# Need help choosing between these 3 tablets



## Hazel (Oct 6, 2011)

Hi, 

I've been skimming around the forum for tablet threads and I've heard a lot about them, I've been meaning to purchase one for a very long time now- I currently scan my work and trace over it with my mouse for lineart and I find shading very difficult with a mouse. 

What I'm worried about though, is that at my school they had Wacom Bamboo Touches, those really small and cheap tablets, and I tried it out and really didn't like it. I hope that was only because it was a really small work area and low quality tablet (or that the art kids abused the crap out of the pens?).

Anyway, I found this site for students with really cheap tablet prices, and I found these three:

http://www.journeyed.com/item/Wacom/Intuos+Tablets/36982106N

http://www.journeyed.com/item/Wacom/Bamboo+Graphics+Tablets/1519515

http://www.journeyed.com/item/Wacom/Refurbished+Tablets/100963515

I want to know from those of you with much more tablet experience than me, which would be the best out of all three in terms of quality, endurance and price?

(PS. I really recommend this site to any college students out there)


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

I own a Wacom Bamboo Fun and I've owned it for years. I love it to death.

I'm probably a bit biased but I'd say Wacom, though I've heard good reviews about the Intuos. My Bamboo was around $80 or something and came with a mouse, pen, tablet, cords, install CDs as well as CDs for Photoshop, Corel and something else.


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## Hazel (Oct 6, 2011)

Clayton said:


> I own a Wacom Bamboo Fun and I've owned it for years. I love it to death.
> 
> I'm probably a bit biased but I'd say Wacom, though I've heard good reviews about the Intuos. My Bamboo was around $80 or something and came with a mouse, pen, tablet, cords, install CDs as well as CDs for Photoshop, Corel and something else.



I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Bamboo Fun...what size is yours, may I ask?


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## Smelge (Oct 6, 2011)

Get The Bamboo fun they are selling is fucking tiny. You want a decent sized area for art, otherwise you'll just end up fucking your wrists up using it. Same goes for the Intuos, plus if you're not 100% sold on tablets, you don't want to start off with the pricey one.

Best one looks to be the Bamboo Capture. It seems to have a decent area for not a bad price. However, before dropping cash on it, shop around. You may find it cheaper elsewhere. Especially try Wacom themselves. Their eStores sometimes have reconditioned models at a discounted price, but fully warrantied.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Hazel said:


> I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Bamboo Fun...what size is yours, may I ask?


I'm not sure, I believe mine is the smallest one.



Smelge said:


> Get The Bamboo fun they are selling is fucking tiny. You want a decent sized area for art, otherwise you'll just end up fucking your wrists up using it. Same goes for the Intuos, plus if you're not 100% sold on tablets, you don't want to start off with the pricey one.


Wrong. I own the smallest one and it doesn't fuck up my wrists. I've been using it for years.


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## Smelge (Oct 6, 2011)

Clayton said:


> Wrong. I own the smallest one and it doesn't fuck up my wrists. I've been using it for years.



Well, good for you.

If it's used regularly, it will. You should draw using your whole arm. With a small tablet, you can only use your wrist. And using one joint repeatedly ends up with bad joints, aches, stiffness and all that shit. Just because you don't, doesn't mean nobody else will.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Smelge said:


> Well, good for you.
> 
> If it's used regularly, it will. You should draw using your whole arm. With a small tablet, you can only use your wrist. And using one joint repeatedly ends up with bad joints, aches, stiffness and all that shit. Just because you don't, doesn't mean nobody else will.


It is used regularly for ~4 years. The amount of strain on your wrists is in direct correlation with how big your canvas is and how zoomed in you're drawing at.


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## Antonin Scalia (Oct 6, 2011)

I have a Cintiq medium and am basing my opinion off of the fact(?) that the intuos is pretty similar.  Get the intuos.


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## Smelge (Oct 6, 2011)

Clayton said:


> It is used regularly for ~4 years. The amount of strain on your wrists is in direct correlation with how big your canvas is and how zoomed in you're drawing at.



No, because you are still only moving your wrist, instead of using your whole arm. Repetitive motions lead to strain, continuing leads to carpal tunnel.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Smelge said:


> No, because you are still only moving your wrist, instead of using your whole arm. Repetitive motions lead to strain, continuing leads to carpal tunnel.


No.
The bigger/zoomed out the canvas, the more you have to move your arm. I'm not fucking bullshitting, I'm working on a 5000x5000px canvas right now and if I only moved my wrist, there would be shitty/wiggly lines all over the place.


