Best Tablet to Use

[Headache]

I was thinking of buying a tablet, so I researched some stuff. Wacom sounds like the best, and my pal uses it and she says she loves it. Too bad she can't remember what Wacom brand she bought, or else I'd buy the same.

I looked for some Bamboo tablets. Cintiq and Intuos are far too expensive (and too big) for me, so I don't think I can have them. Can anybody suggest a Wacom tablet (or any tablet) that has a nice feel to draw on - somewhat paper-like, because I heard using Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch feels like drawing on a dolphin's skin - and has an affordable price?

I'm looking forward for replies, especially from graphic designers and experienced artists.

That's all. Thanks!

[IceD]

Wacom bamboo are quite affordable and nice to work with, but for starters, I'd rather like to suggest some of the Pentagram tablets. Right now I'm using Quadpen and I can't fell the difference beetwen them and bamboo tablets, aside from the price which is cheaper.

Pentagram really did developed and improved their products within the last few years. Their Virtuoso series aim as a counterpart to wacom's expensive Intuos series and offer almost identical quality for half of the price down.

[LVUER]

If you want to use tablet, Wacom is the way to go. It's a bit expensive (compared to other brand), but you won't regret it. Sometimes the software acting up, but it doesn't cause any problem (except you couldn't launch setting program) and restarting your PC will fix the problem.

For a low budget user (like me) and first timer, you should choose Bamboo. Intuos is way too expensive, let alone Cintiq... Oh, BTW if someone offer you Graphire 4 or other series other than Bamboo, be careful since he could be trying to trick you into buying old Wacom series (it happened to me too, thankfully I didn't buy it).

There is Bamboo and Bamboo Fun. Overall they are the same but Bamboo Fun is even better at drawing (of course it's also more expensive). There is two kind of Bamboo Fun. Small and Medium. I strongly suggest you buy Bamboo Fun Medium since Bamboo Fun Small is... too small.

All (new) Bamboo Fun feels like drawing on paper. It's not smooth, very paper-like feeling (I've tried it myself), not like plastic at all. But to be honest, after you wear it due to repeating and long use, the paper feeling will be gone. It's not a problem though, since by then you should have so accustomed to the tablet itself that you won't notice the differences.

[Jake]

I looked for some Bamboo tablets. Cintiq and Intuos are far too expensive (and too big) for me, so I don't think I can have them.

As it goes, I would stick with Wacom regardless - their tablets have the best application support and their drivers are, in my experience, more reliable than their competitors'.

I heard using Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch feels like drawing on a dolphin's skin

Have you ever tried drawing on dolphin skin to check whether or not you like it? I'm not sure I understand what you mean, here... have you actually tried one yourself? That's generally the best way to decide whether you'll like it; see if there's a shop with a demonstrator on display nearby, or whether you know anyone who knows someone who has a tablet you could try.

Personally, I've used several Wacom tablets (Intuos, Graphire and the precursor to the smallest Bamboo), and they all feel pretty much identical to draw on, they all have the same kind of surface. It's the same kind of surface that's been present on every other brand of tablet I've seen, as well.

On the other hand, Wacom will sell you optional alternate tips for your tablet and occasionally optional extra surfaces. I've used the felt nibs, which feel somewhere between felt-tip pens and charcoal, and the stroke nibs, which feel more like writing on paper, to me. There's also a friction overlay available for at least some tablets, which supposedly has a different friction to the default overlay.

Now, on one hand none of these items appear in the Bamboo Pen section on the Wacom site's web-store. On the other hand, however, every Wacom tablet pen I've seen takes the same size nibs and they're easily interchangeable, and the overlays are just plastic sheets with glue along one edge, so I expect it wouldn't be impossible to cut one of the larger Intuos ones to size for a Bamboo tablet if you were that sure it was what you wanted. And actually, because of the way the tablet works, there's actually nothing to stop you taping a bit of paper to the surface of your tablet and drawing on that, if you prefer the feel; the tablet tracks the pen's position even when it's four or five millimetres above the surface, and the pen registers pressure (and communicates it to the tablet) when it's touching anything, not just the tablet surface.



Also:

Oh, BTW if someone offer you Graphire 4 or other series other than Bamboo, be careful since he could be trying to trick you into buying old Wacom series (it happened to me too, thankfully I didn't buy it).

There's nothing wrong with a Graphire 4, it's still a very good tablet, and with the exception of the replacable pen nibs and surfaces, Wacom's equipment very rarely actually breaks or degrades. If you can get a Graphire 4 for less money than a new Bamboo of the same size, then you're probably getting a bargain and unless you're too proud to buy older-model kit, there's no reason not to go for it.

