Wacom Graphire A5 vs Intuos A6

[point665]

Hey guys,

Ive been meaning to get a graphics tablet for quite a while, and it seemed to have completely slipped my mind until I saw one on tv.

Im a Graphic Designer, so my weapons of choice are for the biggest part PS and AI.

My question is, which one would you guys go with:

1. Graphire4 A6: ~99-109 euros
2. Graphire4 XL (A5): ~209 euros
3. Graphire (3?) Bluetooth (A5): ~249 euros
4. Intuos3 A6: ~221 euros

Ive read about the sizes, some people like the 4x5 (A6), others swear by the 6x8 (A5).

My first choice was to save money and go with the Graphire4 A6, its been about 11-12 years since Ive used a tablet, and I figure if I dont get much use out of it, its not as bad as spending double the money on it.

I started reading more, and started thinking it could become a part of daily life, so I thought of going with the Intuos A6... it has a few more features, supposedly better surface, and you can add accessories.

A friend who I was speaking to said that 4x5 would be too small, and said to go with a 6x8... So wanting to save money, that would lead to the Graphire4 XL or Graphire3 Bluetooth.

I must admit having the Bluetooth in your lap would seem pretty nice, but then again for daily usage is it too much movement or the hand?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gman71882]

6x8 is best size

I am a Graphic Designer as well and have a Intous 2 (XD) 6 x 8 that has worked great for 3 years now.
I shopped around and decided on the 6x8 cause its the perfect size to fit in my travel Bag w/ my Powerbook.
The 4x5 was way to small to feel comfortable and anything bigger than 6x8 made me work to hard.

One thing i always wanted was wireless & now they have it, so i would go with the
Graphire 4 (A5) 6x8 Bluetooth
or the Graphire 4XL (A5) 6x8
It takes a while to master, but it is by far the best thing you can use for Photoshop & Illustrator

 

[point665]

I am a Graphic Designer as well and have a Intous 2 (XD) 6 x 8 that has worked great for 3 years now.
I shopped around and decided on the 6x8 cause its the perfect size to fit in my travel Bag w/ my Powerbook.
The 4x5 was way to small to feel comfortable and anything bigger than 6x8 made me work to hard.

One thing i always wanted was wireless & now they have it, so i would go with the
Graphire 4 (A5) 6x8 Bluetooth
or the Graphire 4XL (A5) 6x8
It takes a while to master, but it is by far the best thing you can use for Photoshop & Illustrator

Thanks for the comments, as far as the tilt feature in the Intuos series goes, do you find use for it?

 

[gman71882]

tilt feature is ok in Photoshop... but with the pressure sensitivity in both the Graphire & Intuos it really doesnt matter. You can get a natural looking stroke without "tilting" the stylus.
So for me the tilt feature isnt that relavent... if you do more brush style artwork, or more illustration work then you might get more use out of the tilt than I do.

 

[point665]

tilt feature is ok in Photoshop... but with the pressure sensitivity in both the Graphire & Intuos it really doesnt matter. You can get a natural looking stroke without "tilting" the stylus.
So for me the tilt feature isnt that relavent... if you do more brush style artwork, or more illustration work then you might get more use out of the tilt than I do.

Alright, thanks

 

[Artful Dodger]

Well as others have said go with the Intuos3 6x8. I have that and it's a very nice tablet with an even better pen. The pressure of the pen is great if you are use to using pressure and tilt (I draw every day on paper and use an ink quil pen as well) so it's really just a matter of setting up pressure/tilt to your liking.
One thing that I like about the Intuos3 is the buttons on either side of the tablet. I can zoom in/out, one for command, alt or option or whatever you want to make them as well.
Enjoy the one you get and take a Saturday morning to get use to the settings and let us know what you think

 

[point665]

Well as others have said go with the Intuos3 6x8. I have that and it's a very nice tablet with an even better pen. The pressure of the pen is great if you are use to using pressure and tilt (I draw every day on paper and use an ink quil pen as well) so it's really just a matter of setting up pressure/tilt to your liking.
One thing that I like about the Intuos3 is the buttons on either side of the tablet. I can zoom in/out, one for command, alt or option or whatever you want to make them as well.
Enjoy the one you get and take a Saturday morning to get use to the settings and let us know what you think

I wish I could get a Intuos 6x8, but they seem to be around 380 euros, which considering I am buying more ram and a 300gb hd, my total with either Graphire 6x8 or Bluetooth or Intuos 4x5 is around 681 USD.

I dont know why 4 people have voted for Intuos, yet your the only one to comment on it.

