...those pen tablets and if so, which is good?  I notice the Bamboo is more cost-friendly than Intuos, provided they can run $220 for the small one and I think up $500 for the large one.  I been looking at a good pen tablet to use if I want to do drawing and such and was thinking about Bamboo, but sliding towards Intuos (just the small size for now).  I've been using the Aiptek PenTablet for a while when I had XP, well since I have Vista (thinking about switching to W7), I'm just looking around a good tablet that would be great for everything, but won't stretch the dollar.

Any thoughs, suggestions...

JB

Depends on what you plan to do with it. For drawing and sketching, inking, texturing, sculpting and no-frills painting, a bamboo works just fine. You need an intuos only for hardcore digital painting, cause then the extra features and senstivity can be real nice to work with. Or if you want a real big tablet cause IIRC bamboos only come in mid-small sizes.

Also I would suggest getting a larger bamboo over a smaller Intuos.

A larger Bamboo tablet.  Interesting, I'll check that out.

I use the small bamboo and have found it fine for drawing (have some 2D stuff in my gallery made with it) - in fact I like that I don't have to move my hand too much, I just zoom higher for detailed work.

I use the Intuos 3 and I'm very very happy with it, I used to have a smaller graphire tablet (more like the bamboo I think) and the differents is there in feel and touch, for painting it's lovely, but I even use it for Poser and Zbrush.

Intuos 3 user here. I use the small tablet because that's how I write and draw. It is more comfortable for the way I do things. Others find the big tablet more to thier liking.

You may want to test what size you find works best for you. You can kinda test with paper and see how big or small your strokes are to give you an idea. Though you really won't know till you use one. 

 Understand the need to conserve money, however...

Consider your needs (as I don't know them) and get a good tablet if the sensitivity and tilt- stylos
attributes are important. If you're painting textures, I would say that it is worth saving up for a good tablet rather than making do with a cheaper one. 

I've got an Intuos-1 6x8 that is still a good tablet after 10 years

and a Intuos 4 ptk-840 (which is around 8.5"  X  13"

I've never used a Bamboo so I have no feedback.

Most important part: 

Don't minimize the feel of the pen. If you're going to be spending hours holding it be sure to get a good grip. Even pinching hurts when you do it for days and days. ; )

The Bamboo is great! I've got the touch & pen and it really works well. I had a large tablet before this one and the Bamboo is about half size, but I don't really miss the loss of size at all. The Bamboo is very nice to work with, especially when you use it all day. Being able to switch between a pen and a touch pad is nice also. Something I do prefer working with the touch pad and compared to others it's huge :-)

The Bamboo is responsive and quite accurate. I use for modeling, sculpting, a bit of drawing/painting, photo/render editing and of course poser. Works well of all of them and if you get used to it, you can do any task with it, I never use a mouse anymore. That's a huge benefit also, since it's less straining then a mouse, a lot less.

I recently replaced my old graphire with a different brand, I was a little worried at first but soon became very happy with my purchase :)

http://www.geniustablet.com/index.aspx

If you have the money for an Intuos I'd go for one of those, otherwise I'd get a Genius one instead of the Bamboo.  When I compared them the genius range had better features and a bigger working areas than the Bamboo range.

I was concerned that it would feel cheap and nasty compared to my old graphire, but it actually feels rather good.  I use it for drawing which feels fine, but mostly I use it for sculpting in 3D Coat, which actually works like a dream :)

John

I have an Intuos 3 6.5" x 11" and absolutely love it.  I had a Graphire 3 3" x 5" originally, and found that it was just too small, and the pen was not very comfortable to hold.  The soft grip pen of the Intuos is great.

Quote - The Bamboo is great! I've got the touch & pen and it really works well. I had a large tablet before this one and the Bamboo is about half size, but I don't really miss the loss of size at all. The Bamboo is very nice to work with, especially when you use it all day. Being able to switch between a pen and a touch pad is nice also. Something I do prefer working with the touch pad and compared to others it's huge :-)

The Bamboo is responsive and quite accurate. I use for modeling, sculpting, a bit of drawing/painting, photo/render editing and of course poser. Works well of all of them and if you get used to it, you can do any task with it, I never use a mouse anymore. That's a huge benefit also, since it's less straining then a mouse, a lot less.

