for professional purposes? Anybody here got one?

Here's an unrelated fact: Adam Hughes, up until a few years ago, did all of the colouring on his covers using a 14" CRT monitor and a mouse.

-pj

Mine's about 8 years old and cost £85 and the actual 'working area' of the pad I guess is about A6. The whole thing is about 200mm square. I didn't know at the time that there were bigger ones (Bought it in Dixons). It's worked fine for me ever since, and I work up to A1 size for some clients. Comes with a mouse too. I dream about the new flashy ones from time to time but, to be honest, this one works well so I see no real need to update.

Co-signed. I have a bottom-of-the-line Wacom Bamboo, which I use for colouring.

I sometimes wonder if having a better tablet would improve my ability to draw with the pen on-screen, but given my working practices, I see no real need to take the plunge and buy a new one.

Darned handy things, though!

Anyone else got any advice?

I've been more than happy with my Wacom. Intuos3 A4 - Awesome bit of kit.
I have never regretted spending the £314 out of my redundancy money, I don't think any of the work I have done in the past two years would have been possible without it...

Unless you're buying a second hand one from a total pillock, I really can't see what could have gone wrong with it... all the pens and mice are still available as spares pretty easily - I've had to replace a mouse (pretty poor build quality) but I got that really easily off ebay.

It's scary getting expensive secondhand equipment off ebay, I bought an A3 scanner earlier in the year (reconditioned) again, totally happy with it, I totally understand your reservations though!

If it was me, I think I'd be looking at the Intuos4... I'd love a Cintiq, but that ain't happenin' until I earn some real money!

I doubt any of that helped in the slightest. Good luck with what you decide...

I did a stint in an office recently and all they had were Bamboos.
I didn't like them at all. Dinky. Felt like a cheap Christmas toy.

Mostly used for design work I think but if you're gonna be drawing for any length of time I wouldn't recommend.

(I had to bring in my battered, sellotaped, cigarette burnt, museum piece Intous2 A3 Wacom to get anything done - which went down well in their swanky office)

I think it's a false economy to get a Bamboo. When this one dies I'll be looking for a second hand Intous2 or 3. They do last.

And I agree: who wants Buttons, Bells and Whistles on a drawing pad? (answer, designers, with their bamboos)

I asked Alex Ronald on his Wacom of choice:

http://alexronald68.blogspot.com/2010/01/vamires-suck.html?showComment=1263575569596#c5302942525784773438

Cheers guys, very helpful - looks like I'll be going with an Intuos, then - either try for a second hand 3, or try and get a discounted 4 through work.

I use a A5 Intuos 3 which I got after using a Trust (cheap!) tablet for a couple of years. I immediately noticed the difference and improvements the Intuos bought.

I may be looking at a big fat redundancy payout soon and I'm thinking of blowing a grand on a Cintiq. If I do I'll sell you my Intuos 3.

Maybe have a look to see if there are any refurbished models out there?  That's how I tend to get my tech in order to get the best quality possible on a budget.
I have an old wacom tablet about A6 sized - it's brilliant but I can't remember the model name. Certainly not a Bamboo...

Ack! this thread is officially bad for my budget!

I've been crunching numbers today - I won't be able to safely afford a better quality tablet until next year. Curses!

Still, I ought to graduate to using two monitors this year - and the ol' hard drive needs upgrading...

For three years I've originated all my artwork/graphics/lettering on the computer screen using a Wacom Intuos tablet. It has saved me so much time and pain. I was about ready to give up on illustration altogether because my drawing paper & ink could not withstand any more erasures. The Wacom stylus feels more comfortable than a pen or brush (like painting on velvet with velvet).

My art is now not only produced much faster, but I've been able to develop techniques impossible previously.

Appendice to my past reply:

The Wacom Cintiq may look incredibly impressive (for that price it should damn well be), but it can cause terrible strain on the forearms and wrist because they are angled upwards.

Unlike some standalone drawing boards, the Cintiq has to sit on a table which may often have a fixed height (and reliant upon office rather than draftmen's chairs). I did own a Samsung variant of the Cintiq and had to sell it after suffering these problems. It was so uncomfortable I had to use my right hand to push up off the table to relieve the stress on my left (drawing) hand.

