Wacom (Bamboo) tablets

[natty dread]

Hey guys, I've been looking into getting a wacom drawing tablet. Unfortunately I can only affor one of the smaller "Bamboo" tablets, I'd really love to have one of those Intuos4 ones but meh, I'm poor...

So does anyone here have any experience with these, how are they in practice, are they any good?

Here's the one I'm thinking of buying:

http://www.wacom.eu/index2.asp?pid=294&lang=en&spid=4

[Victor Sullivan]

Oh hey, let me talk to Spike. He knows a bunch about tablets. He has one currently and has used several more before. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

-Sully

[anonymus]

yes i use these when i travel (the a5 model is enough for scetching and fits in the laptop-bag).
i wouldnt go for anything with smaller than a5 "drawing" surface as if you draw 1 cm on a small one it reprecents 4 cm on the screen..
but a5 is enough i would say.. if you use zoom..

/

[Victor Sullivan]

Oh hey, let me talk to Spike. He knows a bunch about tablets. He has one currently and has used several more before. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

-Sully

Okay, he said, "Wacom's definitely the best. Bamboo is small, but it's okay. If you want any kind of professional tablet you need an Intuos." There you go.

-Sully/Spike

[TaCktiX]

I've got an Intuos3 sitting on my desk right now. You can get a Bamboo, but most of the tablet advantages in relation to image editing (pressure sensitivity chief among them) aren't available on the Bamboo. I'd suggest just waiting a little longer and getting a 4x6 Intuos4. They're WAY cheaper than the Intuos3 series was (my 4x6 cost me $340).

[natty dread]

most of the tablet advantages in relation to image editing (pressure sensitivity chief among them) aren't available on the Bamboo.

According to Wacom, the Bamboo series does have pressure sensitivity now. They don't have tilt sensitivity, which the intuos does have.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your advice. I would very much love to get an intuos4, but alas my financial situation isn't that good right now, so I'm just getting a Bamboo since I'm not really going to do anything professional with it at this point...

[the.killing.44]

I got one last year or two I think. It's good if you're just doing things like CC maps.

[natty dread]

Just got my tablet today. It takes some getting used to, but overall seems like a pretty useful tool. Came with some neat software too.

Oh and I'm going to be using gimp from now on... sadly the maker of paint.net has decided not to continue XP support even though almost 50% of the user base still uses XP... but the main reason is that gimp supports pressure sensitivity which enables me to get the most out of my tablet.

I also tried PSE8 which came bundled with the tablet, but I was pretty unimpressed with it. It has some neat looking effects and stuff, but gimp is much more handy and has a much better UI. Oh well...

[natty dread]

I just have to say... with regards to mapmaking and graphics making in general, buying this thing was the best decision I've ever made. Everything is so much more fun with a pen tablet! You get the best of both worlds - powerful digital drawing tools of the computer with the ergonomy of pen & paper.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who is interested in doing graphics. The price is not terribly high either.

[shakeycat]

Thanks for opening the discussion on the Wacom tablet. I've been thinking of getting one, but keep putting it off. I'm curious to see what you come out with next, now!

[natty dread]

Thanks for opening the discussion on the Wacom tablet. I've been thinking of getting one, but keep putting it off. I'm curious to see what you come out with next, now!

Well, check out my current map projects (transsib, antarctica), I've used it on both... I think you can see the difference in quality compared to my earlier maps.

With regards to mapmaking... being able to draw with a pen opens up more possibilities, you can do things that just aren't possible with a mouse. For example, you don't need the path tool to draw territory borders, you can easily do it freehand... the same with tracing. Also, touch-up like adding shadows or highlights can also be done freehand, and it gives a more natural look... of course, there are still some things that are done the same as before, like adding layer effects, text, etc.

[grifftron]

Thanks for opening the discussion on the Wacom tablet. I've been thinking of getting one, but keep putting it off. I'm curious to see what you come out with next, now!

Well, check out my current map projects (transsib, antarctica), I've used it on both... I think you can see the difference in quality compared to my earlier maps.

With regards to mapmaking... being able to draw with a pen opens up more possibilities, you can do things that just aren't possible with a mouse. For example, you don't need the path tool to draw territory borders, you can easily do it freehand... the same with tracing. Also, touch-up like adding shadows or highlights can also be done freehand, and it gives a more natural look... of course, there are still some things that are done the same as before, like adding layer effects, text, etc.

I was looking at one here in Chiang Mai today, they had a larger one, their mini ones were gone, are you using a smaller one natty? The small one cost about 4,000 baht, so around 125$-150$ US... He was also showing me another brand besides the Wacom tablet, he said the other brand was a lot better but the lowest price for those were 10,000 Baht... so almost 3 times as much as the wacom... i might get one towards the end of the year.

-griff

[natty dread]

What brand? I haven't heard of any brand being better than Wacom. I think the store guy is just trying to sell a more expensive device to you, even though it's not necessarily better...

The thing about wacom is, they have this patented induction system so the pen doesn't need any batteries. This is something that no other tablet has to my knowledge. They are also exceptionally accurate, even the small ones.

I have the small one, it cost 120€ to me. It is perfectly adequate for drawing, I don't think I would even need a larger one.

[grifftron]

I've got an Intuos3 sitting on my desk right now. You can get a Bamboo, but most of the tablet advantages in relation to image editing (pressure sensitivity chief among them) aren't available on the Bamboo. I'd suggest just waiting a little longer and getting a 4x6 Intuos4. They're WAY cheaper than the Intuos3 series was (my 4x6 cost me $340).

Maybe this natty...
Actually he never said better, just a diff class maybe... Def more expensive tho

[natty dread]

Intuos is still Wacom... it's just a different model.

Yes, the Intuos models are better than the Bamboo models, and more expensive. Although if you only do graphics at a hobby level, not professionally, then a Bamboo is perfectly adequate for all your needs.


Heck, if you really want to spend money, get a Wacom Cintiq. They're like combined monitors / drawing tablets (drawing tables really, since the smallest ones are 17" if I remember correctly...) where you can actually see what you draw on the drawing surface... but the prices are like several thousand euros... man I wish I could afford one of those some day


edit - actually it seems they have 12" ones now, but even that costs $999... http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/cintiq-12wx.php

[grifftron]

Yes you were right, i found the handouts he gave me for both the intuos 4 & Bamboo. Both Wacom like you said... i am very interested in buying a small Bamboo, maybe a used one perhaps... see what i can find.

-griff

[natty dread]

You should check out wacom's webshop site then. I'm not sure if they have one for where you live though... but at least the Wacom Europe site had used models that had only been used for presentations and such, and they still came with the same guarantee as the new ones...