 

[valiar]

Get the Intuos (probably 6x8).
If you would ever try the Graphire, you will see that positioning with it is not as precise as you expect it to be.
Also, tilt sensitivity *is* a big deal.
I have an Intuos3 6x8, and I use it with Painter X.
Could not have been happier!

 

[YS2003]

I like my Intuos 3 (both 4X6 and 9X12). I use 4X6 with my iBook (as there is less desk space where my iBook is located) and 9X12 with my PB. I like the pressure sensitivity of Wacom tablet and feel of high quality when I grip the Wacom pen and the tablet. For normal graphic works, 4X6 is good enough; but, for more complicated (or if you are going to go for details), 9X12 has enough space to work on any graphic works.

 

[MRU]

I have an Intuos3 6x8, and I use it with Painter X.
Could not have been happier!

Wow you must be happy seeing as though they have only gone upto painter 9.5

Intuos A5 better purchase, I don't like the A6 size. If you can't go bigger go for graphire bluetooth.

Personally I just want someone to buy me the wacom tablet monitor....

 

[point665]

Thanks for the replies guys, but as I said eariler, the Intuos A5 (6x8) is too expensive right now.

I see votes for the Intuos A6 but Im guessing some of those are meant for the A5 in reality.

When it comes down to the Graphire 6x8 or the Intuos 4x5, both are about same price... Which would you get?

Intuos A5 better purchase, I don't like the A6 size. If you can't go bigger go for graphire bluetooth.

Thats what Ive been thinking, only two things about the bluetooth that I have questions about is 1. reception (but I guess this is it either works or doesnt in your workspace), and 2. theres no scroll-wheel like there is on the Graphire4 (but I guess thats not a big thing)

 

[iMeowbot]

A bigger tablet is worth it if you plan to use it for freehand drawing, or use the tablet often. You can always compensate for a smaller tablet by zooming your work, but that gets old quickly if you want to work on larger areas.

One drawback to a larger tablet is the long trip up to the menus or down to the dock. You will want a spacious desk area so that your hand and elbow have somewhere to go!

Intuos pen angle and rotation can be used for some interesting brush effects in Illustrator and Painter. The Graphire still has pressure and button control, so you do still have some options, just not as many all at once. Those features may go unused unless you use the tablet often enough to bother with tweaking the settings.

 

[point665]

I dont want to "rush" this decision... I know ram I have to get, I dont know about the extra hd. I can always save a bunch by just going with the 109e Graphire4 4x5... But I dont know.

 

[Artful Dodger]

I dont want to "rush" this decision... I know ram I have to get, I dont know about the extra hd. I can always save a bunch by just going with the 109e Graphire4 4x5... But I dont know.

Get the Intuos3 4x5 and I say this in every way it's a better feel no matter if it's 4x5 or even the 9x12 (I know it's not even on your list ).
The point being the pens, extra buttons on the tablet and the mouse are very nice and if you will be using this for a good amount of time, comfort and feel are really key. Don't sell yourself short on this as it's a great, to even greater investment the more you use it. I thought long before I got my Intuos3 6x8 because of the price but after going to the Apple Store and using one on display, I was glad where my money went.
One last thing is look at the extras you can get with either, such as pens, tips, airbrush and so on. Which one gives you the most ability to expand/add to later for the money also.
Good luck and enjoy the one you choose.

 

[point665]

Get the Intuos3 4x5 and I say this in every way it's a better feel no matter if it's 4x5 or even the 9x12 (I know it's not even on your list ).
The point being the pens, extra buttons on the tablet and the mouse are very nice and if you will be using this for a good amount of time, comfort and feel are really key. Don't sell yourself short on this as it's a great, to even greater investment the more you use it. I thought long before I got my Intuos3 6x8 because of the price but after going to the Apple Store and using one on display, I was glad where my money went.
One last thing is look at the extras you can get with either, such as pens, tips, airbrush and so on. Which one gives you the most ability to expand/add to later for the money also.
Good luck and enjoy the one you choose.

Thanks for the reply again, thats one thing I had given alot of thought to too... that since its going to last for long, it should be a good one. Id buy the one your selling if you were over here in Europe or if I was still in the "states".

 

[Artful Dodger]

Thanks for the reply again, thats one thing I had given alot of thought to too... that since its going to last for long, it should be a good one. Id buy the one your selling if you were over here in Europe or if I was still in the "states".

Thanks, I just might keep it as I was able to fine tune it to better fit my 20" iMac. I forgot to do that after I set it up, I was only out of the hospital a few days and it was the last thing in my mind