tablets

dear watmm,

i am interested in purchasing a digital tablet. there are a lot of excellent artists here and i thought maybe this would be a good place to ask for advice. i've never had a chance to use a graphics tablet in person, and i've no idea what models are worthwhile and which are lackluster... so far the most attractive one i've found is the wacom intuos 4 (the small one), but the bamboo model is a lot cheaper (it's not made out of bamboo, OK) and i guess that might be a better solution... if you've got a graphics tablet or know anything about them please drop some knowledge!

$200 is as high as i can go

I have the bamboo. I like it very much as its the same size as a mouse pad.

I had this cheaper one as a test for a short period but I did not like it at all as the pen was feeling really cheap in the hand and it does not have a rubber function:

I've been wanting a Wacom Cintiq for some time, but it's a bit pricy. The Intuos are nice, but for under 200 you can only get a small one like you said, but they are much better than the Bamboo.

I think wacom is the general consensus.

shit, i forgot to thank you guys for the advice!

thank you

hopefully going to end up with a small intous4 pretty soon here, can't wait (but if anyone else has another product to recommend, please do).

Ever since college, the only tablet I used was the Wacom Bamboo, which served me fine. That being said, I'm not a digital illustrator or anything like that—I work primarily in motion graphics, so I don't need a huge mouse-tracking area (I actually prefer smaller tablets as of right now). But no complaints about the Bamboo.

I use a wacom in my professional working life. I was considering getting a Cintiq, and still am, but am also considering getting the new ASUS Eee Slate.

http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Slate_EP121/

You can get a 12" Cintiq which sits comfortably in your lap, but it still needs to be plugged into a PC. The ASUS Eee Slate is a fully functioning tablet, like an ipad, only better in my opinion. Runs Photoshop etc. and has a Wacom stylus and wacom digitiser technology built in. It also has a 12" screen.

Just thought those who read the thread might be interested in the info.