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2015 iMac Wacom Intuos Pro Issues?

Claudia P

Claudia P

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 22, 2016
122
127
I'm currently using a Wacom Intuos 5 on my late 2015 iMac without any issues other then the age of the Intuos. I'm looking to upgrade my tablet and Cintiq is not possible at the moment so I'm looking at the Intuos pro and wonder if there are any issues with that tablet.
 
Owner of the Pro M. Love it, use it for CAD, PS, Illy, SketchUp. Magic Trackpad 2 with my left hand for zooming/panning/gestures and Pro M with my right hand for drafting/drawing/selection.

I use mine tethered. If you opt for wireless operation absolutely add a USB BT 4+EDR dongle (mine is made by StarTech) as Apple abandoned EDR years ago. Wacom used to include an EDR-capable BT module with the 5's Wireless Kit, but wireless is built in to the new Pro models but the dongle was cut from being included. The Pro M is EDR-capable - EDR enables wireless parity with wired performance, trust me on this. My StarTech dongle is Class 1 as I need to connect to a couple of far off peripherals, Class 2 should do nicely...

The new stylus is so nice to use. Touch doesn't suck. The main bit to love is the reduced footprint - same active area, around 70% of the footprint for the M model.

One nit to pick. I frickin' hate the additional utilities installed by the installer - with one key exception. If you opt for the Pro - the installed app named "Wacom Desktop Center" also enables FW updates for both the stylus and the tablet's built-in BT module, with several updates issued since the Pro models went on sale with the latest updates coming out just a few weeks ago...

Regarding the new Cintiq tablets, I get it - I've wanted a Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 but they're still not in stock. FWIW, check out Wacom's store for refurbished products - I've bought a few for my company, they've been flawless. I use my Pro M with an iMP at my home office and a new model 15" rMBP when I'm on the road.
 
Thank you so much for this nicely detailed reply. :)
I am using an Intuos 5 large now and have been for a long time, I got it when it was first released almost 7 years ago and it has served me well, but it's time to replace it, the driver support is generic rather than specific for this model and it is a bit twitchy at times. Even though I use 2 iPad pros and am very comfortable with touch I never could like the touch on this one, it's nice to hear the Pro improved on that.

I honestly don't care about the BT connection, tethered is fine.

The Cintiq 16 Pro will not work in 4K resolution on a late 2015 iMac, you have to use QHD. 4K requires USB C which the late 2015 does not have. There are people who say it will work but people I know and trust assure me it won't, that and the price puts it out of my range.

I'm looking at the Pro L which will still have a smaller footprint than what I have now, that is a good thing.

I am an artist, primarily traditional style done digitally. The M looks a little small for what am used to, but I am still thinking about that. It is about the same size as my 10.1 iPad Pro so I can play around a bit and see what I think.
 
You are welcome. I'll admit to being a bit a Wacom tablet geek going back to the ADB days. Which reminds me... The Wacom tablets back in the ADB port and early USB port days were built such that one could beat off an army - the newer Chinese-built tablets (Intuos 3/4/5) were IMO creaky and cheap in construction. What I didn't write earlier was that I live near the now-former Vancouver WA and present Portland offices - it's easier for me than most to give Wacom a piece of my mind, and I let them know the Intuos 3/4/5 tablets were IMHO junk.

The new Pro tablets are significantly improved in quality of construction. I'm not a small person - 6'7", 270# who's frequently stressed due to deadlines, but the new Pro M tablet has never creaked or squeaked under pressure as my Intuos 5 would. The build quality of the newer Intuos tablets is significantly better than the tablet you're using - my gripe with Wacom (and they've heard it from me) is that it took too long to get it right. I'll offer that I'd buy an Intuos Pro M again today if I needed a tablet now.

As for your preference for a large Pro tablet, I'll admit that I bought my M tablet when I was still on the road between 4 locations. Now that I'm generally in one location and don't need to "pocket" my rMBP and peripherals in my "go bag", I'd buy a large Intuos to go along with my iMP. One of my techs uses an Intuos Pro L and she loves it - her Pro L has a smaller footprint than my Intuos 5 M (I still have that tablet, so I know!).