(In fact, I believe that early-model Bamboos were just Graphire 4s in technical terms - meaning that it's still possible to buy a tablet branded 'Bamboo' and get 'old' technology. I think the main difference is 512 levels of pressure-sensitivity on the pen instead of 1024 on the newer tablets, but a quick search didn't find the resolution of the old Graphire 4, so I'm going by memory for that. I can assure you it's still a perfectly serviceable tablet, though, and finding an old-model cheap is a fairly good bet for the beginner on a budget.)

[Sin]

I just got an Intuos4 (M) last week. It's the sleekest device I've ever owned.
I have nothing but good things to say about Wacom's tablets.

I haven't used a Bamboo, but I have two older graphires that served me well. My first wacom (Graphire 2) still works.

[Samu-kun]

I've bought a Bamboo Fun two years ago and it still works pretty well. The only problem with it is that every once in awhile, the driver crashes and I need to restart my computer. (I've heard this problem shared by a lot of other users too)

I'm not sure if you really can make a tablet feel like paper. The way you use it is very different from drawing on paper, so drawing on a tablet is a new skill altogether.

[tigerkidde]

Chiming in here, if you can, grab one of the Bamboo series that others have mentioned above. If you find that the Graphire and Bamboo are the same cost, go for the Bamboo. If the Graphire is significantly less (i.e. 10~20 USD) and you want to give the tablet thing a go, then it might be the best thing to do a trial run on. And if you find you're using the tablet a lot, you may find that an Intuos4 could be worth your while.

Please note that it may be more difficult over time to buy a replacement pen for the Graphire for relatively cheap, so if you do find a Graphire, please make sure that it comes with the pen.

edit: Your tablet may or may not come with some express / light versions of the software. Used models may not have the discs or the activation keys, so if you do not have Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter Essentials, Autodesk Sketchbook Express or one of their suited up versions, then it *may* be worth grabbing the Bamboo.

[LVUER]

@Jake:
Yes, it's not a problem with Graphire 4. It's good and it's robust too (my friend have let his wacom Graphire 4 pen do somersaults in air several times but it's still working properly). The problem is that it's an old model. What I'm afraid is that that person is trying to sell it as a new model. It happens to me and I don't want it happen to anybody else. That's why I say be careful, not "don't buy it". If he tells the truth and say "This is an old model" then that's good, that guy is being honest.

In my case, it's not even Graphire 4 but Graphire 2. And yet he still had the nerve to say that it's the latest model from Wacom. I guess he's lucky I don't sue him for trying to trick me.

[Headache]

I looked for some Bamboo tablets. Cintiq and Intuos are far too expensive (and too big) for me, so I don't think I can have them.

As it goes, I would stick with Wacom regardless - their tablets have the best application support and their drivers are, in my experience, more reliable than their competitors'.

I heard using Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch feels like drawing on a dolphin's skin

Have you ever tried drawing on dolphin skin to check whether or not you like it? I'm not sure I understand what you mean, here... have you actually tried one yourself? That's generally the best way to decide whether you'll like it; see if there's a shop with a demonstrator on display nearby, or whether you know anyone who knows someone who has a tablet you could try.

Personally, I've used several Wacom tablets (Intuos, Graphire and the precursor to the smallest Bamboo), and they all feel pretty much identical to draw on, they all have the same kind of surface. It's the same kind of surface that's been present on every other brand of tablet I've seen, as well.

On the other hand, Wacom will sell you optional alternate tips for your tablet and occasionally optional extra surfaces. I've used the felt nibs, which feel somewhere between felt-tip pens and charcoal, and the stroke nibs, which feel more like writing on paper, to me. There's also a friction overlay available for at least some tablets, which supposedly has a different friction to the default overlay.

Now, on one hand none of these items appear in the Bamboo Pen section on the Wacom site's web-store. On the other hand, however, every Wacom tablet pen I've seen takes the same size nibs and they're easily interchangeable, and the overlays are just plastic sheets with glue along one edge, so I expect it wouldn't be impossible to cut one of the larger Intuos ones to size for a Bamboo tablet if you were that sure it was what you wanted. And actually, because of the way the tablet works, there's actually nothing to stop you taping a bit of paper to the surface of your tablet and drawing on that, if you prefer the feel; the tablet tracks the pen's position even when it's four or five millimetres above the surface, and the pen registers pressure (and communicates it to the tablet) when it's touching anything, not just the tablet surface.



Also:

Oh, BTW if someone offer you Graphire 4 or other series other than Bamboo, be careful since he could be trying to trick you into buying old Wacom series (it happened to me too, thankfully I didn't buy it).

