# Cheaper tablets?



## GatodeCafe (Jun 7, 2011)

Howdy folks. I really want to do some art on my PC (Running windows 7, BTW) and I was wondering if the monoprice tablets would be a good, less expensive alternative to the wacom bamboos. 

Also, what size would you all recommend? tbh 8X5 looks okay to me, but I'm curious what y'all use


----------



## Arshes Nei (Jun 7, 2011)

The reason most go with Wacom is due to name recognition and quality. The other thing was most other tablets (at least until recently) have to use batteries on the stylus. Wacom uses magnetic technology that doesn't require batteries to operate.

Also the resale value is still pretty good. 

If you're just a beginner and not going to do this for the long run, pick up a less known brand.


----------



## Zydala (Jun 7, 2011)

As long as you're going for the monoprice brand you might as well splurge on the bigger tablet  I have the 8x5 or whatever bamboo and I can't say I like it compared to my girlfriend's larger intuos (9x12?)

just throwing that out there.


----------



## Ley (Jun 7, 2011)

eh. i got a bamboo fun from my pop an' i love it.


----------



## Arshes Nei (Jun 7, 2011)

Ok, I knew the Monoprice tablet came up before so : http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/88849-Tablets-and-stuff


----------



## FireFeathers (Jun 8, 2011)

Aren't Bamboo's only around 60? If you want something cheaper, I dunno, get a stylus for your touchpad and see if that works, lol.  There's plenty of crap brands out there for less, but you're going to get a shit product. Wacom tablets (not so much the pen, i swear) hold up well. I'm still using the same tablet I started with 4 years ago without issue; it's a graphire 4, but it's kinda synonymous for all the wacom tablets.


----------



## Jw (Jun 8, 2011)

FireFeathers said:


> Aren't Bamboo's only around 60? If you want something cheaper, I dunno, get a stylus for your touchpad and see if that works, lol.  There's plenty of crap brands out there for less, but you're going to get a shit product. Wacom tablets (not so much the pen, i swear) hold up well. I'm still using the same tablet I started with 4 years ago without issue; it's a graphire 4, but it's kinda synonymous for all the wacom tablets.


 
bamboo pen is $60, but the drawing surface is 3.5x5". I get hand camps drawing on mine, and I have to pan A LOT to get any line done decently.

That being said, I'm 80% happy with it, with the dimensions being the only problem I've experienced.


----------



## Stargazer Bleu (Jun 8, 2011)

Also remember with tablet size, the whole surface represents the whole screen. Larger tablets take longer strokes and smaller ones take shorter stokes to move the cursor across the screen.
Both have there advantages and disadvantages.


----------



## Lobar (Jun 8, 2011)

My monoprice tablet is half a year old now and is still holding up fine, though keep in mind I'm not really a heavy user of it.  Still, at that price just go for it.


----------



## Arshes Nei (Jun 8, 2011)

Stargazer Bleu said:


> Also remember with tablet size, the whole surface represents the whole screen. Larger tablets take longer strokes and smaller ones take shorter stokes to move the cursor across the screen.
> Both have there advantages and disadvantages.


 
There's also this amazing thing called "Mapping" meaning you can make a portion of a larger tablet to a smaller area


----------



## Taralack (Jun 8, 2011)

Arshes Nei said:


> There's also this amazing thing called "Mapping" meaning you can make a portion of a larger tablet to a smaller area


 
Personally I prefer to have the whole drawing area mapped to the whole monitor. It just feels weird and constraining for me if my tablet mouse can't reach a certain area. 

That's just me though.


----------



## Arshes Nei (Jun 8, 2011)

Toraneko said:


> Personally I prefer to have the whole drawing area mapped to the whole monitor. It just feels weird and constraining for me if my tablet mouse can't reach a certain area.
> 
> That's just me though.


 
I use multiple monitors pretty often. Due to this it's quite often you'll never have the whole tablet area mapped to the monitors. Even with a single monitor it's not always mapped due constraining proportions to screen to have better accuracy. So it's not really a big deal.


----------



## Volkodav (Jun 8, 2011)

I've had Baby's First Tablet Wacom Bamboo Fun for years now and it still works perfectly. It's cheap, good quality and lasts for a long time.

Like me.

So buy it.


