More Tablet Talk, YAY!
Greetings,
I know there are alot of threads on Tablets already, so I apologise for starting a new one, but I didn't want to dig up an old one either.
I'm currently looking at an Intuos4 6" x 9" on sale for $400 CAD - originally $550 CAD. This seems like a pretty sweet deal. Only problem is that I've never used a Tablet before, and I'm concerned that I might be 'jumping into the deep end to early'. Is this actually a 'really good deal'? Will this 'higher end' Tablet's size and features really help me to enjoy the experience that much more and make the price worthwhile?
Or should I be looking for something smaller like a Intuos3 4" x 6" to start out with - half the price.
Has anyone had the problem of buying a small Tablet, and then months later felt like they REALLY should have picked up a larger one? Does size even really make that much of a difference - is it just for convenience and ease of use, or could it actually impact quality of work?
Thanks in advance guys - and happy holidays :poly121:
I know there are alot of threads on Tablets already, so I apologise for starting a new one, but I didn't want to dig up an old one either.
I'm currently looking at an Intuos4 6" x 9" on sale for $400 CAD - originally $550 CAD. This seems like a pretty sweet deal. Only problem is that I've never used a Tablet before, and I'm concerned that I might be 'jumping into the deep end to early'. Is this actually a 'really good deal'? Will this 'higher end' Tablet's size and features really help me to enjoy the experience that much more and make the price worthwhile?
Or should I be looking for something smaller like a Intuos3 4" x 6" to start out with - half the price.
Has anyone had the problem of buying a small Tablet, and then months later felt like they REALLY should have picked up a larger one? Does size even really make that much of a difference - is it just for convenience and ease of use, or could it actually impact quality of work?
Thanks in advance guys - and happy holidays :poly121:
Replies
I thought I'd rather have a medium than small, since that saves me from buying a bigger one later, should I want one.
And because I got it for almost half the price. Thing is that the bigger ones have a higher resolution so you don't have to zoom as much to do the fine detail, I'd believe.
I've used tiny tiny ones, to hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenormous ones. With big ones, you'll be moving your arm more (what i wanted), instead of using your wrist. It was a tad large though. Ive settled in on a 6x9 one now - since it was a comfortable size for storage and desk space. its pretty comfy, but with a larger monitor, it is starting to cramp my hand a little when moving across the screen.
I strongly advise against smaller formats, because they are really small and the screen to tablet area ratio is way too big, and you cannot use it smoothly with 1:1 mapping, maybe in mouse mode they're fine, but I cannot stand it.
Bigger formats are nice, they allow for longer strokes, less wrist swinging when drawing, maybe fit well with 1:1 mapping on dual monitors, but won't fit easily on your desk, and you can end up feeling uncomfortable using them, as often you'll need to be able to reach the keyboard too. I got an intuos1 A3 (12x18) and used it a fraction of my intuos3 A5 (6x8).
About buying a tablet or not, or about buying "THAT" tablet or a cheaper one, it is all a matter of what you buy it for. Do you plan to start learning digital painting? Displacement modeling? Do you have experience in these fields? Do you like them? Tablet are expensive, but very durable, so the one you get will be with you for some years at least, unless you show no mercy for them. If you are unsure about how much you will end up using it, go for a cheaper one, even a Bamboo is good, then if you find it good, you can always upgrade your gear without regrets. Keep in mind that everyone I know when bought a tablet, for the first week thought he thrown his money away (me too), then after getting comfortable with it, they became the most well spent money ever
I would say that small one is nice place to start and even try if you are comfortable working with tablet, becuase I am not really and I still do many things rather with mouse and just some final touching with tablet later on.
I probably wouldn't get A5 for myself after working with A6, because I felt like A6 was enough for my needs, but I got it for present, so I'm using this now.
My current expertise is in 3DS Max. I've heard of people trying a Tablet for 3DS Max and loving/hating it - so this isn't my biggest concern atm since I'm already comfortable with a mouse. I've dabbled in some Sculpting apps, and I can definitely see some benifits for a Tablet there.
The main thing I'm buying it for is drawing. I'm terrible at drawing, and I'd really like to improve my skills. I'm hoping that digital drawing will be more forgiving than traditional drawing as I suffer from some pretty serious "artist anxiety". So I really don't have any 'style' or 'preconditions' as to how I like to draw - I'd basically be starting from scratch and learning how to draw on the Tablet that I get.
I currently have a 4x6 Intuos3 which I use at home split over my 17" MBP screen and a 22" external. I've never really felt it was too tiny for me till I tried the Intuos4 Large(13x9) at school.
Sufficed to say, my 4x6 feels ridiculously tiny now and I'm purchasing a Large Intuos4 as soon as I get back in vancouver.
Thats not to say you can't draw well on a smaller tablet, it totally is possible, but the bigger tablet allows for more precise detailing without having to zoom in since the tablet maps more closely to the screen itself making it a more natural drawing experience.
To clarify, right now I have my palettes on one screen and my paintings in photoshop maxed out on the other and I find that even a small movement on the 4x6 translates to a relatively large one on screen. I'm used to it, but it does get annoying when I get spoilt by the larger tablets at school.
