Ok,first of all i made this thread couse ive seen lots of topics asking about Tablets, which one is better, are they

worth it, etc... so i came here with this thread to talk about tablets, and such.

WACOM TABLETS:

INTUOS

Intuos2 12x12 USB Digitizer Tablet from 600$ to 650$ depending on the store(Note: You should buy

this one only if you are really into drawing and plan on making something from it, and ofcourse if you have the

money)

Intuos.3 6x8 Digitizer Tablet From 300$ and up depending on the store

Intuos3 4x5 Digitizer Tablet Frim 200$ and uo depending on the store

about the tablets:
.Ergonomic design with sloping, contoured palm rest for comfort
.Multiple cord positions for greater workspace flexibility
.8 ft. cable allows you to kick back while you work
.Enhanced electronics for twice the resolution (5,080 lpi)
.Limited Lifetime Warranty means it's built to last
.Available in three sizes: 4x5, 6x8, and 9x12 for a perfect fit

All the tablets come with a gripping pen, the advantages of the Intuos Gripping pen are:
.1,024 levels of tip and eraser pressure sensitivity for control
Cushioned, contoured grip with programmable DuoSwitch™ for comfort and

productivity
. Patented cordless, battery-free technology for a natural feel and

superior performance
.Multi-position pen stand to keep your pen handy
.Three nib styles included for a variety of "feels"
.Tilt sensitivity for even more control

Five Buttons MOUSE

.Ball-free and optics-free for smooth, accurate tracking (uses the tablet like a pad)
.Ambidextrous low-profile design with just the right feel
.Patented cordless, battery-free technology for superior performance and reliability
.Five programmable buttons with fingerwheel for flexibility and control

ExpressKeys and Touch Strips
.Strategically placed programmable ExpressKeys and Touch Strip for convenience
.ExpressKeys are "chordable" and can be used for mouse clicks, modifier keys, and keyboard shortcuts
.Finger-sensitive Touch Strip for quick scrolling, zooming, and more

Softwares

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 for digital photo editing and compositing
Corel Painter Essentials 2 for creating natural media art and organic effects
nik Color Efex™ Pro 2 IE from nik multimedia® for selectively applying photographic enhancements and effects
Wacom Brushes 2 for even more brush choices in recent versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

Intuos.3 6x8 Digitizer Tablet SPECS

.Active Area: 6" x 8"
.Pressure Levels: 1024
.Resolution: 5080 lpi
.Max. data rate: 200 pps
.Accuracy: +- .01"
.Tilt Range: +-60º

Height: 0.5 in
Width: 13.6 in
Depth: 10.3 in

Intuos3 4x5 Digitizer Tablet, USB SPECS

.Active Area: 4" x 5"
.Pressure Levels: 1024
.Resolution: 5080 lpi
.Max. data rate: 200 pps
.Accuracy: +- .01"
.Tilt Range: +-60º

Height: 0.5 in
Width: 9.4 in
Depth: 8.5 in

System requirements for USB connection:
PC- PC running Windows 98, 2000, Millennium or XP; powered USB port, CD-ROM drive & color monitor.
Mac- iMac or PowerMac with Mac OS 8.5, 9 or 10.1; powered USB port, CD-ROM drive & color monitor.

Where can you buy it?:

COMPusa
CircuitCity
BestBuy

and some other stores, ill come up with the graphire info and some other tablets soon, you can discuss about your tablet, post PROS and CONS about this tablets and if you are really interested in getting one i hope this helps you to find one :D.

I bought a intuos 6x8 and im very comfortable with it , it has made my work easier , and it costed like 330 , totally worth it

i got a graphire 4x5 from ebay it works like a charm!

BTW good idea Saint.

I have a mouse!

dont need a tablet

At 10/24/05 06:47 PM, SaintShun wrote: helpful stuff about tablets

Awesome, nice job Saint.

my brother just gave me my wacome tablet thing for free

At 10/24/05 08:43 PM, Glaiel_Gamer wrote: I have a mouse!

dont need a tablet

People that dont use tablets pwn!! just like me. XD

Or... is that... people that dont have enough money to get one? that would be me. XD

At 10/24/05 08:41 PM, -TXR- wrote: i got a graphire 4x5 from ebay it works like a charm!