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## Smelge (Oct 6, 2011)

Sorry, I forgot. Clayton is always correct, don't bother arguing.

Let's ignore the part where I have personal experience from using a small tablet, and have a slightly fucked up wrist from it. Obviously, it's just because I'm shit at using tablets and computers.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Smelge said:


> Sorry, I forgot. Clayton is always correct, don't bother arguing.
> 
> Let's ignore the part where I have personal experience from using a small tablet, and have a slightly fucked up wrist from it. Obviously, it's just because I'm shit at using tablets and computers.


I have the smallest Bamboo Fun tablet.
If you do small strokes, you will have a fucked up wrist. If you do long strokes [like on a mother fucking large canvas] you will BE FORCED TO SLIDE YOUR ARM
Holy shit.

If you want me to take a video of myself using my tablet I will


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## Smelge (Oct 6, 2011)

Clayton said:


> If you want me to take a video of myself using my tablet I will



No thanks, I've just eaten.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Smelge said:


> No thanks, I've just eaten.


If an arm and a tablet makes you lose your lunch, I'd hate to see you during sex


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## Smelge (Oct 6, 2011)

Clayton said:


> If an arm and a tablet makes you lose your lunch, I'd hate to see you during sex



Is this flirting? Because this makes me kinda uncomfortable. I'm not into men. Sorry. But I'm sure you'll find the right one soon enough.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Smelge said:


> Is this flirting? Because this makes me kinda uncomfortable. I'm not into men. Sorry. But I'm sure you'll find the right one soon enough.


It isn't, and I'm not even slightly interested in you, so don't worry.
I don't know why you had to resort to such pathetic attempts at insults when we were talking about tablets but whatever tickles your pickle.


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## Arshes Nei (Oct 6, 2011)

Get the intuos if you're serious about this. It gives you a lot more control. It's small but make sure you have good seating too.

The small has per program shortcut keys that other ones don't have. If you want to change them you can do them on a per program basis.

The radial menu and buttons are a blast. I like the touch ring.

I own the large because I'm cool like that. Most will be fine with a medium, and a small is OKAY but medium sized tablets are better for most people.

To avoid the wrist injury, because people fall into bad habits of working with their wrist on tiny tablets, is to take more breaks. Taking breaks is also good to give you rest from the monitor, and to look at your piece with a fresh eye.

I have had small tablets before, and went with the large because of concerns and ergonomic issues, but if you keep what I said above in mind this will help you out in the long run.

The only thing I noticed between the larger ones vs intuos4 small is that there are no OLEDs which is kind of a bummer, because there's nothing like putting in your own custom shortcuts that light up and change from program to program.

One often used shortcut is ctrl-z or ctrl-alt-z (in PS for step backwards) with it titles "UNDO DAMMIT"

Although...you do get it on your monitor if you keep one key for it


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## Hazel (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm kind of torn between Intuos and Bamboo now. I actually just found an auction on ebay for an Intuos3 and lost (it won at 80 bucks, everything included with it too). But I just found an auction on ebay for a 6x8 medium bamboo fun in almost new condition for 60 bucks buy it now...

Decisions, decisions...


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## Arshes Nei (Oct 6, 2011)

Hazel said:


> Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm kind of torn between Intuos and Bamboo now. I actually just found an auction on ebay for an Intuos3 and lost (it won at 80 bucks, everything included with it too). But I just found an auction on ebay for a 6x8 medium bamboo fun in almost new condition for 60 bucks buy it now...
> 
> Decisions, decisions...



Again go with the intuos. Even the intuos 3 have per program shortcuts.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Arshes Nei said:


> Again go with the intuos. Even the intuos 3 have per program shortcuts.


The bamboo has buttons you can program for certain uses too. :T and a scrolly-finger-wheel thing.
One time I accidentally clicked one ofthe buttons and this happened and I was all "woah what"
then you can use the scroll wheel to scroll through what window you want open


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## Hazel (Oct 6, 2011)

Well I do really want to be professional, so maybe I should go for intuos. I plan on buying a tablet for long term, but if I can't get a low enough price I'll swing for the bamboo fun :x At least, I hope so.


