Wacom Tablet

[dennybeall]

The Bamboo is the less capable line and with the Intuos they have a new model so you can get the older one for a good price. I've seen them on eBay used and new.

 

[EIngerson]

I use the small Intuous Pro. I love it.

 

[qleak]

I have a Bamboo tablet I used to make Khan Academy style videos for my job. It's perfect for that, but it's not nearly as good for photo editing. I'd say spring for the better model if you're going to do it.

 

[TCampbell]

I have two.

I've got a large Intuos 3 tablet that I've used for several years. I was encouraged by a graphics artist that the small tablets can seem "cramped" and to get a large tablet. So I did. But after using it a few years, I'd say I could have done with a slightly smaller size.

So my next model was the Cintiq 13HD -- which is a very comfortable size. This is the model that has a built-in display screen (so you draw directly on your image -- making hand-eye coordination a MUCH easier task.) The hand-eye coordination with the Intuos is easier than a mouse, but certain tasks... like carefully trying to trace out a selection area in an image... is much easier on the Cintiq than it is on the Intuous.

I also had an original Graphire BT tablet and this is a bit more like the current Bamboo series. The Graphire line was renamed to the Bamboo line. These are the entry-level Wacom tablets. The Intuos line and Cintiq line are their pro-grade tablets.

The differences are:

(a) the Intuos has more pressure sensitivity levels
(b) the Intuos are also sensitive to the tilt direction and angle of the pen AND the barrel rotation of the pen. This is very useful when using something such as a calligraphy brush, fan brush, airbrush, or any other type of drawing tool where the angle of the tool would be important.
(c) the Bamboo support just one "pen". The Intuos supports multiple "pens" (or pen-like tools) and it IDs each one uniquely. It's nice because when you're in Photoshop and you set your brush type, size, color, etc. etc. and work with the brush, you can just put it down, pick up another pen, and assign a different brush type, size, color, etc. to that pen -- and then you can flip between the two (you can have as many as you want.)
(d) you can get different nibs for the Intuos pens and these will have a different "feel". The default nylon nib has a low-friction feel to it... it feels a bit like writing with a bold-tip ballpoint pen (one that rolls easily). There's a felt nib that provides a bit more friction and it "feels" a bit like writing with a pencil (it has a slight bit of drag to it that the nylon nib doesn't have.)

BTW, the Cintiq is pretty much exactly an Intuos (all features of Intuos work on the Cintiq as well) except you get a built-in monitor.

 

[dennybeall]

If my budget would have allowed it I also would have gotten the Cintiq but the price difference between that and the Intuos is significant.

 

[Nevermore1]

The Cintiq Looks like it would be very nice to have if it didn't cost so much. As TCampbell mentioned I think it would make outlining/selecting a lot easier.

TCampbell - What is the build quality on the Cintiq? Is it pretty sturdy or something you would be terrified of damaging easily (in other words could it possibly survive an accidental drop of a foot or so onto a padded surface)?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

The 22" Cintiq is spectacular. I debated going with the 13" but am so glad I didnt.

 

[ronlane]

I use the pen & touch medium. The mouse is in the garage with a bunch of other crapola.

JacaRanda. I hear you about that but I tried this set up. I am left handed so, I put the tablet on that side and I have a track ball mouse that I use with my right hand. With this set up with my old Windows laptop, I only touched the laptop when needed to type something in.

I've got to get the intuous pro medium so I can use my current one at work.