I'm with you,  the Bamboo is a superior product.  One thing I really like about it is that you can place it on your lap lean back in your computer chair and you don't need much hand movement to get outstanding results.  Personally, I really hate sliding my palm across a large surface and you must adjust your chair to the slate.  I prefer it the other way.  Jan  

My small Wacom Graphire that I've had for years is still going strong despite the broken pen case.  I got the bamboo pen and touch for christmas and I'm wishing I'd bought the pen only version.  For whatever reason it tends to want to switch without me ever hitting the "touch on" button. 

Before you pick any of them, take a good look at your desk and think about the real dimensions of the tablet - I have an Intuos 3 6x8 inch tablet, and while it's a great tablet, the thing is huge, it's nearly as wide as the keyboard because there's a lot of surface on both sides that isn't part of the actual drawing surface.  If you mean to hold it in your lap or have some way to just place it conveniently (which I don't, not really) then it's a great tablet - think about getting a smaller one though, they really don't have to be all that big.  It depends a lot on your stroke style too, whether you draw with your whole arm or mostly small motions of the fingers and wrist.

I use a Wacom Intuos 4, medium sized tablet. The tablet has a subtle texture that pulls on the stylus like paper does when you run a pencil across it. It's very comfortable and I use it a lot in Painter and Zbrush.

Quote - Before you pick any of them, take a good look at your desk and think about the real dimensions of the tablet - I have an Intuos 3 6x8 inch tablet, and while it's a great tablet, the thing is huge, it's nearly as wide as the keyboard because there's a lot of surface on both sides that isn't part of the actual drawing surface.  If you mean to hold it in your lap or have some way to just place it conveniently (which I don't, not really) then it's a great tablet - think about getting a smaller one though, they really don't have to be all that big.  It depends a lot on your stroke style too, whether you draw with your whole arm or mostly small motions of the fingers and wrist.

That's a good point! I've got it connected to a laptop, so mobility is a must. If you travel a lot, the Bamboo sure has it's advantages over a larger sized tablet. I never thought about the hand/wrist or arm drawing, but that needs to be considered indeed. I had drawing lessons, so I learned to draw with my fingers/wrist. If you can do that, a small tablet goes a long way indeed. If you make larger motions using your arm, then a larger tablet is preferable.

Quote - My small Wacom Graphire that I've had for years is still going strong despite the broken pen case.  I got the bamboo pen and touch for christmas and I'm wishing I'd bought the pen only version.  For whatever reason it tends to want to switch without me ever hitting the "touch on" button. 

That's odd, it shouldn't do that. As soon as I switch the touch off, then it will only work with the pen and will not respond to touch unless I switch it on again. Perhaps the tablet isn't 100% and you could bring it back to replace it or have it fixed?

For Space issues.. I use a Slide out Keyboard Tray next to my Keyboard Tray to store my Tablet. I use to have a Vertical Inbox that I would stand it up on edge in (I tend to use it in my Lap or hands, so when not in use, it can be anywhere)

I had a 4 x 6 (something small) and hated it with a passion. Ended up using it as a Coaster more than a Tablet. I thought for the longest time it was because of the Tablet, but when I got a 9 x 12 second hand... I realized the size was the issue.. I could not do with out it now.

If you like large Sketchpads and draw with sweeping strokes, go with the biggest you can afford... you will be much happier. I have been looking to replace mine, but have not yet... still good after all these years.

I have a "Wacom Intuous 3", 6" x 8"

http://www.amazon.ca/Wacom-Intuos3-6X8-Pen-Tablet/dp/B00030097G

I used to have a 4x5 one but couldn't get the hang of it, plus it kept losing it's programming. Thinking that the reason I just couldn't get the hang of it was because of it's small size, I bought the 6x8 one.

I still can't get the hang of it. I've finally come to the realization that using a pen-tablet and trying to mimic drawing on paper while looking at something other than the paper (tablet) itself, gives me a sense of being disconnected.

So the tablet sits on my desk, covered in junk and acting as a very expensive coffee/dinner placemat.  