There's nothing wrong with a Graphire 4, it's still a very good tablet, and with the exception of the replacable pen nibs and surfaces, Wacom's equipment very rarely actually breaks or degrades. If you can get a Graphire 4 for less money than a new Bamboo of the same size, then you're probably getting a bargain and unless you're too proud to buy older-model kit, there's no reason not to go for it.

(In fact, I believe that early-model Bamboos were just Graphire 4s in technical terms - meaning that it's still possible to buy a tablet branded 'Bamboo' and get 'old' technology. I think the main difference is 512 levels of pressure-sensitivity on the pen instead of 1024 on the newer tablets, but a quick search didn't find the resolution of the old Graphire 4, so I'm going by memory for that. I can assure you it's still a perfectly servicable tablet, though, and finding an old-model cheap is a fairly good bet for the beginner on a budget.)

I look for reviews on the tablets. Most of them says that the feel of Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch is not that nice compared to other Wacom tablets. There's this one guy who says it's like writing on a dolphin's skin, so I quoted his words.

And Jake, are you serious about the paper-on-tablet bit? I didn't know you can still draw using a tablet with a paper on top. Can it really work?

The replies are very interesting. I'd like to hear more suggestions, if you don't mind.

[Jake]

And Jake, are you serious about the paper-on-tablet bit? I didn't know you can still draw using a tablet with a paper on top. Can it really work?

Absolutely it does. The pen only needs to be within a few millimetres of the surface of the tablet to work, it doesn't have to be touching it, you can have more or less anything between the two and it'll still work fine.

(My first Intuos tablet (Intuos 1) has a transparent plastic layer which lifted up so that the user could insert a paper drawing beneath it and trace it with the tablet.)

I expect you could probably block it with some things which won't let the pen communicate with the tablet - maybe a layer of tin foil - but paper is fine.

[LVUER]

Actually, my Bamboo surface has lots of scratch and begin to be uncomfortable to be used. And I trick it with putting a layer of paper above the surface, and it still works just fine. And at the same time, it gives you the "true" paper feeling you want ^_^

I also think to cover my Wacom with dop (what do you call it in English? color that don't shine/metallic) sticker. Though using cheap plain photocopy paper is more than enough.

[Headache]

@ LVUER: Do you think Amazon.com can be trusted? Paper seems to do the trick, so I think I'll just buy myself Wacom Bamboo Pen. I can afford it.

Edit: I know it's stupid to ask this. But I don't know what currency is used to buy stuffs from Amazon.com. Are they US dollars? Thanks for answering!

[number473]

I also think to cover my Wacom with dop (what do you call it in English? color that don't shine/metallic) sticker. Though using cheap plain photocopy paper is more than enough.

Something like 'matte'. If you used the sort of label that's meant for writing on, that has a surface that's just paper, it would probably give the desired effect. If you could find one the right size. But I dread the thought of sticking something like that on to a brand-new piece of equipment. That sort of sticker would probably wear away too, though.

[Sin]

edit: Your tablet may or may not come with some express / light versions of the software. Used models may not have the discs or the activation keys, so if you do not have Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter Essentials, Autodesk Sketchbook Express or one of their suited up versions, then it *may* be worth grabbing the Bamboo.

Let me add to this, since I just bought a wacom. There weren't any extra discs in the Intuos package besides the drivers. Instead I got a redeem code for one software download from the same selection of express programs you listed. There were no "full" versions available. Just one of the three express versions.

This struck me as cheap, considering I payed over 400 USD. Although this was far from a deal breaker since I already have all the tools I need and am comfortable with.

[tigerkidde]

edit: Your tablet may or may not come with some express / light versions of the software. Used models may not have the discs or the activation keys, so if you do not have Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter Essentials, Autodesk Sketchbook Express or one of their suited up versions, then it *may* be worth grabbing the Bamboo.

Let me add to this, since I just bought a wacom. There weren't any extra discs in the Intuos package besides the drivers. Instead I got a redeem code for one software download from the same selection of express programs you listed. There were no "full" versions available. Just one of the three express versions.

This struck me as cheap, considering I payed over 400 USD. Although this was far from a deal breaker since I already have all the tools I need and am comfortable with.

On the Graphire, I recall a disc with Corel Painter Essentials and Photoshop Elements. But the Intuos, I only got those redeem codes. And my concern with a used Intuos is that those redeem codes may already be in use or not there at all since those are some of the programs a new user could try them on if they don't have them already (run-on sentence). I'm *probably* going to get SketchBook Pro to start off things, but finish up in Photoshop. When I have too many draft layers in SketchBook, I feel quite disorganized and can't collapse the layers in one group (or at least don't know how if it's there and it seems like I've been through most of the options) in the trial of Pro.