BTW good idea Saint.

hehe tnx, ill come with graphire info and some other tablets

ha one of my teachers has one of those he does math on it... its pretty cool

At 10/24/05 09:51 PM, xfeelsobrokenlx wrote: ha one of my teachers has one of those he does math on it... its pretty cool

good for him, but does he realize its truly power?

At 10/24/05 08:41 PM, -TXR- wrote: i got a graphire 4x5 from ebay it works like a charm!

BTW good idea Saint.

hey how does the graphire work?, i dont think as smooth as intuos :P

crap... ill have to continue with the other tablets tomorrow

I just got a Wacom Graphire3 on eBay for $63. I cant wait to get it.

At 10/24/05 11:12 PM, Nelo-Angelo wrote:

At 10/24/05 08:41 PM, -TXR- wrote: i got a graphire 4x5 from ebay it works like a charm!

BTW good idea Saint.

hey how does the graphire work?, i dont think as smooth as intuos :P

OH YES IT IS! Its awsome, i got one aswell 2 days ago! :D Smooth and sexy, i can tilt, sencitivity's awsome :D

I've been wanting a tablet for a long time and was thung about getting the graphire, but then i foundthis
The Volito, £40. But i've always wondered if a tablet means that i don't need to keep my mouse. IIf that is true i can understand moving the cursor around, but how would you "click" things, like left click and right click on a mouse?

At 10/25/05 03:36 AM, _Nick_ wrote: i've always wondered if a tablet means that i don't need to keep my mouse. IIf that is true i can understand moving the cursor around, but how would you "click" things, like left click and right click on a mouse?

Most tablets have at least one button on the "pen" that you can program to do lots of things (like right click). With my Wacom Graphire, all you do is move the pen around above the tablet and press it down to left-click. Mine has 2 buttons on it, which I programmed to right-click, and F6 (Insert Keyframe in Flash, very handy to have).

like this

At 10/25/05 03:36 AM, _Nick_ wrote: I've been wanting a tablet for a long time and was thung about getting the graphire, but then i foundthis
The Volito, £40. But i've always wondered if a tablet means that i don't need to keep my mouse. IIf that is true i can understand moving the cursor around, but how would you "click" things, like left click and right click on a mouse?

I'm seriously considering getting a tablet. Is Wacom the only sensible option? What about ones like Trust, Medion or Aiptek?

Also, why do tablets always seem to come with a mouse? Is there any reason why I shouldn't use my current mouse? If so, why do these companies seem to feel obliged to supply one?

At 10/25/05 03:43 AM, RareFactory wrote:

Most tablets have at least one button on the "pen" that you can program to do lots of things (like right click). With my Wacom Graphire, all you do is move the pen around above the tablet and press it down to left-click. Mine has 2 buttons on it, which I programmed to right-click, and F6 (Insert Keyframe in Flash, very handy to have).

So when moving the cursor, i would slight it gently around the tablet, not applying much pressure, and then when i want to select something, press with more pressure?

At 10/25/05 03:55 AM, _Nick_ wrote:

At 10/25/05 03:43 AM, RareFactory wrote:

Most tablets have at least one button on the "pen" that you can program to do lots of things (like right click). With my Wacom Graphire, all you do is move the pen around above the tablet and press it down to left-click. Mine has 2 buttons on it, which I programmed to right-click, and F6 (Insert Keyframe in Flash, very handy to have).

So when moving the cursor, i would slight it gently around the tablet, not applying much pressure, and then when i want to select something, press with more pressure?

No you just slide it around above the tablet, and when you want to click you touch the pen to the tablet. It sounds dificult but it feels quite natural once you get the hang of it.
And as for the mouse that comes with it, I hate it. I never use it because the tablet has to be oriented straight forward in order for the mouse to work properly. I'll stick with my old mouse, thank you very much.

So when moving the cursor, i would slight it gently around the tablet, not applying much pressure, and then when i want to select something, press with more pressure?

actually you move the pen a bit over the tablet and move it in the air, to click on something, click on the tablet with it

At 10/25/05 03:54 AM, Denvish wrote: I'm seriously considering getting a tablet. Is Wacom the only sensible option? What about ones like Trust, Medion or Aiptek?

Wacom = cheap; best

Also, why do tablets always seem to come with a mouse? Is there any reason why I shouldn't use my current mouse? If so, why do these companies seem to feel obliged to supply one?

