Graphic Tablet indecision

KyJ

Hi all! I'm a dude from Italy and i started with CG one month ago.This is my first post here( excluding the one in the "new members") and i hope i'll stay well here on Polycount .
Let's get back to the topic's subject: i need a graphic tablet for 3d modelling with Zbrush and Matte painting with other softwares(photoshop and similar) and i've a 200-250 € starting budget.I've found three options on internet:
1) [ame="http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-PTH-451-DEIT-Tavoletta-Professionale-Wireless/dp/B00ESW2OVO/ref=pd_cp_pc_0#productDetails"]http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-PTH-451-DEIT-Tavoletta-Professionale-Wireless/dp/B00ESW2OVO/ref=pd_cp_pc_0#productDetails[/ame]
2)[ame="http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-Intuos-Pro-FR-NL/dp/B00ECWQ46Q/ref=sr_1_30?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1415219160&sr=1-30"]http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-Intuos-Pro-FR-NL/dp/B00ECWQ46Q/ref=sr_1_30?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1415219160&sr=1-30[/ame]
3)[ame="http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-CTH-680S-S-Tavoletta-Autodesk-Sketchbook/dp/B00ME7HE74/ref=dp_ob_title_ce"]http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-CTH-680S-S-Tavoletta-Autodesk-Sketchbook/dp/B00ME7HE74/ref=dp_ob_title_ce[/ame]

Could you help me decide which one of the three is the best?I'm starting to feel pain in my wrist :poly142:

Thanks for the help guys and feel free to suggest me other graphic tablets!I hope i'll learn a lot here.
Have a nice day

p.s. Sorry for amazon.IT and..hum i'm using a 32" monitor,Windows 7.

Brian "Panda" Choi

If you can't spare the money, and if this is your first tablet, the Bamboo can do the trick.

Joost

Might be able to find a used Intuos somewhere. Or get a bamboo first and then save up for a large intuos if(when) you feel the need to upgrade.

pior

Also it might be worth noting that Wacom recently changed their product names for some unknown reason.

Old names :
- entry level range (starting around 69€/99€) : Bamboo
- high level range (200€ and up) : Intuos (generations 3,4 and 5 is what you need to look at. As a matter of fact even an Intuos2 is still rock solid, but the drivers are starting to become unsupported. I personally used one for years, bought it used 10 years ago off ebay and it still works perfectly. Might not work on the newer Windows tho.)

New names :
- entry level range : Intuos, Intuos pen&touch, Intuos manga
- high level range : Intuos pro (=Intuos5 )
- Ipad stylus and other useless stuff you probably want to avoid : Inkling, Ipad Bamboo Stylus, Intuos Ipad Creative Stylus.

It's all very confusing, but something to keep in mind when looking around Amazon and Ebay.

I would say either go for an entry level tablet, brand new (former Bamboo, now Intuos - you can find them in most big electronic stores and Apple stores), or an Intuos 3/4/5/Pro used.

One thing to keep in mind too is that even tho it will certainly feel more comfortable than a mouse for obvious reasons, wrist pain is probably not going to go away unless you consciously avoid using firm grip. That's personally one of the main reason why I eventually switched to the Cintiq - the wrist pain caused by regular tablets just became unbearable over the years. It's a bit of an unrelated issue because of your budget, but certainly something to keep in mind in the long run.

EricHall

Totally agree with above posts about getting a used one. I got mine off of ebay when I first started out and still use it. It's the first generation Intuos without any hotkeys but it still works on my new Windows 7 machine.....I should probably upgrade...

Zelfit

Used intuos 3 from ebay. Great choice for reasonable price, has same features as latest pro

KyJ

Thanks to all for the information! Above all to pior who clarified a lot my ideas
So i think i will try to search for an intuos Pro used or try to save some money to buy a new one!
Great community guys :thumbup: Thanks

SuperFranky

I use Bamboo for years now, I don't feel the need for anything else yet.

thomasp

pior so why would grip be different on cintiq vs intuos? just curious. i like both btw but the cintiq with the really awesome stand (24HD) is just too bulky for my corner desk and the smaller ones don't seem quite comparable.

used wacoms are fine. in fact the older the series the longer they last. on my main intuos2 i use for work - when the drawing surface will have developed enough pot holes to finally be in need of replacement, i can just flip it around, stick it back on and work through the backside. see you in 2020 or thereabouts.

Jeff Parrott

I use http://www.amazon.it/Wacom-CTH-680S-S-Tavoletta-Autodesk-Sketchbook/dp/B00ME7HE74/ with my laptop and it works great. Super cheap too. Pen isn't as good as the Intous Pro I'd say. But it's a great way to get into using tablets and not break the bank.

Ruz

my bamboo is fine for all my professional work. in fact it's a bit better than my intuos 2

KyJ

And another question...what size is better?