I think about selling it from time-to-time, but keep hanging onto it thinking that one day I'll try figuring it out again.

What I really need is one of those tablets that you can actually look at while drawing on it.  Out of my price range though.

what you buy should depend on the software you are planning on using with it, and the type of drawing. if you are planning on painting in painter or photoshop for example the extra pen pressure sensitivity and tilt sensitivity of the intuos will really come in handy particularly when using natural painting brushes. For more cartoon type line art drawing you can get away with far less sensitivity and the bamboo will be fine, not saying you can't do painting with the bamboo but I find the difference in sensitivity makes a difference when controlling things like stroke width, and varying opacity.

I have the first generation Bamboo Fun with mouse and pen the smaller one and I love it. I can't complain about its performance. The area I work in doesn't give the space for a large tablet.

I have the first generation Bamboo Fun as well and I'm glad I got that one rather than one of the more expensive Intuous line of tablets. You really have to ask yourself how much use you plan to get out of this thing because it can be an expensive component that ends up not being used as much as you thought it would. That's been the case with mine. I always plan on using it more but there always seems to be something more pressing that needs to be attended to instead.

If money isn't a concern then get the best you can afford - otherwise get a Bamboo and if you find you're really getting a lot of use from it you can always upgrade to a better tablet at another time. You'd be surprised however how much you can do with the Bamboo and it just might be all the tablet you need.

I was surprised to hear that many professionals actually prefer to use the smaller tablets and I would have guessed that anyone would prefer to get the largest tablet they could afford but apparently that isn't so. Many digital artists actually prefer the smaller desktop footprint and the ability to draw from the wrist rather than sweeping your arm to get your curves. The Bamboo tablet has both of these features for a very affordable price.

I have to say however, that even after offering this advise that I'd still love to be able to get my hands on a nice medium-sized Intuous 4 tablet and if it was easily affordable I would probably do so :)

For me the main reason to go from large to smaller is not having to switch anymore. For me, to do regular stuff with a large tablet is very counter productive, so I have to revert back to a mouse or other device. I constantly was switching between the tablet and the mouse.

When the tablet broke down, I started looking for a better solution. I've been considering a trackball or something like it, but then noticed the 2nd generation Bamboo. Looking at the specs I figured this may work well for general stuff as well. A good advantage of the 2nd generation Bamboo is that they're 'wide screen' format, making it very easy to use with my wide screen laptop.

The smaller sized tablet is very usable with regular programs as well, once you get used to it, there's no need to switch to another device anymore. To move around the screen with the mouse, I don't even have to move my arm at all, as with the larger tablets, it's all confined to small wrist and hand movements. Lot less strain then a mouse, a lot less moving around then a large tablet and no need to switch devices.

For me and excellent choice :-)

Quote - I have a "Wacom Intuous 3", 6" x 8"

http://www.amazon.ca/Wacom-Intuos3-6X8-Pen-Tablet/dp/B00030097G

I used to have a 4x5 one but couldn't get the hang of it, plus it kept losing it's programming. Thinking that the reason I just couldn't get the hang of it was because of it's small size, I bought the 6x8 one.

I still can't get the hang of it. I've finally come to the realization that using a pen-tablet and trying to mimic drawing on paper while looking at something other than the paper (tablet) itself, gives me a sense of being disconnected.
So the tablet sits on my desk, covered in junk and acting as a very expensive coffee/dinner placemat.  

I think about selling it from time-to-time, but keep hanging onto it thinking that one day I'll try figuring it out again.

What I really need is one of those tablets that you can actually look at while drawing on it.  Out of my price range though.

 

Exactly this, down to make and model. 

Hey while we are on the subject of the bamboo can someone answer me a question? You guys that use the first generation of the Bamboo fun mouse and pen have any idea if there is a new driver out for windows 7? I've gone to Wacom's site looking for an updated driver but it doesn't list the Bamboo fun with the mouse and pen or am I missing it?

Thanks!

