Hey gang, I've been thinking about getting a tablet to fool around on, mostly in Pixelmator and possibly other programs down the road and was wondering if anyone has any experience with the new Wacom Bamboo tablets? Also is the larger Bamboo worth the extra cash?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Wacom Touch & Pen
- Thread starter Matt Gnarly
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
it's only been (officially) out a couple of days, although I did see a review linked via engadget. Try a quick google for touch and pen reviews 🙂
Okay cool, I just stumbled upon it at the store the other day and wasn't sure how long it had been out. Does anyone have any experience with the older Bamboo tablets and have any suggestions as per which size tablet would work well for my needs. Is the small one too small? Medium too big considering the cost premium associated with it?
Icestyle
macrumors member
I had a Bamboo Fun Small.
On the Macbook screen it was okay, on the 20" PC screen it wasn't.
If you can afford the larger one, buy it.
Now I have a 24" iMac so small is not an option.
I'm going to buy an Intuos4 Medium tablet 😉
Thanks for the reply, I use a 22 inch monitor with my Macbook so it looks like the medium Bamboo is the way to go, just wish it came in black like the smaller one.
I have been using a small Bamboo on a 42" screen at a resolution of 1920x1080 for the past year as a substitute for practically all mouse input and I haven't had any problems with it. It may take slightly more pen control, and perhaps a better understanding of the importance of hot key zoom functionality, than mapping a similar resolution to a larger tablet, but it works incredibly well for everything I do, from Aperture to SketchUp to Photoshop and Illustrator.
Do I want a larger tablet? Sure, I'd love to have a new toy, especially if it were a larger Intuous or the new touch-capability Wacom. But do I need a larger tablet? Not at all; what I have now works perfectly for what I need.
I'd really suggest starting out with a small until you really understand whether or not you really need a larger size. There's a refurbished Bamboo Small on Amazon for $45...thats a helluva deal, and while it may not have the touch input you had originally mentioned, its a great way to dip your toe in without having a huge impact on your wallet.
Do I want a larger tablet? Sure, I'd love to have a new toy, especially if it were a larger Intuous or the new touch-capability Wacom. But do I need a larger tablet? Not at all; what I have now works perfectly for what I need.
I'd really suggest starting out with a small until you really understand whether or not you really need a larger size. There's a refurbished Bamboo Small on Amazon for $45...thats a helluva deal, and while it may not have the touch input you had originally mentioned, its a great way to dip your toe in without having a huge impact on your wallet.
no.1 Apple Fan
macrumors regular
I'm more interested in the Touch & Pen than the older Bamboo's, it seems like an overall better product. At this point it seems that it would be smarter to buy the medium tablet rather than buy the small, upgrade later to the medium and be out a chunk of money
Icestyle
macrumors member
Yup.
Even if thebreadking has no problems with using a small one on a 42" display - it's crap.
Just imagine you want to to do some precision things - you would have to zoom in - and in some cases you don't see the general outcome anymore when editing something like a picture...
Small is the right choice if you want something well uhm... small... and more portable
As for me: I don't want to use Photoshop or Lightroom on a small tablet... (especially as the Bamboo line doesn't suit my needs)
I have just seen one of these in the Trafford Centre Apple Store. A medium Touch & Pen is now on my Xmas list. I prefer the silver to go with my Mac Pro.
Monoprice to the rescue!
Amazingly, I found that monoprice has tablets for 35 bux that judging by the reviews are quite good. I'm waiting for the giant 8x10 to become available but you may want to go for the smaller ones. I had a bamboo which I gave to my girlfriend. Not bad but nothing special either. too small and pretty costly.
Amazingly, I found that monoprice has tablets for 35 bux that judging by the reviews are quite good. I'm waiting for the giant 8x10 to become available but you may want to go for the smaller ones. I had a bamboo which I gave to my girlfriend. Not bad but nothing special either. too small and pretty costly.
no.1 Apple Fan
macrumors regular
Ordered one on amazon the other day. Can't wait till it comes. I'll post what I think of it when it comes.
no.1 Apple Fan
macrumors regular
Just the normal bamboo small. Not the medium. Do you know how well the handwriting recognition works? I am pretty excited about that feature. 🙂
no.1 Apple Fan
macrumors regular
Darkroom
Guest
Argelius
macrumors 6502
I also have a Pen & Touch. I generally like it, although, like you, I wish it had more gestures -- would be great if it at least had all the gestures that the native MacBook Pro trackpad has.
I am having one problem, however. In my browser (Firefox) the scroll gesture (two-fingers) locks up about 80% of the time. It will work for one scroll gesture, then that gesture no longer works until I use the scrollbar on the right and then go back using the finger gesture.
Curious if anyone else has had this problem.
Thanks for the heads up, went to Futureshop today and picked one up (pricematched). Although I was leaning towards the medium at this price the small seemed like a better deal, haven't had much of a chance to try it out though, have a big paper due tomorrow.
Anyone have any feedback on how the Touch & Pen is for drawing....preferably if anyone has the larger Fun one. I'm thinking of getting one and the touch aspect is intriguing but im weighing between the touch or one of the Intuous3 ones.
Thanks.
Thanks.
I'm not much of an artist, just a very rookie hobbyist and I'm enjoying the small touch and pen, the medium would be nice just to have that extra space but I couldn't justify the additional cost for what I do with it. It does draw well, as good as the person using it, however I really have no point of reference to compare it with. Overall I'm satisfied with my purchase though, plus the black bamboo matches my Macbook, monitor, external harddrive and studio monitors nicely.