You say no mouse and they'll sell it to you for 25$ less ;) I got my 4*5 for less than a hundred dollars US without a mouse. And no you really really dont need anything bigger than that *hugs tablet XD*

this, may seem incredibly stupid, but which one of those sizes is an A4 sheet of paper size, its just that im in australia and those measurements seem foreign to me. so which one would be an A4 sheet?

At 10/25/05 05:29 AM, -Wolven- wrote: this, may seem incredibly stupid, but which one of those sizes is an A4 sheet of paper size, its just that im in australia and those measurements seem foreign to me. so which one would be an A4 sheet?

DEAR GOD! YOU DONT NEED AN A4 SIZE! Thats more than a thousand dollars! Get a small one!

i once wanted to get one of them tablets. but then it scared me me that the cheapest one was 80euros and the price only whent up, way up.

At 10/25/05 05:29 AM, -Wolven- wrote: this, may seem incredibly stupid, but which one of those sizes is an A4 sheet of paper size, its just that im in australia and those measurements seem foreign to me. so which one would be an A4 sheet?

According to this page:

A6 105 x 148 mm 4.13 x 5.83 in
A5 148 x 210 mm 5.83 x 8.27 in
A4 210 x 297 mm 8.27 x 11.69 in

OK. Question. Is A6 big enough?
I'm thinking about buying the Intuos3 A6 USB tablet, but I don't want to be lumbered with a tablet that's too small, particularly at that price. For about the same price (assuming I'm buying new, rather than eBay), I could get the Graphire4 Classic XL, which is A5.

So what do you reckon? Smaller size with more features, or larger and not quite so smart?

At 10/25/05 06:24 AM, Denvish wrote: So what do you reckon? Smaller size with more features, or larger and not quite so smart?

Larger, you dont need all the features. ^.^
I've got a cheap-assed "Manhattan" bought from eBay.
It roXXors, it's got everything the wacoms have, plus it was... like... $100 AU, which is like... $70 US.. And it's.. big.. :P
I forgets the exact dimensions.

At 10/25/05 06:42 AM, -IceFire- wrote: Larger, you dont need all the features. ^.^
I've got a cheap-assed "Manhattan" bought from eBay.
It roXXors, it's got everything the wacoms have, plus it was... like... $100 AU, which is like... $70 US.. And it's.. big.. :P
I forgets the exact dimensions.

Now that I've said larger is better, I suppose it's your preferences.. Bmk + friends think it's more comfortable with smaller tablets.
And apparently I'm a freak and put my tablet on the desk, instead of using it in your lap.

D: I doesnt want to be a freak. Dush anyone else put it on their desk? O_o

At 10/25/05 06:24 AM, Denvish wrote: OK. Question. Is A6 big enough?
I'm thinking about buying the Intuos3 A6 USB tablet, but I don't want to be lumbered with a tablet that's too small, particularly at that price. For about the same price (assuming I'm buying new, rather than eBay), I could get the Graphire4 Classic XL, which is A5.

So what do you reckon? Smaller size with more features, or larger and not quite so smart?

If you can you might want to try out several sizes, some people actually prefer to use a smaller tablet, given the choice, for the reasons of less wrist movement and it being easy to place on your lap (I find placing mine on my lap gives me more control than having it on the desk, it's all a matter of preference).

Being lumbered with an unweildy tablet that's too big might be just as bad as one that's too small.

At 10/25/05 06:51 AM, BlackmarketKraig wrote: If you can you might want to try out several sizes, some people actually prefer to use a smaller tablet, given the choice, for the reasons of less wrist movement and it being easy to place on your lap (I find placing mine on my lap gives me more control than having it on the desk, it's all a matter of preference).

Being lumbered with an unweildy tablet that's too big might be just as bad as one that's too small.

I'll definitely have it on the desk. The other thing is that I have a limit to the space available on my desktop, so I don't think I'd be going bigger than A5. I just think A6 might be a bit TOO small.

The way my mouse is set up, I have to move it about 3½" to get from one side of the screen to the other (on 1280 res), so I suppose that a 5x3.5" (A6) SHOULD be adequate....hmmm

As for going for a different brand besides Wacom, I like the fact that their pens are battery-less, so even though they're pricier, I'm inclined to go with them. There seem to be quite a few other-brand tablets on eBay at MUCH lower prices though....hmmmmm

Maybe I should just buy a cheap crappy Trust one or something first, to see if I even get on with a tablet. I might find that I prefer the mouse, after all this =)