With all the touch-sensitive monitors coming into being in the next few years, the prices of all these stylus-driven technologies will start to plummet (thank God for when my Intuos 3 breaks down!).

I'm lucky enough to use a Cintiq for work and have to say my back is as bad as it was when i had an Intuos and monitor.  :)

The Cintiq has it's advantages but the ones out at the mo do have a feel of first run tech. They can have sudden lag and the calibration can be all over the joint especially when you find yourself working to the edge of the screen.

I switch between that and my Intuos A5 at home quite easily the only thing i miss if the scale of the monitor space the Cintiq gives me. If i was to change back tommorow i can't see a reason for any drop in production.

As stated before the price of these will plummet when the new touch screen monitors become the norm and i can't wait for Cintiqs with dual touch technology as i feel that will be when they really come into their own.

Quite so, Dunk. My Samsung monitor relied on a a battery-driven stylus; it needed an hour's recharge for every three hours usage, and during that last hour the cursor shot all over the screen (it always happened when in the middle of a very tricky illustration).

I thought my Intuos 3 was having the same problems (jerky cursor) until I realised my wireless keyboard and mouse could sometimes run interference.

I enjoy the Intuos 3 because of the way you can almost handle it as a drawing pad (and the large drawing surface). The lead is very long, and depending how well I feel when drawing (I have a bad back, disposition towards RSI AND chronic fatigue), I can either lean back and position it at an angle against the desk's lip, or slump over it flat with the desk. The keyboard shortcuts mean I can leave the keyboard stored under the monitor out of the way, and the stylus practically replaces the mouse.

I was wondering, since this is the only Tablet thread the search bar led me to, if you chaps had any advice on using the tablets. With traditional drawing I'm alright, but I can't draw with the tablet at all.

Cheers, nev.

Quote from: nev on 11 March, 2010, 06:08:22 PM
I was wondering, since this is the only Tablet thread the search bar led me to, if you chaps had any advice on using the tablets. With traditional drawing I'm alright, but I can't draw with the tablet at all.

First question: where do you have the tablet, in relation to your monitor and keyboard? For years, I had mine where my mouse-mat would normally be, and then one day I noticed how D'israeli had drawn himself using his:



I don't know if that's completely bleeding obvious to everyone else, but that straight line of sight across hand-tablet-monitor was a revelation to me.

Cheers

Jim

I have decided on an Intuos4 - I can get one through work at a discount. I'm still not 100% happy with the Intuos4 and it's insanely rough surface texture which wears down nibs alarmingly quickly  >:(.

Putting down a layer of clear plastic alleviates the problem almost completely, but does affect the sensitivity of the tablet a bit - hardly ideal, but don't really see another option, and at least the glossy black finish will match my new computer, printer/scanner and speakers!

QuoteI was wondering, since this is the only Tablet thread the search bar led me to, if you chaps had any advice on using the tablets. With traditional drawing I'm alright, but I can't draw with the tablet at all.

Practice practice practice ;). To be honest, I don't use the Wacom to draw as such, I use it only for colouring and corrections. I don't like the look of a lot of digital inking and wholly digital art - and prefer the tactile feel of drawing by hand.

Quotewhere do you have the tablet, in relation to your monitor and keyboard? For years, I had mine where my mouse-mat would normally be

I don't know if that's completely bleeding obvious to everyone else, but that straight line of sight across hand-tablet-monitor was a revelation to me.

I have things laid out in a similar way to the illustration - my work system doesn't even have a mouse plugged in!

Thanks Jim, I didn't think of that. It was lying next to my keyboard, what a fool I was.

And to radiator, I assumed that would be the best thing to do :)

Mine sits next to my laptop on the right, rotated slightly clockwise (about 20 degrees).

I suppose if I worked at a desktop my keyboard might sit to my left with the tablet in front of me but it works for me like this. When I set up my workspace if it's been cleared away the first thing I do is draw a straight line down by hand to make sure I've got my angle correct.

Necro thread alert. I'm thinking about getting a tablet reasonably near future and was wondering what you would suggest. My top end budget will only be a measly £150 so I'm thinking about a Bamboo (gasp) Pen and Touch.