Last bit, about the newer Cintiqs. 4k is overrated, aside from resolution - GUI elements are far too small on both Windows and macOS. The Cintiq 16 Pro being used in one of my offices on a PC with a Quadro GPU is showing up as 1440p, and the display is still spectacular.

FWIW, I'm considering an Intuos Pro L - they're brilliant input devices!
 
Again thank you.

My first Wacom tablet was an Art II in 1997, then Bamboo, Intuos 4 and Intuos 5 touch. I think I will go with my first choice of Pro L. :)

A friend of mine who is also my art teacher said the exact same thing about the Cintiq Pro 16 as you did. He is using one right now at the lower resolution. The price and my bank account are keeping me from it right now.

He is also the person who convinced me to abandon Windows and get a Mac, best advice I've ever gotten. 2.5 years in and I'm still loving my iMac, and it's still working great. He's been using Cintiqs for a number of years and has no experience with Pros but I did ask him first.
 
You're welcome! The new Pro tablet is about as well-built as my first Art Z II (I still miss the Sensiva utility that was included with those tablets :sniff:) but I sure don't miss the ADB port...

Enjoy your new tablet, I'd considered the Pro L but at the time I was schlepping around with a laptop and now I'm used to it. Cheers!
 
My new I Pro arrived today, I decided on the medium after setting the active screen area on my I 5 L and realizing that because I am looking at the monitor and not the tablet I didn't notice any difference at all. I am already enjoying the extra desk space. :)

I haven't done more than a bit of play so I really don't have much to go on as to whether I love it or not yet.
I do have one question though, I am using it tethered and wondering if I need to turn it off at night or not, I tried the power button and it doesn't appear to do anything.

Setup is certainly much easier than it used to be, since I already had the desktop control center I simply disconnected the I 5 and connected the new one. The control center immediately saw it and started the setup wizard. Easy peasy.
 
I leave my Pro M attached to whatever Mac or PC, no issues. I generally shut my computers down at the end of the day, personal preference except for my Mini Server which never gets to connect with my Pro M. I bought my Pro M on Day 1 from a BB, haven't noticed any issues with the battery life. FWIW, the Power Button is for BT connection control.

And, you'll love it... :D
 
Thank you, I wasn't sure whether I needed to use that button or not. I also generally shut down at night. It is going to take a bit of getting used to I can see that already, I am used to using an art pen a lot and that isn't working out so well. It is quite possible that my art pen also needs to be replaced as it is quite old. I wonder if Wacom has any plans to make an updated art pen, I see that 3D pen do you know if it supports rotation?
 
OK I found out what my problems have been, I restored my Wacom settings from a backup and apparently it just wasn't compatible with the Pro. Also my
Art pen definitely needs to be replaced, which is no surprise as it was older than the I 5.
For some relaxation I started to do a sketch as a base for a watercolor painting in Rebelle 3 and I see a huge difference. I knew the surface of my I 5 was completely worn out but I was blaming age and shaky hands for my poor sketches. Sketching on this surface with this pen is wonderful and oh so much better, I have so much more control of the line. :)

Yes once I get all of the setup stuff taken care of and a new art pen I am going to love this tablet.
 
Regarding the older styli, they'll work within some limitations in that they're capable of roughly one-quarter the sensitivity. I've tried one of my older styli with my Pro M and it's just not as smooth at the newer Pro Pen 2. One of my techs tried the new 3D Pen and she does really like it, it is capable of rotation - Wacom now calls the feature "tumbling", but I haven't tried that stylus yet as I rely on two different peripherals for 3D work (mainly out of habit). She works a fair amount in SolidWorks, I've heard no complaints but she has offered that the precision now with the two Pro Pens is fantastic - IOW, she's a happy camper.

On the matter of older preferences, you figured out what I would have recommended in ditching the older prefs - I had the same issue going from my previous tablet to the Pro M too. I'm happy that you're happy so far!
 
Ahh thank you again, I thought the tumbling just might be rotation. Then it's settled 3 D pen not Art pen.
I'm just happy that I can sketch again, I thought that part of my life was over.
 
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