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What graphics tablet should I buy?

M

mariotheotaku

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 16, 2008
155
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I am getting into graphic design, I need to purchase a tablet for my needs, I been looking into the Wacom intuos3 4x6 since its the cheapest out of all the intous3, but I am not sure what other options are available. Can anybody suggest other graphics tablets or is wacom the best way to go?

TIA
 
You dont need an intuos for graphic design, just get the bamboo. If you are doing digital painting then an intuos would be worthwhile.
 
Wacom is the best way to go for tablets. Now as far as size goes, have you looked at the 4x6 in general? I ask because the best way to know if 4x6 will make you happy or crazy is to use a 4x6 pad to design on first and see how you can adapt to that size (yes you can zoom in and out with any tablet but less zooming is a plus). For travel I'd say great but full time I'm not sure. I've had a 4x6, 6x8 and now a 9x12 Intuos3 and I don't think I would go for the 4x6 as my first tablet size as I would do the 6x8 again. Does the Bamboo come in 6x8? If so I'd go that way over the cost of the Intuos3 (even though I think the Intuos3 tablets are great).
I guess the most important thing here is how much will you be using it? I use mine almost everyday and 6-10 hrs. on those days so comfort concerning the pen and drawing area are a must.
Good luck and enjoy :)
 
I recently purchased a Wacom Graphire4 6x8" tablet. Love it. I would recommend the larger size (6x8") over the smaller one (4x6") based on my experience.
 
What would be the differences between the intous3 and the bamboo? I will be using the tablet in cs3, corel painter x and such, I am not sure about drawing, I may use it to do some manga drawings from time to time.
 
Thanks, I was also wondering if the different pens the intuos3 has made a big difference when it comes to be a graphic designer?
 
No you dont need an intuos for graphic design. You would only be concerned with the pressure sensitivity rather than accuracy and control. The Bamboo has enough pressure sensitivity to get the job done for certain tasks, it wont be used 100% of the time like with digital painting. I almost never use a tablet for graphic design, so theres no way I would ever buy an intuos just for that purpose. I only have an intuos for digital painting, I find that it comes in handy for design sometimes but only rarely is it better than a mouse.
 
Im gonna go against the grain here and say if your using painter get the intuos. The bamboo is nice as I have one at work but I always find myself bringing the intuos because in painter you can notice a difference not only from button layout but I like the 6D art pen (not sure if its compatible with the bamboo I haven't tried as I always have my intuos)

As far as size do you have a wide screen or standard screen? You will want to pick size based on this.If you use a widescreen monitor and get a standart format wacom tablet (4 x 6, 6 x 8) you will either be drawing ovals for circles or part of your tablet will not work because it will "crop" it to make it widescreen. I also think the 4 x 6 is too small. Middle is usually good.

I just purchased a new intuos (6 x 11) for widescreen and I love it.
 
chrono1081 said:
As far as size do you have a wide screen or standard screen? You will want to pick size based on this.If you use a widescreen monitor and get a standart format wacom tablet (4 x 6, 6 x 8) you will either be drawing ovals for circles or part of your tablet will not work because it will "crop" it to make it widescreen. I also think the 4 x 6 is too small. Middle is usually good.

I just purchased a new intuos (6 x 11) for widescreen and I love it.
Click to expand...

I have made a Tablet Tutorial that will be posted in the Design/Mac help/how-to section in the next few days here on MR to address this issue. As long as you Map your tablet to your screen it will give you years of pleasure regardless of 4:3 or 16:9 format ;) I use my 9x12 on my 20" iMac and since I learned to Map the tablet to my needs life has been much easier :)
As far as I know the 6D and Airbrush pens can not be used with the Bamboo, only on the Intuos and Cintiq models. All I can say is if the Bamboo pens are all plastic, meaning no rubber comfort grip like the Intuos pens, this "may" matter to some people. It didn't matter to me short term but as said before after using it for hours on end the trivial things crop up after awhile.
What type of things in Painter will you be doing? I know you said Graphic Design but that's wide open for anything really. I don't recall you really doing anything concerning heavy photo editing so favor goes to the Bamboo as a start but if your going to do anything such as this http://einarlunden.com/ using Painter then I'd go with the Intuos hands down. Really in the end it's all about your needs and what you can afford at the current time. So people get a huge $$$ tablet and they still can't do things while others can use the 4x6 (any model) and make wonderful art/design. If you get the chance go to a local shop and try some out. The Apple Stores have some on display and certain Big Box stores have Wacoms out and this may give you a better idea of your expectations.
 
I've used every wacom device available now and i always defer back to my Intuos 3 (6x8). My current setup is the Intuos 3 + the new Cintiq 12UX (i use the cintiq as a separate monitor when i'm not drawing on it). It sounds redundant but i like having the portability of the 12" cintiq and the direct feedback when i need it, but for general interface i just use the Intuos.

I think the 6x8 is a little big if you're going to be traveling with a laptop. The 4x6 is plenty big for most entry level users. Honestly, anything over the 6x9 is a waste of desk space and a waste of money. You can do everything on a 4x6 that you can on a 12x19.

You'll probably outgrow the bamboo and graphire pretty quick if you're serious. The comfort of the new Intuos pens are unbeatable and the expresskeys ad touch strips never cease to amaze me at their versatility. (+ the new nibs they just came out with are really nice)

You can disagree with me if you want, but I've been working with wacoms for years and they send me equipment to demo (that's how they suckered me into buying the 12ux).
But i say, go Intuos3 4x6 or 6x8. It will never fail you and you'll never wish you didn't purchase it.
 
Definitely go with a Wacom. I got a really good price on an intuos3 9x12 and have loved using it. I wish I had more time to use it. I was considering a 6x8 until this deal popped up on the 9x12 (that was over a year ago).
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, I finally purchased a wacom intuos3 tablet, the 4x6 since I found a good deal on ebay for just $130.00 plus I also just purchased cs3 so I had a low budget, lol.
 
mariotheotaku said:
Thanks for all the replies guys, I finally purchased a wacom intuos3 tablet, the 4x6 since I found a good deal on ebay for just $130.00 plus I also just purchased cs3 so I had a low budget, lol.
Click to expand...

You got a good deal so enjoy it :D I think you'll find being able to add a 6D pen or the Airbrush later on a great option. Also as others have said changing the Nibs can alter the way you can use the Pen or more so the feeling of the Pen.
I think you'll be more than happy once you get everything all set up, cheers!
 
If you have the cash, the Cintiq 20WSX is a must buy. This is an absolutely amazing device.

Picked it up here locally at a Fry's (they were the only ones that had it in stock - without ordering online).

It's at the top end for price, but it is amazing.
 
Thanks, although that won't be for a while, I am still getting used to the wacom tablet, lol but I bet the Cintiq is easier to use since you see the actual screen, right?
 
Similar Question

I don't wanna hijack a thread but I have a similar question. I'm a photographer and graphic designer/illustrator and want to spend what little money I have well. I'm hearing the Bamboo is good for design but not photo work, and that the Intuos would do both well - what about the Graphire? The design work is full fledged layout with InDesign & Illustrator work (logos, illustrations, etc). The photo work is photo editing, masking, etc in Photoshop - fairly serious stuff. Which is best? Bamboo? Graphire? Intuos? - I'm 2 hours away from the nearest place to test anything out so that's not an option. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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