Which Wacom?

Gmanx

I currently own a Wacom Intuos 3 widescreen:



Which suits me just fine.

Work have decided to stump up the green to get me one for the office too. I notice that the new Intuos tablets are pen/touch. Should i get one of these? Is the touch facility useful for a texture artist? Can I turn it off if i don't want it?

Perhaps I should just ask for another Intuos 3?

I'd welcome any thoughts on the subject from you good fellows.

2cat

You can turn off the touch functions no problem.

If you have a friend/colleague that has a 4 or 5 ask him/her if you can use it to test the surface of the tablet. The 4 and 5 have a different surface, from what I hear this is the biggest pro AND con of the new ones according to preference.

Cybroxide

I use an intuos 3 at home and a 4 at work.
The 3 has a more glossy smooth surface while the 4 seems to a have a bit more friction.

nyx702

I have an wide screen 3 at home and a regular 4 at work. I would trade in my 4 anyday for another widescreen 3. You can't seem to get a 4 wide aspect. I use two monitors and the like the wide aspect of the 3 so much more.

I really don't like the rougher surface of the 4 either. It gives me that "nails on a chalk board" feeling until the tooth is worn in some.

I do like the newer more ergonomical design of the 4/5 however. The touchstrips and buttons are nice but I rarely use them.

Gmanx

Thanks guys. I might stick with an Intuos 3 then. I can't really see myself using the touch function, and LOVE the almost frictionless drawing action on the 3.

imyj

I think the Intuos 3 is actually pretty solid. I prefer the stylus on the Intuos 4 but as some have said above; it has a very grainy feel to it when you move the stylus across the surface.

The newest ones are just a pain from what I have noticed from other artists using them.

Two Listen

Quick question on something I've been wondering awhile about the Intuos 4 (and 5, I guess) - can't you just flip over the surface mat to get a smooth surface if you prefer it? Assuming it's like the Intuos 3's, it just lifts off the surface and could be flipped without too much trouble. Are both sides textured?

Snacuum

I still use an Intuos 2 (4:3)

It's old and scratched and widescreen is a little janky and I can't use the latest drivers. But it's good enough for me right now, new Wacom products these days are hugely expensive.

Sculptaur

I have an Intuos 3 wide at home, I probably won't be repacing that anytime soon unless I can get my hands on a cintiq or clone of.

Use to have a large 4 at work but I got upgraded to a large 5 touch when we hired some more juniors. I disabled the touch instantly, its super annoying. We did ask for the non-touch version. Otherwise though, I prefer the surface and overall feel of the 5 to the 4. I guess I prefer the 5's surface to the 3 but not so much that I need to replace it. I really don't like the 4's surface for some reason.

razz

Intuos 5 is awesome. I had a huge (A4 oversize) Intuos 3 and I prefer my medium Intuos 5 so much more. The surface is fine. I remember I had to change the surface of my Intuos 3 because it started peeling away little by little from all the use and then the new one followed in those same steps. I would just go for the one without the touch function.

Avanthera

I'm on a 4 at home and have a 5 at work. I honestly love them both, I've never really understood how such small differences can annoy some people. Though I am pretty ham-handed so maybe I'm just not feeling the subtleties.

JacqueChoi

.

D4V1DC

JacqueChoi wrote: »

I'm on an oldschool shitty 8" graphite.

I'll get a Cintiq one day. A kickass super awesome-sauce Cintiq.

Awesome to see a fellow 8"incher, uhm yea :poly122:. :poly136:

I got the bamboo cause my EX purchased It and she never used It so she gave It to me.

Overlord

No mention of the Monoprice tablet? http://frenden.com/the-little-monoprice-graphics-tablet-that-could/

Polygoblin

Overlord wrote: »

No mention of the Monoprice tablet? http://frenden.com/the-little-monoprice-graphics-tablet-that-could/

I'm in the market, too. An artist on Twitter suggested this and it's super-intriguing. Anybody have personal experience with it?

Joseph Silverman

I have a 9x12 monoprice and dig it a lot. 90 dollars for a very solid, functional tablet. No pen eraser and I had to fight with drivers a bit, but you can expect smooth, tactile input and a fraction of the wacom cost.

