Tablet

[Druckles]

Hey, I'm thinking (well, more than thinking) of getting a tablet. I won't personally be getting it as I can easily get it for my birthday (next week ), but I have little idea where to start.

I have some idea, as I've been told, first get a rubbish/cheap one, so I know what to expect, and what it's like, then think more seriously about getting a more expensive one that works well. I have little idea of prices either, so at the moment am browsing through the Wacom site, researching.

But if any of you have any idea where I can start, or what tablets are the best, perhaps giving me a link and some information with price, I would much appreciate it.

*looks very pointedly at TDE*

 

[StardogChampion]

Wacom = win.

I have a Wacom Intuos 2. I'm not sure what their latest ones are called, since I haven't checked since I bought it.

If you know you're going to use it a lot, then there's no point wasting money on a crappy one.

 

[Druckles]

Well, I'm not working professionally, but if my parents are paying, no problem lol. But I know I will be using quite a bit. If I do buy a "crappy one" first, i'll make sure it really is cheap lol.

 

[CR0M]

a graphire will also do fine.

 

[Ames]

Buy academic if you can. It's cheaper.

 

[Vegeta897]

I own a Graphire 3. Suits my needs, you don't need any fancy angle detection, like the Intuos 2.

But you do want to get a big one. I own a 5 x 8, and I'd say thats the minimum size you should get. Bigger is much better.

 

[Brazooka]

Wacom Intuos 3 6X8'. I'm really happy with mine :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

 

[chu]

I am thinking of selling my Intuos2 9x12 to get a smaller Intuos3.

 

[Druckles]

I have been researching, and have found some very interesting stuff.
There is a very helpful site here with in depth discussion on buying a tablet (thank god for google)

Before you Buy a Graphics Tablet

Despite the fact this covers most things, I also found that, not being a professional, I would not need the Intuos3. If you are a professional, I would definitely recomment this. However, I would need to go for something less expensive, but something worthwhile at the same time. Therefore, I decided to stick with Wacom, because most other producers did not produce anything worthwhile. Genius did supply a 6"x8", however both the mouse and the pen required batteries, something which the Wacoms did not .

There were two wacom products that were between £20 and £50, the Volito and Penpartner, but the sizes of these are too small to be worthwhile. Therefore, that only left the Graphire3, which was stated to be ideal for "my use". The graphire3 studio versions were definitely not worth it because they pushed the prices into and past the £150 range, something which I cannot afford, and the extra software supplied is not needed anyway as I have PS7 anyway.

Now I only have to chose between the Graphire3 classic and the Graphire3 classic XL. The XL is £137 bought from Wacom, which is very expensive, but might be worth it, while the classic is jsut £68. The XL has the major advantage that it is 6"x8", the standard and best size for a tablet. The classic is, I think too small, but definitely much cheaper.

So now I only need to decide whether to invest into something decent, or stick with the easiest, even if it is only second best.
(oh, and btw, my birthday on monday, which is why I'm getting it, im not loaded or anything lol)