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## Arshes Nei (Oct 6, 2011)

Clayton said:


> The bamboo has buttons you can program for certain uses too. :T and a scrolly-finger-wheel thing.
> One time I accidentally clicked one ofthe buttons and this happened and I was all "woah what"
> then you can use the scroll wheel to scroll through what window you want open



I think you missed where I said PROGRAM specific. Because not all programs use the same shortcuts, and going back and forth between multiple art programs, this is where the intuos excels.

For example, because Painter, Sai Paint uses different canvas rotation shortcuts than CS4 and above you can program them to respond correctly per program.


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## Volkodav (Oct 6, 2011)

Arshes Nei said:


> I think you missed where I said PROGRAM specific. Because not all programs use the same shortcuts, and going back and forth between multiple art programs, this is where the intuos excels.
> 
> For example, because Painter, Sai Paint uses different canvas rotation shortcuts than CS4 and above you can program them to respond correctly per program.


Ohhh yeah I getcha


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## FireFeathers (Oct 7, 2011)

Smelge said:


> Get The Bamboo fun they are selling is fucking tiny. You want a decent sized area for art, otherwise you'll just end up fucking your wrists up using it.



3x5 inch tablet area, and my wrists are as SPRY as ever. Same can't be said for the callouses on my hands, but i've had it for 4 years, and no issue.


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## Volkodav (Oct 7, 2011)

FireFeathers said:


> 3x5 inch tablet area, and my wrists are as SPRY as ever. Same can't be said for the callouses on my hands, but i've had it for 4 years, and no issue.


Hahaha, I don't even have callouses on my hands from this tablet


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## Arshes Nei (Oct 7, 2011)

http://daarken.com/blog/2010/04/04/tunnel-syndrome-x3/ Something you should read. I've had other artist friends also have this problem. A lot of them were using smaller tablets and not taking breaks.


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## Zenia (Oct 7, 2011)

FireFeathers said:


> 3x5 inch tablet area, and my wrists are as SPRY as ever. Same can't be said for the callouses on my hands, but i've had it for 4 years, and no issue.


Same, and I have been using mine for 11 years.


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## Zydala (Oct 7, 2011)

Honestly after having access to smaller tablets and bigger ones, go for the bigger ones if at all possible. The smaller ones were really more created for digital editing and digital signatures imo... they might be cheaper and do just as well but I dunno for me the pressure sensitivity and size makes a ton of difference. Plus I just don't like the new bamboos, but that's just me.

Even if other people don't have issues from working small, it's not untrue that people haven't gotten carpal tunnel, etc; for less than tablet use, and it's something to think about, especially if other people in your family have had similar problems.

Is there any reason you've been looking at the brand new models? I work on an intuos 2 (largest size) and it does the job just as well as any of the new smaller ones... I'm seeing a ton of 6x8 and larger for about as much as the smallest bamboo - $60 - $150 isn't too bad!


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## Hazel (Oct 7, 2011)

@Zydala
Well now that I've thought more about it, I will go  for 6x8, because this purchase I will be making is hopefully going to be  permanent, and I would rather not need to upgrade later down the road. 


Hmm, I think now that I've dug through tons of ebay auctions, that I'll try to settle for an Intuos3 6x8, hopefully not past the 100 dollar range and disregard those links that I found because ebay has shown me I can find things MUCH cheaper >_> 

Reading everyone's comments here, I probably would be alright with a smaller size but I really do want the high pressure sensitivity that an Intuos seems to offer. :]


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## Volkodav (Oct 7, 2011)

I was misunderstood. I believe my bamboo is 4 x 6?


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## Zydala (Oct 7, 2011)

Clayton said:


> I was misunderstood. I believe my bamboo is 4 x 6?



??? What were you misunderstood on?


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## Volkodav (Oct 7, 2011)

Zydala said:


> ??? What were you misunderstood on?


Someone said they had the smallest bamboo and that it was like 3 x 5, so I thought I had the same one
Measured it last night nad it's 4 x 6.. it's a small, nonsense misunderstanding that doesn't really mean anything but ocd is making me say it


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## Arshes Nei (Oct 7, 2011)

Hazel said:


> @Zydala
> Well now that I've thought more about it, I will go  for 6x8, because this purchase I will be making is hopefully going to be  permanent, and I would rather not need to upgrade later down the road.
> 
> 
> ...