Basically my personal experience is: The Ray Frenden reviews linked above are accurate.

Ray

That's my personal experience too. Because I'm Ray Frenden. Heh.

I've reviewed and Quick Look'd some new tech that uses the same UC Logic digitizers as the Monoprice tablets since. Check:

http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/44243131746/huion-10x6-tablet-unboxing-using-the-same

AND

http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u

AND

http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/44426421965/the-dp10u-a-portable-cheap-cintiq-alternative

Gmanx

Some great and very valuable info here, guys. Many thanks. Current thinking for me is probably an Intuos 5 large for work (they're big on 'brand', and since I ain't payin' for it...!) and perhaps a monoprice 9x12 for my daughter, so I can scope it out. ¬.¬

Polygoblin

Ray wrote: »

That's my personal experience too. Because I'm Ray Frenden. Heh.

Hehe, now I feel silly :poly136: Thanks for the leads and reviews! Truly excellent info.

Stinger88

I recently bought the 4. I chose to get a 4 instead of a 5 because I have absolutely no interest in using the touch feature (and I had also read that the touch feature can get annoying when drawing, but it may have been rectified) and getting the 4 was a lot cheaper and it has the same tech as 5 (except touch of course).

Having said that. If you aren't paying and you want the touch feature. Get the 5.

S_ource

I have 5 and i really like it, barely use the touch but i like the surface texture alot more then on the 4.

Jeff Parrott

Ray is the guru of tablets in general. If it has a stylus he'll try it. I'm pretty sure that's his motto.

I tried the Intuos 5 with touch today. It's actually really slick. I have a wireless 4 I carry around with a laptop and wouldn't mind upgrading after trying the 5.

Brandon Kern

I have an intuos 4 medium, I sanded down the rough surface with tooth paste because it eats nibs like a fat kid eating cake. In comparison to trying my friends intuos 3 widescreen my tablet is far more sensitive, but thats because its the size of half of an A4 sized sheet of printer paper, whereas his is larger. I was thinking of upgrading to a large myself, but I might not, since theres no real reason to get one other than to just have it take up more room on my already crowded desk haha!

If you are used to a widescreen intuos 3, pick up another one or get a large intuos since they probably match up the best. As for cintiqs, I personally think they're so so, probably great for z brush, never tried it, but when I was testing out a 21incher it felt really weird to work on in comparison to a tablet... maybe thats just cause im not used to it.

Joshua Stubbles

I used to own a 6x8 Intuos 3. I had a 6x8 Intuos 4 at Timegate and I have a 6x8 Intuos 5 at Turn10 right now. At home I use a Bamboo Capture, which I bought while on contract at Irrational last year. Honestly, I love this little thing. I only wish it had per-application settings in software. I find that I'm more a wrist-drawer than using larger arm movements. The smaller tablet is really nice for that.

Some people hate on the textured surfaces, but I love it on my Bamboo and Intuos 5.

ZacD

Joshua Stubbles wrote: »

I find that I'm more a wrist-drawer than using larger arm movements. The smaller tablet is really nice for that.

Just a word of advise, being a wrist drawer can lead to wrist problems like Repetitive strain injuries and carpal tunnel. If you start to have wrist problems, you might want to move to a larger tablet.

Joshua Stubbles

ZacD wrote: »

Just a word of advise, being a wrist drawer can lead to wrist problems like Repetitive strain injuries and carpal tunnel. If you start to have wrist problems, you might want to move to a larger tablet.

I had mild carpal tunnel a few years ago, had to get steroid injections for it. It's not like I'm flinging my wrist like a mad man. I use my wacom for windows navigation and modeling, too. Using the mouse for modeling relieved 99% of the pain I used to get.

Polygoblin

Went with the Huion 10x6 and wanted to share my thoughts

http://polygoblin.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/huion-10x6-tablet-amateur-review/

Love this thing so far

Juanma_n_Arya

I use an intuos A4 Large. It works very well for both modelling and painting. I'm a 2d and 3d artist and I would totally recommend it. Price must be cheaper than some years ago as they already released the new a5 model.