As you keep reminding us .....harrumph!
I have a Wacom Cintiq 20WSX and its the greatest thing EVAR!
Its also 1900+ dollars.
Yay, more like rubbing it in actually!
Regarding the question, I refer you to this thread:
http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=552
There are a couple pages worth of discussion about it and things to consider. Perhaps I should make it a sticky?
I bought a Wacom Graphire 4 off of ebay earlier this summer, and it is a dream! I can do things so much quicker and more accurately than with a mouse alone! I bought th 8"x6" model, and I probably could have done with a smaller one, but I like the size I bought. The 8"x6" is the size of the working area. The actual tablet is bigger. It is about 11"x11", but still fits nicely into my laptop bag.
My tutorials: Using GIMP to Create an Artistic Regional Map ~ All My Tutorials
My GIMP Scripts: Rotating Brush ~ Gradient from Image ~ Mosaic Tile Helper ~ Random Density Map ~ Subterranean Map Prettier ~ Tapered Stroke Path ~ Random Rotate Floating Layer ~ Batch Image to Pattern ~ Better Seamless Tiles ~ Tile Shuffle ~ Scale Pattern ~ Grid of Guides ~ Fractalize path ~ Label Points
My Maps: Finished Maps ~ Challenge Entries ~ My Portfolio: www.cartocopia.com
I have the WACOM Bamboo MTE450 6" x 4". Before I bought it I thought bigger the better, good thing i could only afford this one. The smaller size means I don't have to move my arm so much when using it. I'm used to the MS Trackball That I only have to move my thumb a small amount to get across the screen. You can get the model I got for $70us on Newegg right now.
BTW I had the foresight to buy 4 of the MS Trackballs when they were discontinued so I should have one for a while...
John
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
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Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
I hear that. I'd pay a lot for a new Logitech Trackman Marble FX. I'm afraid my current one may not last much longer, and it's by far the most comfortable pointing device I've ever used.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
Yea... I bought my wife a MS Trackball explorer 11 years ago and loved hers so much I bought one for myself (had a logitech basic one and then one with the very large side set ball also prior). Her's started flacking out a year or so ago and we got her a mouse since the (few) trackballs out there now suck so much. I ended up taking mine into work last year and work is SO much more productive with it than with the mouse I had been using for the past 8 years. I would love to get another one for use on my home machine (still with the logitech) even though I don't use that machine much (use laptop mostly) except for video gaming once in a while..
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
----------------------------------------------------------
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.