Make sure it comes with Stylus. It's anywhere from 50-70 bucks to get one if you buy an intuos3 without it. Older intuos may be harder and much more expensive

Also, Overlay sheets (the cover over the tablet) for intuos 3 and older are no longer sold, so watch out for scratches


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## Zydala (Oct 7, 2011)

Arshes Nei said:


> Make sure it comes with Stylus. It's anywhere from 50-70 bucks to get one if you buy an intuos3 without it. Older intuos may be harder and much more expensive
> 
> Also, Overlay sheets (the cover over the tablet) for intuos 3 and older are no longer sold, so watch out for scratches



Yeah I guess I should have mentioned that... I was kind of just doing internal math while reading some of the entries lol. But there were a few intuos 2 used on ebay that were 60 without the pen and the pen was around 35-40 dollars which still puts it around 100 and way less than the newest intuos on the wacom site....


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## KarmaWolf (Oct 17, 2011)

I started with a cheapy (walmart special) tablet (spent around $30) and it worked for awhile until i lost the pen so i went out and bought a Wacom Bamboo Pen which I love! But personally tablets are kind of difficult for me to use, something weird to me about drawing on something i'm not actually looking at. (found that pen the week after i spent $70 on the new tablet btw. ) 

I needed a new laptop anyways so i did some research and got this baby. http://forumjualbeli.net/jual-beli-laptop/102504-jual-tablet-pc-toshiba-portege-m400-12inch.html I can draw directly onto the screen and is what i use 100% now. I still have my Wacom tablet but i haven't needed to use it. May hook it up to my desktop computer but i don't know if i'll ever use it again to be honest. Its an awesome tablet though!


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## Arshes Nei (Oct 17, 2011)

KarmaWolf said:


> I needed a new laptop anyways so i did some research and got this baby. http://forumjualbeli.net/jual-beli-laptop/102504-jual-tablet-pc-toshiba-portege-m400-12inch.html I can draw directly onto the screen and is what i use 100% now. I still have my Wacom tablet but i haven't needed to use it. May hook it up to my desktop computer but i don't know if i'll ever use it again to be honest. Its an awesome tablet though!



As a person who owns a Tablet PC (slate more accurately)and also enjoys the drawing on the screen experience, they still pale when I need the precision, pressure sensitivity and shortcuts I use on a regular basis.

All tablet PCS have 256 levels of pressure, lower accuracy ratio compared to other wacom tablets. It's a noticeable difference. 
For sketching though, I love my tablet PC for this and got the Axiotron http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200620197300&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:1123 pen since I really use 2 shortcuts off the stylus a lot. Brush sizing (Painter and Sai and Open Canvas use ctrl+alt ) and Eyedrop sampling for color. Unfortunately, because the shortcut is not program specific it limits functionality that I have with an intuos.

A smaller screen makes it irritating to work with actually because of the limited space for palettes, panels etc. Not to mention there's jitter. Once you get to certain areas of a screen there's interference with the electronics of the pc and the wacom driver. So you'll often see jumping or stray strokes on not only tablet pcs but cintiqs (which is exactly why I recommend the big one over that small one).

Also, avoid anything with N-Trig and often times you'll find that you're fighting tablet pc drivers for Windows7/Vista with your Wacom drivers more often. Because you may need both depending on the kind of tablet PC you have.

It would be nice if Wacom at least upped the pressure sensitivity levels to 512 (since Bamboos are pretty much 1024 levels these days).


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## Kexx (Oct 21, 2011)

All I have to say is don't get the Bamboo Connect or Capture. :/ My BF just bought me a new tablet for my birthday cause he thought he'd replace my tablet I've had for about...7 years now? But my tablet still works fine. We found out that it didn't have an automatic eraser function so he said he'd return it. Which is complete bullshit on Wacom's part. Really? There's no smaller sized tablet without touch and other fancy shit that has a tablet with an eraser? Dumb. 

Actually he was more upset over it than I was. I told him I could use shortcuts or just move over to the erase button... :/ ANYWAY. If you care about having a pen that you can flip and use as an eraser, don't get those.


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## greg-the-fox (Oct 21, 2011)

Spend the extra cash on the Intuos 4. I have a small bamboo fun similar to the one you posted and it's just too small. Also I find the stylus to feel kind of cheap. The small Intuos is significantly larger and has 4x the amount of pressure sensitivity! I'm planning on upgrading to that one when I get the money.


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## Hazel (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the input everyone  I ended up finding a good deal on ebay for an Intuos 3 ( 6x8 ) for 150 dollars...it works beautifully! The pressure sensitivity is exactly what I was looking for, and I'd like to thank everyone for all your comments, it helped me steer myself toward this purchase :]


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