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gunraidan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2009
176
0
I'm currently interested in buying a Wacom tablet. However I'm wondering if there is a noticeable difference in pressure sensitivity. In short would there be a difference in getting a Bamboo instead of an Intuos?
 
Well it depends what apps you plan to use with it. Personally, out of every Adobe app I use, only Photoshop could recognize different pressure points. (correct me if I'm wrong anybody).

But I'm doing fine with my Bamboo Fun on Illustrator, cause that's usually the app I use most.

So what's the purpose of your tablet exactly? (rendering, animation, graphic design....)
 
If you haven't used a tablet extensively before, you'll never notice the difference in pressure levels. In olden days, tablets had far fewer levels, yet people still made great things. The Bamboo has 512 levels, which is hardly flint knives and bearskins.

I've had a few tablets over the year, and the main things I look for are:
1. The physical pen.
2. The ability to change the pressure curve.

If the pen doesn't fit your hand really well, it will become your worst enemy, and can literally cause pain. I have returned tablets in the past because of poor pen feel, and gone with a more expensive tablet. I have done this to get the pen, not because I needed advanced features of the tablet itself.

The other thing is whether the software will allow you to create non-linear curves for pressure sensitivity. I like to keep most of the change near the low end of the curve (light pressure). This gives the pen a "hair trigger", which takes getting used to, but without this I'd be in acute pain from hand strain in only a couple days.
 
I would choose the Intuos because it has a higher resolution(5080Lines per inch - the Bamboo has only 2540lpi).

Another advantage is the Tilt range (all pens) + the rotation sensitive pen(not included). Plus the customisable touchring - you can put multiple parameters on the ring (opacity, thickness of your pen...and flip through them).

And you get different tips for pen - the bamboo has only (hard)plastic tips.

Don´t get me wrong i own the bamboo and it is great. But now I would invest in an intuos 4 - I mean how often do you buy a tablet.
 
Yeah, if you're talking the difference between 32 levels and 256 or something, yes, you will notice it. But for modern tablets with > 256 pressure levels it's very doubtful you'd be able to tell. I certainly can't at that level. I don't even think I could apply 1,000 different pressure levels if I tried to. But as mentioned, other factors can make he Intuos line worth it, especially if you use Painter.
 
Yeah, there's a difference, but it's not just in pressure sensitivity. The two products are designed from different standpoints. The Bamboo is meant primarily for people who aren't graphics professionals; just regular folks curious about new technology. Less features, lower build quality, not as professional.
The Intuos line is aimed at professional designers/photographer/illustrators. More features, and the features that overlap with the Bamboo are more professionally enacted on the Intuos.
 
You cant tell the difference in pressure. You might be able to tell the difference in accuracy. I havent used a Bamboo but there was definitely a difference in accuracy and steadiness between a Graphire and an Intuos.
 
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