So, after several years of being a designer I have decided to abandon my precious Pen tool. Im not sure if Im going to love the tablet like so many people have told me, so I want to be cautious in the purchase. Ive got a buy.com coupon from being a regular customer, so I can get a Bamboo Fun Medium for 159.00 shipped. OR I can go for the Graphire Bluetooth for a little more. Im basically using this to learn the motor functions to use the tablet, and if I like it Ill spring for something more like a large Intuos3 or a Cintiq. So which should I get ... Bamboo or Graphire BT?
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Taking the Wacom plunge
- Thread starter Abraxsis
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Hello,
While I can't tell you which one because I use the Intuos3 I can help out by saying get at least a 6x8 since I found trying to use a 4x5 very irritating and it really made me not want to use it. While it's great for travel everyday use looses it's fun. I've read good news about the Bamboo and a friend just bought two for his kids and they love them.
Good luck and take your time with the pen, after that you more than likely won't want to go back to using your mouse unless you have to.
While I can't tell you which one because I use the Intuos3 I can help out by saying get at least a 6x8 since I found trying to use a 4x5 very irritating and it really made me not want to use it. While it's great for travel everyday use looses it's fun. I've read good news about the Bamboo and a friend just bought two for his kids and they love them.
Good luck and take your time with the pen, after that you more than likely won't want to go back to using your mouse unless you have to.
Ive heard from this, and other boards that the pens for the more expensive models are better (comfort/weight wise) and can still be used with the Bamboo Fun Medium (which I just ordered, in silver, A5, for 180.00 with 2 day shipping). Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor?
Negative - The grip pen, airbrush pen and felt tip pen are only functional on the Intuos3 and Cintiq models. The bamboo models have 1 pen available in different colors.
Personally I would try to stretch to the intuos a6 wide, it just gives a little more control and has added tools too 
Personally I would try to stretch to the intuos a6 wide, it just gives a little more control and has added tools too
I agree, the Intuos A6 wide is my tablet of choice. After 6 years telling people tablets were good but not for me I made the plunge. And now everything I am sat watching the Photoshop splash screen my hand reaches for the digital pen without even thinking about it.
Gotta love Wacom tablets! Good luck with your new toy.
After years of using a mouse I wanted to make the move to a wacom as well. Ended up just buying the a Graphire - just before they updated to the Bamboo...
I bought it mostly because of the size. I didn't want something huge that takes up my entire desk and I wanted to try it out cheap before spending a ton and eventually not liking it.
Haven't used it too much but it does seem to be pretty sweet. I would totally recommend going for the largest one you can buy. I've heard too - if money isn't really a problem... to buy one depending on what kinda monitor you use to match the ratios.
I was wondering though - is anyone else a left hander? I seem to be having a harder time getting my right hand used to using the hot keys more so than using my left hand with the pen. Any tips there?
I bought it mostly because of the size. I didn't want something huge that takes up my entire desk and I wanted to try it out cheap before spending a ton and eventually not liking it.
Haven't used it too much but it does seem to be pretty sweet. I would totally recommend going for the largest one you can buy. I've heard too - if money isn't really a problem... to buy one depending on what kinda monitor you use to match the ratios.
I was wondering though - is anyone else a left hander? I seem to be having a harder time getting my right hand used to using the hot keys more so than using my left hand with the pen. Any tips there?
You can get a 6x8 Intuos 1 on ebay for 200 bucks. That would be way better than the bamboo/graphire. These things last forever, a used tablet is just as good as a new one.
I'm left handed and use hot keys all the time so are you asking about KB hot keys or the ones on the tablets? If it's the tablets then no problem since my tablet has them on both sides. If your talking about the KB, no either because I keep my right hand by the KB off to the right side of the tablet. I seldom need the mouse but it depends on the illustration I'm working on.
Let us know what hot key issues your having
Cool another lefty.
Sorry I didn't make that clear - but I was meaning the hot keys on my keyboard. I'm a designer not really an illustrator and spend a lot of time in InDesign and Photoshop. Should I just stick to the mouse or can the tablet be just as good?
I'm pretty decent with hotkeys in most of the programs and keep my left hand on the keyboard and my right hand on the mouse. Now that I am trying out the tablet, I have my left hand drawing and my right confused...
Just wondering if anyone has any tips for a lefty...but I totally like just clicking around with a tablet that's for sure!
Sorry I didn't make that clear - but I was meaning the hot keys on my keyboard. I'm a designer not really an illustrator and spend a lot of time in InDesign and Photoshop. Should I just stick to the mouse or can the tablet be just as good?
I'm pretty decent with hotkeys in most of the programs and keep my left hand on the keyboard and my right hand on the mouse. Now that I am trying out the tablet, I have my left hand drawing and my right confused...
Just wondering if anyone has any tips for a lefty...but I totally like just clicking around with a tablet that's for sure!
Agreed. At work I sit next to a collegue who manages to yank his tablet off of his desk every week or so causing it to hit the floor. Damn things just keep on going.
I had to post just because I got my Intuos 3 last week. AND IT IS AWESOME!! My school has Cintiqs, but not enough of them, because they're always in use. So I convienced the bank of mom and dad to invest in one. I got the 6x11, per recommendation here and by others at school, to fit my screen ratio. I had been looking at the 6x8 for price, but I'm glad I went bigger. I'm not sure what you're doing with it, but bigger is better, to a point. With the Cintiq's you obviously can see your exact stroke, but I find with the tablet larger strokes don't always go where I want. Perhaps with time and adjustment to it I will get more accurate, but for now my large hot key is set to undo.