Will this be suitable for colouring and/or inking? I really don't have the slightest clue (tablet virgin).

The Bamboo's fine. One thing, though: turn off the touch aspect, because it's utter bollocks.

I use the bamboo, too. It's a nice, cheap but quality, tablet. ;)

I got a tablet related question here:

I've recently taken to using a two monitor set up. One screen is the one on my laptop, and the other is an outboard TFT monitor that I've borrowed.

Now what I like to do is have Photoshop open on one screen, with all the toolbars, palettes and settings windows on the other.

BUT... using my Wacom Bamboo, I've noticed that I no longer get to use the whole tablet to work on the main screen - it's as if the working area is split between both screens. So to work on the main screen, I have to awkwardly work on one side of the tablet.

This ain't what I want. Anyone know how I can work it so that the tablet works on just one of the screens?

Am I making sense?

Gonna have to help us out with some more specifics: Mac OS or Windows? Versions? Drivers up to date?

This is definitely not the expected behaviour, so it should be entirely possible to sort it out...

Cheers!

Jim

I've got a wacom volito bit basic but it was cheap (£30out of tesco a couple of years ago ) never really started using it until recently,so it serves it's purpose until i'm more proficient with it and manga studio and photoshop.


filip

@Jim: Actually, by default, what HdE's seeing is precisely what the standard Wacom driver is designed to do. However, in the Mac version (and I assume the Windows version too), you can update this:

- Go into the Wacom/Bamboo preferences, and select 'Pen';
- Under 'Tracking', check 'Pen Mode' and click 'Details';
- Change the 'Screen Area' to a specific monitor, rather than having it set to 'All Screens'.

Jim, Indigo - you guys are my heroes tonight! Thanks.

I'll try out what you suggested tomorrow, Indigo.

Just in case there are any unforeseen problems, though, I'll answer Jim's questions:

I'm working in Windows, with the default drivers and software that came with my Bamboo tablet.

I'm a complete donkey when it comes to updating drivers and things. I just never think to do it.

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 13 September, 2010, 12:31:59 AM
@Jim: Actually, by default, what HdE's seeing is precisely what the standard Wacom driver is designed to do.

I knew you could map the tablet to either of two displays on a dual set-up, but I'm genuinely astonished that anyone at Wacom thought that was a good idea for the default set-up.

Cheers

Jim

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 13 September, 2010, 08:18:44 AMI knew you could map the tablet to either of two displays on a dual set-up, but I'm genuinely astonished that anyone at Wacom thought that was a good idea for the default set-up.

It does seem odd, but maybe it's to enable you to access all your content or something. Still, it's easy to change. I just wish the Bamboo's touch sensors weren't utter bollocks, because having a device with the capabilities of the Magic Trackpad *and* snap-to stylus-based nav would be fab. As it is, the Bamboo's still a decent tablet, but it sucks as a trackpad. (I can't imagine there are many happy Bamboo Touch owners out there—at least not ones who've ever used an Apple trackpad of any kind.)

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 13 September, 2010, 10:59:15 AM
because having a device with the capabilities of the Magic Trackpad *and* snap-to stylus-based nav would be fab.

I'll admit that before I flogged my Cintiq, I kept thinking -- if I could do multi-touch rotate, pan and zoom with my left hand on the screen while using the pen in my right, this would really be the dog's danglies. (Not that this capability would have remedied my other issues with the thing, but never mind...)

Cheers!

Jim

Oddly enough, that set-up never even occurred to me. Interesting.

Probably worth mentioning that my Bamboo is the older version without the crappy 'touch' functions.

I really didn't see any point to the introduction of those features - after reading a magazine review where the tablet got raved over, I came a way thinking 'yeah, but how does that stuff help an artist?'

It doesn't, but then these are ultimately consumer devices. Wacom's pushing them as mouse replacements. This is how I use mine, and I'd love it if the Wacom was as good as the Magic Trackpad from Apple, but it's not. Therefore, I turn off the touch stuff on the Wacom, use the stylus for everything, and lose the multitouch gestures.

You know, I'd actually not considered that.

Yoinks! I don't think I could cope with the idea of NOT using a mouse with a computer. That must mean I'm officially 'past it'.

