Wacom/Cintiq

[Derekuda]

First a brief story.....
I'm a 25 year old college student who will be graduating in a year with 4 AA's in General Education and am planning on entering either IT, or programing or digital arts.....you get the idea.

Anyways...I went to Macworld this past week and saw a gentleman drawing with a Cintiq using a very cool program. I was soo amazed that I bought the animation program right there.

So here is where my question comes in. I was thinking about buying a Wacom Bamboo Fun because I know they are a pretty affordable compared to a Cintiq which start out at $1000. Also, I dont really have much artistic tallent, so I figured it would be good for a starter.

I was wondering if anyone has used one and if you recommend them, or possibly a different product. I want to experiment and maybe hopefully develop a new tallent or hobbie or maybe even possibly a career.

 

[design-is]

Bamboo is fine for hobby or light use for something not very important. Not putting your intentions down, but they are the budget Wacom.

There are a number of different manufacturers which produce tablets, but none compare with Wacom, the industry standard.

Later in life you may consider a second hand Graphire which are a step up.

When you get to professional level, you will want at least an Intuos.

Cintiq are top of the line. The 12 inch one is nice, but in the USA you can get a 20wsx model I think. the 21 inch model is obviously the best and most expensive.

If I had the cash and could wait for months, I would go for the newly announced ModBook Pro though ... Looks stunning and would be amazingly useful.


* Couldn't provide links to all Wacom tablets because their site was down at time of writing.

 

[jerryrock]

I have been using the Wacom Cintiq 20"model 20WSX (only sold in the US), for about a year now and it is a part of my daily workflow. I no longer use a mouse finding the stylus ergonomically better suited for the job. I have a dual monitor set up with the Cintiq as my editing monitor and use the HP LP2480zx DreamColor monitor for color critical proofing.

Jerry

 

[LethalWolfe]

I purchased a Bamboo on a lark and quickly returned it for an Intuos 4x6 (I don't have very much desktop space otherwise I would've gone bigger). The button mapping and customization on the Bamboo was just too limited, IMO, although obviously I really liked the using the pen instead of a mouse. I use it for everyday computer tasks as well as video editing (and the occasional jump into AE or PS).


Lethal

 

[SFVCyclone]

I have the 4x6 bamboo. It gets the job done. Its definitely worth it due to the pricepoint and it being from wacom, the industry standard. I really dont use the buttons at all. I actually turn them off because they get in the way.

The funny thing is that now using a mouse is like using a rock.

 

[bay2sacto]

It depends on how serious you intend to get with illustrating/designing. Like others said a Bamboo is a good starter tablet. But if you're at all serious you'll need to consider a Intuos 3. The cintiq are really nice but are also really expensive. The 12" one is $1000 and the larger 20/21" ones are about $2000. If you watch Burt Monroy's videos on Revision 3 his makes extensive use of one in his workflow. I have a 6x8 Intuos 3 which I got as a gift last xmas and love it. It replaced a Intuos 9x12 which was victim of my sisters cat. They are very well built and can last a long time. My first Intuos would of still been usable if not for the cat. The only problem I've had is sometimes there's too much sensitivity and it picks up some of my unsteadiness in my hands, which can make moving sliders in PS a pain.