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Want to downsize my tablet

polycounter lvl 14
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Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
My Intuos 4 has served me very well and I want to keep it for my desktop. It’s the medium size which was like… 13” wide or something. It fits great on my desk.

However I just bought a laptop and I wanted to get a smaller one. I see they now call Intuos the “Pro” and Bamboo is “Intuos.”


The issue is the smallest “Pro” is still pretty large, 12.6” wide… mostly because of the extra buttons on the side I never use.

The smallest Intuos is 8.3” wide, but since it’s technically a Bamboo, so it has fewer levels of pressure sensitivity (and possibly missing other important features I’m unaware of?)



Has anyone tried both an Intuos (Bamboo) and a Pro? Is could you feel any difference in the pressure sensitivity?

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  • thomasp
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    thomasp hero character
    well i have used every intuos generation from 1 to 5 now at sizes between M and L and cannot say that i ever felt any difference in accuracy nor pressure sensitivity between those, even though wacom supposedly doubled or quadrupled the resolution at some point.
    i think the accuracy/feeling is mostly paint software-related.

    i do use a M size intuos5 with a 15 inch laptop now. decent match, albeit tablet is slightly larger than the computer which might be a problem when fitting it into tight laptop bags.

    i also still have a smallest size intuos3. too small to be versatile in my opinion. meaning i'd never want to use this on a stationary setup with a large screen whereas the M size would be fine really.
  • Mark Dygert
    I think for the cost of the bamboo its worth it.

    There have been some good threads comparing the two and discussing the differences.
    http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128582
    http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75014
    http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108578
  • EarthQuake
    Well, the current non-pro models have 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, which is the same as the Intous 2, 3, etc. Very doubtful you would be able to dell the difference.

    To put that into perspective, the difference is between being able to select a precise value accurate to 0.05 or 0.1 in photoshop for opacity. But you can only use whole numbers for opacity, so its meaningless.
  • LRoy
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    LRoy polycounter lvl 10
    Before going with an intous 4 I had a bamboo. Couldn't notice any difference other than the size really.
  • SnowInChina
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    SnowInChina interpolator
    LRoy wrote: »
    Before going with an intous 4 I had a bamboo. Couldn't notice any difference other than the size really.

    well, the pen is nicer and you have more buttons
    but thats about it
  • LRoy
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    LRoy polycounter lvl 10
    He could use the intous pen on the bamboo couldn't he? I don't think I've ever once used the side buttons.
  • monster
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    monster polycounter
    I've got the smallest Intous Pro with the wireless kit for my laptop. I'm very happy and it doesn't feel big at all. It slides right into a side sleeve of my laptop bag.
  • Isaiah Sherman
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    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    Sweet, thanks for all the feedback and links!

    I used to paint way more when I was a teenager and I had an Intuos 2 then, which was 1024 levels (and slick glossy surface). Back then I never felt I didn't have enough control.

    My common sense was also telling me that there's no way I'd be physically capable of noticing a difference so minute.


    The one thing that's an issue... it seems like the Intuos (Bamboo) does not support pen tilt. My primary tool is a chisel brush with my brush angle set to tilt, so I can get a thin sharp line or a fat broad line depending on my pen tilt.

    However, I could probably get used to not having pen tilt again, as I really only use it for that one brush.

    The standard Intuos Pen is a nice small size with a 6x4" work space, which would be perfect to put in front of my laptop and be able to work in bed or something. It's also wireless (though sold separately) and my current tablet is wired and annoying as hell.


    The links you provided, Mark, pretty much sold me, though. You can't beat $80 for a sweet tablet.
  • Ruz
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    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    I have a an intuos 2 and a bamboo. done some of my best work with my bamboo. my only beef is that the bamboo usb cable keeps coming unplugged
  • Isaiah Sherman
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    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    Ruz wrote: »
    I have a an intuos 2 and a bamboo. done some of my best work with my bamboo. my only beef is that the bamboo usb cable keeps coming unplugged

    All Intuos tablets are now wireless, so that is no longer an issue thankfully :)

    I hated the cord for all my Intuos products.

    Looks like I can buy one for even cheaper on Amazon, only $60! I don't need all those fancy touch controls either. It's funny I never got one of these earlier. I turn off all my express keys and touch functions on my Inutos 4 because they're annoying :|

    [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Small-Tablet-CTL480/dp/B00EN27TCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405719036&sr=8-1&keywords=wacom+intuos+pen"]Amazon.com: Wacom Intuos Pen Small Tablet (CTL480): Computers & Accessories[/ame]
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    I have one of those exact ones Isaiah. I had a left over wireless deal from an Intuos 4 or something. It's a great little tablet to throw in a bag with a laptop and have wireless. Totally recommend it. Only hitch is the pen is different shaped than the Intuos Pro/Cintiq one so it take a minute to get used to. More pen shaped than flared out at the bottom grip area.
  • EarthQuake
    I still have an Intuos 3, but wireless sounds nice. Does it need to be charged via the USB cable or something?
  • fmnoor
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    fmnoor polycounter lvl 17
    The wireless ones have a small battery that charges when you plug the connector (they're now mini-USB). The battery is swappable IIRC.
  • Ruz
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    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    ok i might invest in a wireless tablet, but tBH i think my work is ok whatever tablet I use, because I just use stroke then smooth really.
  • Isaiah Sherman
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    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    Right, the USB they include is the also the charging cable.

    Be aware that the wireless kit is sold separate for $40.

    I just bought mine, on Amazon my combined price before tax / shipping was $98.99, which is still a pretty damn good price for a new, wireless tablet.

    I found some spec page through Google that states the wireless battery lasts about 48-50 hours w/o recharging for the smallest tablet. Lasts like... 20 or 24 hours for their largest Intuos Pro.
  • reverendK
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    reverendK polycounter lvl 7
    i'm late to the conversation but I bought a bamboo a few years back for like 60 bucks. not even the higher end one - and it served me just fine. carted that thing to school and back every day. I barely noticed the difference in pressure sensitivity.
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