|
Unless you've got piles of money to spare, I wouldn't bother with a Cintiq. The cheapest I've ever seen one was $800 refurbished, and having used one at an old job, I could hardly figure out how it was worth that price. Comparatively, you can get a brand new 9x12" Intuos3 for less than $400 (see below why I say Intuos3 rather than Intuos4). Perhaps it's just that I wasn't using it to its full capacity, but I could hardly detect a difference between it and my old Intuos3 as far as performance. The on-tablet screen was nice, but I can't say I ever found it necessary or missed it when I switched back. If you decide to go with an Intuos, I strongly suggest buying an older Intuos3 rather than an Intuos4. The newest Intuos4 models have a heap of problems and tend to wear down very quickly. I know anecdotal evidence isn't the be-all end-all of that sort of thing, but literally every person I know who bought one ended up having problems. The drawing surface on them is extremely susceptible to permanent scratches even from its own stylus. I don't do much digital painting anymore, but that's what I can offer. Hope it helps!
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2009 00:28
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:05 |
|
|
Haha, yeah. I miss the Graphire series quite a bit. Hell, when I do wander back into the world of OpenCanvas, my boyfriend and I are both still quite happy with our pair of old Graphire3s. I'll be using mine 'til the day it stops working.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2009 01:13
|
|
|
I'd rank the Graphire as the middle-model between Bamboo and Intuos, quality-wise. Unfortunately, it seems that when they discontinued the Graphire line, Wacom's decision was to make their new entry-level tablets cheaper/flimsier and their new mid-level tablets more expensive/fancier. Of course, the Bamboo tablets are much newer, so they do come with a few extra features that the Graphires never had. For the average home-level user who doesn't use a tablet to actually draw much, I think the Bamboo series are just fine. However, I used tablets mostly for sketching and concept work and I don't think a Bamboo would work well for that. It's fairly slow to respond, you can't alter its settings for specific applications, and the biggest turn-off for me is that compared to the Graphire series, the Bamboo Fun model seemed lightweight and very cheaply made. (That might not be an issue for you if you don't constantly cart your tablet around in the back pocket of a backpack on cross-country bus trips, though.) I'd say Wacom's marketing is pretty on the money for the Bamboo: it seems to be better suited to touching up photos and the like than any actual artwork. A telling sign is that the Bamboo models don't come with the bundled software (PS Elements, Painter, etc.) that comes with Graphire/Intuos. That being said, people can whip up amazing artwork with a mouse. If you're looking for a first tablet and don't want to drop 400 bucks or hunt for a used Graphire, I don't think a Bamboo would hinder your work in any way. You just might find yourself wanting to upgrade shortly after purchasing it, especially if you've used more expensive tablets in the past.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2009 02:06
|
|