@PaganArtist: I seem to recall getting the driver from here:

http://www.wacom.com/downloads/drivers.php

I don't remember installing it though or if I have the newest version :)

After going through this thread it prompted me to take a look again at Wacom's site and I really like the new Bamboo tablet. So I'm tempted to buy it and give my first gen Bamboo to my kid :)

Quote - @PaganArtist: I seem to recall getting the driver from here:

http://www.wacom.com/downloads/drivers.php

I don't remember installing it though or if I have the newest version :)

After going through this thread it prompted me to take a look again at Wacom's site and I really like the new Bamboo tablet. So I'm tempted to buy it and give my first gen Bamboo to my kid :)

Yeah the new bamboo touch and pen are pretty cool I may have to get one too.  Over the last few days my tablet has been causing me trouble. When the PC first boots up in the AM it's like the tablet all of a sudden doesn't exists to windows 7. When I installed the new driver from Wacom and the machine asks me to reboot the cursor  is frozen just like it does on boot up. I know it's a driver issue because without the driver I don't have the problem but the mouse and pen act funny without a driver.

Quote -

Yeah the new bamboo touch and pen are pretty cool I may have to get one too.  Over the last few days my tablet has been causing me trouble. When the PC first boots up in the AM it's like the tablet all of a sudden doesn't exists to windows 7. When I installed the new driver from Wacom and the machine asks me to reboot the cursor  is frozen just like it does on boot up. I know it's a driver issue because without the driver I don't have the problem but the mouse and pen act funny without a driver.

When I had the Intuous 4x5 one, I downloaded and installed the updated driver numerous times but whenever I rebooted, like you said, the tablet didn't exist and I had to reinstall it all over again.

The tablet was given to me and the person who gave it to me warned me that this would be a problem, even with an updated driver.  I even had a different version of Windows than he did....Windows 98, and it still did the same thing to me.

I have a 10x12 Intuos 4, the thing is just huge, I wish Id had bought the 6x8, but other than that its great I`ve never had a problem with.  I use a recliner for my computer chair and sit with it in my lap, pretty much like I did with pencils and paper drawing pads

Quote - Yeah the new bamboo touch and pen are pretty cool I may have to get one too.  Over the last few days my tablet has been causing me trouble. When the PC first boots up in the AM it's like the tablet all of a sudden doesn't exists to windows 7. When I installed the new driver from Wacom and the machine asks me to reboot the cursor  is frozen just like it does on boot up. I know it's a driver issue because without the driver I don't have the problem but the mouse and pen act funny without a driver.

Make sure the tablet service is starting properly (and auto starting at boot).

http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/bamboo_pen_touch.php

I also noticed that they also have the Bamboo Fun in both small and medium as well, they have all kinds from the black Pen and Touch, separate, and Fun and Craft.  Interesting responses.  So, I guess it's Wacom all the way.

JB

In my devices when there is a yellow exclamation point in side a triangle against the mouse. Clicking on that takes me to a "Wacom mouse monitor" and clicking on the property tab I get this error:

 "Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)"

I am not the only one with a wacom on win 7 64-bit that is getting this by the number of returns I get when I Googled it. In the last driver update it appears Wacom left something out. Until this is fixed my tablet is useless I can correct this while the machine is up and running but once shut down for the night and rebooted cold the same thing happens all over again. There is a definite conflict between the driver and windows 7 64-bit. But I have a feeling that this driver is not for the Bamboo fun small with the pen and mouse I think it's for the second generation Bamboo touch and pen.

This tablet I have now is a few years old and my drivers on my install disk only go up to Vista.

Quote - My small Wacom Graphire that I've had for years is still going strong despite the broken pen case.  I got the bamboo pen and touch for christmas and I'm wishing I'd bought the pen only version.  For whatever reason it tends to want to switch without me ever hitting the "touch on" button. 

Quote - That's odd, it shouldn't do that. As soon as I switch the touch off, then it will only work with the pen and will not respond to touch unless I switch it on again. Perhaps the tablet isn't 100% and you could bring it back to replace it or have it fixed?

I think I've had it too long to take it back but it could be a driver issue.  It was doing it before I replaced my graphics card, not as often now.  Now that I've got the computer running better I should search for updated drivers.   Other than that one issue, when it's working the way it should I really like it. 

I've used everything from graphite, to Bamboo to Cintiq.. For the pay out nothing beats the Intuos for me.  Its reasonable, without breaking the bank and gives you alot of pressure points.