----------



## Thaily (Jun 8, 2011)

I've tried non-Wacom tablets, Trust and some other brand, but the quality gap is really noticeable; levels of pressure sensitivity alone, the Trust tablet had like 64, a Wacom Bamboo has 512.
Might be worth holding out and saving up if you can't get a second-hand Wacom. 8x5 should be plenty either way.


----------



## Celyn (Jun 8, 2011)

Try to get a second hand Intuos off e-bay or Amazon, Inutos 2 or 3's are really reasonable and worth every penny. Also, huge IMO here, 6x8 is a decent size for starters, just big enough for some actual wrist movement, but small enough to not break the bank. I'm a massive Wacom junkie for good reason.


----------



## Aaros (Jun 8, 2011)

I went the monoprice route and have been using it VERY heavily for the past four or five months, it works great for my purposes as is holding up fine despite all the abuse I give it  I'd recommend it if you are looking for something cheap.
However, I got a pretty large one, and I have heard that the quality on the smaller ones is lower than the quality on the larger ones.


----------



## Arshes Nei (Jun 8, 2011)

Thaily said:


> I've tried non-Wacom tablets, Trust and some other brand, but the quality gap is really noticeable; levels of pressure sensitivity alone, the Trust tablet had like 64, a Wacom Bamboo has 512.
> Might be worth holding out and saving up if you can't get a second-hand Wacom. 8x5 should be plenty either way.


 
Depends on the Bamboo.

They're now up to 1024 levels.


----------



## FireFeathers (Jun 9, 2011)

That's the same size as the tablet I have, tiny.  I like now having to move my hand terribly far to draw and paint


----------



## Lobar (Jun 9, 2011)

Aaros said:


> I went the monoprice route and have been using it VERY heavily for the past four or five months, it works great for my purposes as is holding up fine despite all the abuse I give it  I'd recommend it if you are looking for something cheap.
> However, I got a pretty large one, and I have heard that the quality on the smaller ones is lower than the quality on the larger ones.


 
the 8x6 and smaller monoprice tablets have 2540 lpi, and 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, like the Wacom Bamboos.  The larger ones go up to 4000 lpi.  2540 lpi isn't at all bad though.


----------



## MarieBlack07 (Aug 26, 2011)

I am selling my Intuos3 tablet if you are interested in it. its a 4x6 and I am selling it for 150 + shipping. you can find the information or note me here http://marieblack07.deviantart.com/


----------



## Zenia (Aug 26, 2011)

I always recommend Wacom. My boyfriend recently was talking about getting a tablet and he kept thinking that some off brand was better because it was bigger and all that. I *FINALLY* convinced him to go for the Wacom. He is so happy with it, it is like he can hardly believe he was considering something else.


----------



## mapdark (Aug 28, 2011)

I've seen some Bamboo tablets for 30$ on ebay.

Going for CHEAPER than the bamboo will only be a waste of money. 
I've seen cheaper tablets and they're really disapointing.


----------



## Tiger In A Tie (Aug 29, 2011)

I've always used Wacom my first was an intuos3 4x5 and currently am using an intuos3 6x8.

Wacom is top quality. As other people said, Wacom's Bamboo has both good quality and a low price. I know many artists that used a Bamboo first and some STILL use them. My 4x5 lasted about 3 1/2 years- it was still in fairly good quality, but did have a few problems and I did have the money to upgrade to the larger size. Never had a problem with my 6x8 yet. Hell, I spilled Powerade on the thing and nothing happened. 

As far as mapping goes, it's really a matter of personal preference. At first it will be very odd when getting used to the mapping of your tablet, but after some use you'll find it will feel more natural to you. Also, the tablet settings can be changed to portrait or landscape, so there's another option you can play with for mapping. I personally have the 6x8 set as Portrait so it acts a little more like a sheet of paper. There are many other mapping settings you can play around with, also. Basically, mapping is very customizable so I wouldn't be too concerned about it.


----------



## mc_hollis (Sep 5, 2011)

I may be a bit late onto this, but here's my $0.02... I have a Bamboo Pen. Well... Its pressure sensitivity is too fragmented, in that I can either set it too high, or too low. Also, the MOTION sensitivity is unable to be adjusted... Not to mention the small dimensions... I'm thinking of going trading in for a Bamboo Fun Medium. :3 You may wish to do so as well... It's low end, cheap (relatively), and has a good working area, and has 2x the pressure levels as the Bamboo Pen... well, It'll probably be cheap on E-Bay or Amazon.


----------