Also, not to plug companies, but try getting a quote from annex pro if you're in canada (Vancouver-ish area). They quoted a price about $200 cheaper than futureshop for the large tablet for me.
Gonna keep thinking about it for the next few days, sale lasts until the 31st. Thanks again for the feedback guys.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10841&cs_id=1084101&p_id=5553&seq=1&format=2
Deffinitely worth paying the extra for the intuos4. The pressure sensitivity difference is pretty noticeable. Again it's something you might not notice till you try the better tablet, but I feel it between my intuos3 and an intuos4 and thats less of a difference than a bamboo. Not to knock the bamboo, still a fine device.
Also, tilt sensitivity, better customizations, nicer pen and surface on the intuos4. And goddamn if the intuos4 isn't a pretty looking tablet.
Well, I'm not supprised that most of the recommendations are for the Intuos4, and seeing as its on sale and I've got more than half the price covered in giftcards, I think that will be my choice. Thanks for the help everyone. I'll let you know it is when I recieve it in a week or two.
I've been using an Intuos3 A5 for a few years and it's been great, but I'm pretty sure I have never fully required those 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Size-wise, it's perfect for what I use it for, painting/drawing and sculpting on both a 22"/24" monitor and a 13" laptop display.
The older Bamboo had 512 pressure levels I believe which is of course quite a step down from 2048, however the newer ones have 1024 and although that is still only half the Intuos, I honestly think that is more than sufficient for 99% of people. The Bamboo also now has the tilt control. When you look at the difference in price, it almost seems silly to go for the Intuos.
This is a controversial thing to say, but it seems to be that there's a kind of 'Team Intuos' where everyone just immediately recommends the Intuos > Everything else. Up until the newer Bamboo, I would've agreed, but I'm not so sure now.
In all honesty, if my Intuos3 stopped working tomorrow, I'd most probably buy a Bamboo, and I don't think I'd regret it.
Can you find a link to confirm this? I looked around briefly but couldn't find any info. If this is the case, then the only difference between them that I can see is the pressure levels?
This might be a deal breaker then to be honest, it depends how much you'll use it.
I personally never need it, it's nice to play around with for some of Painter's Real Brushes and Airbrushes, but for Photoshop and ZBrush it's redundant.
I recommend the 6x9 Intuos 3. I have a 4x6 at home and a 6x9 at work. The 6x9 is much more comfortable on a full monitor. The 4x6 works splendidly on my laptop and is much easier to carry around. But I prefer using the 6x9. It's just the right size, even though the 4x6 works very well also.
As for Intuos 3 vs. Intuos 4, I have heard from independent sources that the nibs on the Intuos 4 wear out MUCH more easily than the ones from the Intuos 3. Something about a deliberate design decision by Wacom. I dunno.
I do know that the Intuos 3 is about as solid a piece of hardware as you can find. You can use them for years and they'll never go bad (unless you're violent, I guess). They have stood the test of time very well, and I'll bet other Intuos 3 users here will back me up.
The Intuos 4 has some really cool bells and whistles, but it's not enough to make me want to buy a brand new one over my Intuos 3. The Intuos 3 really is that good. And should be cheaper now.
If you can swing it, get a 6x9. But honestly, a 4x6 will get the job done too.
Anyways, my Intuos4 Medium has arrived! Actually got it on Friday but I was too busy over the weekend to really sit down with it. Its so purrdy!
It was a pretty strange experience for the first hour or two - having never used a tablet before. But I think I'm getting the hang of it. Practice practice practice.
What I'm really here for is to get some tips on how to customize the ExpressKeys and TouchRing for Photoshop. What kind of commands have you guys mapped that you just couldn't live without? I figure that to be efficent with the tablet, I have to minimize the amount of times I have to go back to the keyboard. Maybe Undo would be nice, or.. some.. other thing.. that I can't think of atm.
One thing I'm trying to do is map Brush Opacity to the TouchRing. Brush Size is on the Ring by default, but I want to add Opacity aswell. I just can't figure it out though, since the Ring only takes 2 commands; 1 for CW and 1 for CCW. Since the only hotkeys that I know of are 1-9 to change opacity, I can't get that onto the Ring - any ideas?
Thanks!
Edit: Oh I forgot this..
[RAGE] G*DD#$N M*#$ERF$#KER!!!!~1! MY WORK HD JUST CRASHED! [/RAGE]
I think there's a button that switches between functions for the touchwheel and you can map like 5 or 6 things to it and cycle through them. So you could have opacity mapped to 'channel' 1, size to 2, scatter to 3 for example.
As for how to set it up, i'm only familiar with the Mac setup which is under the Intuos4 Pref Pane so I'm guessing in the control panel for Windows.
um shop around. Futureshop always rip you off for wacoms.
try NCIX.com or here
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/Computers%28ME%29/ComputerPeripherals%28ME%29/Tablets%28ME%29/Default.aspx
Although for the latter you may need to contact them to special order it for you.
I can vouch for both. I bought my Cintiq from NCIX and my Intuos 2 9x12 from Memoryexpress.
(Although I picked them up locally)
I've already got the tablet now and I'm looking for some help/tips on the ExpressKeys and TouchRing.