Wacom Bamboo

[Ghostman]

Got a Bamboo tablet myself and recommend it. I've pretty much stopped drawing on paper now, it's just so much more flexible to use tablet + GIMP once you've learned the basics. If you're going to buy one, don't get too picky about size. I've found A5 to be more than enough for my own needs.

[Ramah]

I have a Bamboo myself and I do like it. I've never tried another tablet so I have nothing to compare it with but I sure am glad I got this one.

I do, however, wish I'd purchased the CHEAPER one. I got the black one with the four buttons at the top and the little touch sensitive scroll thingy and I never use them. In fact, due to me being left-handed and holding a pen in a very strange way to most people (my hand moves further around the pen, holding it like a claw so most of my hand is further away from me than the pen is) I very often accidentally catch the buttons when I'm in the middle of drawing.

I guess I ought to go into the software and disable them, like I had to do with the buttons on the stylus itself. Hehe.

[Midgardsormr]

Here's a quick breakdown of the models:

The Bamboo comes in five varieties:

The baseline version is simply called Bamboo and can use both the stylus and your finger. The multitouch mode is similar to a touch pad on a notebook computer, but it is a bit more versatile, plus the surface is much bigger. The tablet has four programmable buttons. It includes Photoshop Elements software. Drawing surface is ~4" x 6"

Pen: Just like the main tablet, but without the multitouch capability.

Touch: A smaller version without the stylus capability. Note that this one is unsuitable for drawing. About 3.5" x 5" touch surface.

Fun: Pen and Multitouch. Includes CorelPaint Essentials software in addition to PS Elements. It also has a larger drawing area of 5.5" x 8.5"

Craft: Pen and Multitouch. Includes CorelPaint Essentials & PS Elements, and it also comes with a tutorial DVD for making scrapbooks. Drawing area is 4" x 6".

The Bamboo is a consumer-grade tablet. Unlike most products, though, that doesn't mean it is low-quality. It merely means it doesn't have some of the extra bells and whistles. By all accounts, it is a durable piece of technology that works flawlessly (once you get past any driver issues, anyway).


The Intuous is more expensive and intended for use by professional computer artists. Each Intuous4 model has the same features; the only difference is the size (four sizes from 4" x 6" up to 8" x 12"). In comparison to the Bamboo, it has four times as many levels of pressure sensitivity. It also can sense the angle of the pen relative to the surface.

The Intuous line does not have multitouch capability. It instead has a 5-button mouse that works wirelessly on the tablet's surface, a touch-sensitive ring for scrolling or rotating the canvas, and 6 programmable buttons.

In addition, there are several pen varieties available for the Intuous that change its feel and capabilities. The most significant (to me) is the Art Pen, which adds rotation sensitivity.


The Cintiq is a combination monitor and tablet that is way too expensive for most of us, so I won't go into it here. Likewise, Wacom also has some special-purpose display-and-tablet combos intended for specific industries that are irrelevant to this discussion.

Personally, I use a 9" x 6" Intuous3, and I love it, though I'm lusting after the Intuous4.