EmAr

Size is usually a personal choice, I use a medium(A5) sized Wacom. My monitor is 21.5" though, I don't know if I'd be this happy if it was 32".

pior

Thomas - as a matter of fact I am not sure !! It's a strange thing really, the same task on these different devices feel very different somehow. Less precise but more fluid on the Cintiq , and more precise but heavy-handed on the regular tablet. Maybe this is just coming from bad habits I picked up a while ago tho ...

Deathstick

I used to use an intuos 4, but then it broke because Wacom does the worst freaking soldering jobs on USB ports. (both ports broke within 3 years, and I was always careful with it)

I've since used a bamboo that was supposed to be a temporary replacement but it seems to do the trick just fine. The only things I sort of miss from the intuos 4 are the pen tilt and the little touchwheel. I'll probably just use the bamboo for now until that glorious day when I can afford a cintiq.

To answer your question about size, it depends on what you're going to use it for. If you want to be portable I'd say don't go any higher than a medium (I used the medium intuos 4 and it barely fit in my backpack in college)

If you don't care about being portable then you could probably step it up a size if you want, it really depends on how you draw. IE the smaller the size the more you will be drawing with your wrist and fingers. The larger the size you'll be able to use your entire arm more, which can be good for large gestural strokes.

RN

Another concern that you'll have is the nib wear.

In my country, where nibs can only be found as imports in resellers, a pack of 5 nibs goes for around US$12, with each nib allegedly costing 1 cent of a dollar to manufacture.

They wear petty quickly on my Bamboo, so there are a couple solutions to address that.
- One is to make your own nibs out of plastic wire (more information around the web), polishing the tip to a round shape. You can get hundreds made this way, and it's very cheap.
- The other is to cover the surface of your tablet with a very thin material that doesn't wear the nibs as much. I'm using a sheet of "translucid tracing paper" taped to my tablet. It's got some texture and doesn't wear the nibs as much, if at all.

iconoplast

I'm quite curious about the nib wear issue. I've had my Intuos 2 for more than 10 years, and I've bought two pack of nibs, the second being because I lost the first. I'm still using the normal plastic that came with it, no replacements to extend the wear time or anything. Are the older ones more robust, or am I just really easy on them somehow?

Also, $12 isn't really that much more than they cost when they aren't imports.

That said, a used Intuos 2 medium is cheap and still rather nice. It's been moved in to reduced driver updates, but I've never had issues with it not functioning and I've never felt a need for a new one other than a vague "ooh, shiny new toy" feeling that I get anytime there's a new version of tech that I use often.

pior

From what I experienced the surface characteristics of the various Intuos models evolved a lot over the different releases.

Intous 2 (and 1 ?) tablets have a rather thick layer of soft transparent plastic, floating on top of the hollow casing holding the guts of the tablet, which makes the device feel very soft and almost bouncy. Nibs last forever on it.

Intuos3 movels have a similar albeit slightly thinner top player, sitting very tightly on top of a hard acrylic transparent surface (the connection is so seamless that many users do not notice that the top layer is actually floating - at first glance it looks like a painted coating !).

The suface of the Intuos 4 is more rough to the touch, increasing stylus friction ; some like it, some hate it. This design reportedly causes nibs to wear much, much faster than with previous models.

No idea about Intuos5/pro, as I never handle those.

thomasp

i have intuos2 and 5 on my desk and am using the same nibs (the spring-loaded type) on both. the series 5 surface has more resistance for sure yet still looks spotless after over one year of daily use.
i find it makes zero difference to my ability to draw on these. never had any problem whatsoever with the type of drawing surface and i've used all models from 1 to 5 extensively. i am addicted to spring loaded nibs though and have been since the intuos 1 stroke pen.

i can confirm that the intuos 4 for me wore comparably quickly within about two years. drawing surface noticeably scratched and in need of replacement and the glossy part of the case was showing marks, too despite me taking off the watch while working.

and while we're comparing:
one thing i prefer about intuos 1, 2 and 3 is the cable management. comes out on top of the unit, nicely out of the way. the detachable USB cable is especially annoying on the 5 where it sticks out like a sore thumb just wainting to snap off.

i guess buttons and pens would be other worthwhile criteria, not that i have any strong opinions there.

Vailias

Also consider non-wacom brands. Wacom is great, and I've used their tablets for ages, but I recently this [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=141556413]Huion tablet[/ame] which works quite well. Its significantly less expensive, has the detachable USB cable (good for travel, and a break in the soldered in cable on my intuos is why I replaced it), the pen is as light or lighter than an intuos pen, but you do have to recharge it every now and again. I have yet to have to recharge it, but I haven't been doing a lot of art with it lately. (also no eraser)

Joost

While we're on the subject, I'm thinking of getting a secondary, smaller tablet. My Intuos 4 xl is nice but a pain in the ass to use on my tiny desk sometimes. And only one of the USB ports works, 30% of the time. Is the pen and touch worth the price increase over the Intuos pen? Also medium vs small? Or go for a used intuos 4? Mostly for Zbrush and texturing, not drawing.