Tablet Buying Advice?

[gremdel]

Hello,

I'm a D&D player who would like to enhance my campaign with maps. With two kids and a busy life, I only get a an hour or so at the end of the day watching TV with my wife in bed or on the couch. I've found it very difficult to do maps without a mouse and was considering getting a lower end graphics tablet. So, what do you think? Would that work? Can I sit up in bed and work on a tablet? I was considering a Wacom Bamboo tablet at around $100.

Thanks

[Chick]

Hello Gremdel, welcome to the Guild! Perhaps after you get going with your new tablet, you'll show us some of your maps

[Midgardsormr]

It depends on how well you can handle the computer in addition to the tablet. It's going to be an additional piece of hardware attached to the computer—it won't replace the screen. At least, not at that price. If your keys are recessed so that they're flush with the bezel of the computer then you could set the tablet across the keyboard, and that could work pretty well.

As for the model you're considering, the Bamboo will probably meet your needs, assuming the size is comfortable for you. I personally find them a little on the small side, but I've talked with plenty of people who think my tablet (an older Intuos) is too big.

[gremdel]

Thanks for the welcome, chick, and thanks for the advice Midgardsormr! I think tonight I'll do a "dry run" with an iPad and make sure it's ergonomically feasible.

[CaptainJohnHawk]

A lot of the community leaders on here use Wacom tablets of all kinds. I know Max (you wil know of him soon enough, if you don't already) uses an Intuos tablet. They cost about $350 but are worth every penny. My biggest recommendation, regardless of price range, is to get one with a pen that has a ton of levels of pressure in it. A stylist type of pen is not going to give you much freedom.

Cheers!
Capt.JH

[Midgardsormr]

Pressure sensitivity is definitely the big thing. The Intuos line has at least 1024 levels (newer models have even more), and the Bamboo has 512. 512 is probably sufficient for most users. Some of the advanced models can also sense the angle of the pen and even detect axial rotation. To be honest, though, I've never used those features on mine.

I should also add that using my tablet has done wonders to alleviate my wrist pain.

[gremdel]

Thanks for the advice, I ended up ordering a Wacom Intuos Pen Small Tablet (CTL480) for $80. I figure I'll give it shot and see if end up using it a lot. $80 isn't so expensive that I'll feel bad if it becomes a gift for an artist friend of mine. I was mostly suprised by how cheap you could get a tablet for, I always assumed they were more like $300 for the lower end ones. Nice to see they're so affordable.

[Midgardsormr]

Wacom's started to see some competition at long last. When they were the only game in town they could keep their prices high. That isn't the case so much any more. When I bought my Intuos it was somewhere around $260.