So the general consensus is that the Bamboo is worth a punt but to stay away from the touch functionality? I really want to have a go at digital inking plus I think a graphic tablet can only improve my attempts at colouring, so is a Bamboo going to allow me to do these things with any level of success?

It should be fine. I've used a Wacom for a decade now, and for all tasks, not just art stuff. I suffer from RSI, and the Wacom enables me to do computery things without pain. About 30 minutes with a mouse is enough to revert.

Yup. Likewise. I barely ever touch a mouse now. I find the Wacom much easier (with the exception of scrolling web pages). In fact at one place I recently worked I had to take my tablet and pen in as I found it awkward to use a mouse. Only kept this up for a few days though as my Wacom is A3 so was too much hassle.

Not sure why some artists tilt the Wacom on the edge of their desk. I find it easier to use flat.

Also suffered from some RSI but Wacom tablet solved that.

I also use a bamboo and I agree about the uselessness of the buttons but this is definitely a good product. Plus, if you look after digital inking, try to use this small fellow together with Manga Studio ( Thanks Jim for making me discovering it ! ) and it will change your life ( cause you'll get less stressed while inking and give a bit of rest to your nerves ;°]).

Thanks for all the advice before guys. Much appreciated. I'm now trying to decide between :

Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch - http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/bamboo_pen_touch.php
Genius G-Pen MZ712X - http://www.geniustablet.com/p-10360-G-Pen-M712X
Aiptek 14000u - http://www.aiptek.eu/index.php?option=com_product&task=view&productid=152&Itemid=540

All have their positives and negatives. My top end budget really has to be about £100, so I had to rule out the Wacom Intuos. I want to use it for colouring, having a go at digital inking and possibly font creation.

Also, I'm using a Windows Vista laptop with an Intel Core2 Duo 1.5ghz with 2 GB ram. I'm not sure of the graphics card but it's not great. I will be hopefully getting a new laptop in the near future though so that shouldn't be a massive issue.

So, which would you guys suggest?

I'd go for the Wacom, purely on the basis of reliability and the fact I've had several in the past that have worked well.

I bought an Aiptek a few years ago - it was shit.

Stick to Wacom. Despite my gripes with the Intuos4 they are pretty much the only serious tablet manufacturer.

Yeah, I was a bit wary about the Aiptek as I couldn't find many reviews plus I think it's about four years old. Saying that, the reviews I did find were mainly positive.

Decided to go with Wacom. Will be receiving a shiny new Bamboo Pen and Touch a week from now (my burfday... Huzzah!) unless my parents decide to surprise me with a Cintiq.

I can dream...

I'm considering getting one of these, but the thing is, I'm running Ubuntu. Does anyone know if there are any serious issues with wacom and linux? I've done a wee bit of research, and it is supported, I'd just like to know if anyone else has ever used a tablet of any kind with linux and what they thought of it.

Hi guys i need some advice on which is a good one to start with
While looking for a new scanner noticed there was a couple of tablets which were not much steeper, but looking back on this thread i gather 'Trust' aren't that much cop? (Nice big drawing area tho)
John Caliber here suggested Intuos, is this the same as Bamboo?
Or should i just get another scanner?

Cheers

Chi

Babmoo are a good cheap Wacom.. Great place to start

Intuous 3 or above even better but more expensive

Personally I wouldn't buy any brand except for Wacom* - they are the market leaders, and with good reason.

*Intuos and Bamboo are both types of Wacom tablet.

Hi again been looking at some Wacom Bamboos
what are the significant dffferences between
One, Pen, & Pen & Touch
other than price, drawing area?
If anyone  has any experience of these i'd appreciate any advice

Cheers

Chi

Pen has no touch support and supports fewer pressure levels than Pen & Touch. Bamboo One has a similarly limited support for pressure (512 levels) and also lacks control buttons.

Pen & Touch has touch support (like a laptop trackpad), although it's awful in use, but has support for more pressure levels (1024).

If you've a very limited budget, get the Pen from Amazon (£40), otherwise go for the Pen and Touch or the 'Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch - Small'.

Cool cheers
Like Chillipenguin thinking about going digital with the inking so that's pretty much all i need to go with new Manga Studio
Hopefully this should speed my shit up! (Fukn needs it!)

Cheers

Chi