I have been gone a long time but I trust only you guys with this pick. I always draw with a mouse. Now it's time I get into the Tablet age. Should I get a Bamboo Tablet or the Normal Tablet? I also need something that works the best with Painter. So what should I pick?

What I know for sure is that the Bamboo is supposed to have a more paper-like feel, and a touch wheel. The Intuos has a more common plastic surface (which I like), has touch strips, and also recognizes pen tilt. My impression is that the Bamboo is less useful for real art, but the touch wheel looks a lot more functional than the touch strips on the Intuos. I'd really like to know how the touch wheel works. If it supports panning, that would be awesome, but if it's just mapped to the mouse wheel, then it may not offer any advantage over the Intuos. The Wacom web site is full of tech specs but very unhelpful regarding the interface. How typical for a company that makes an input device. I have an older Intuos, and it really bugs me that I can't zoom or move around the canvas with my tablet without also using the keyboard. Even the new, sinfully expensive models need a better interface layout.

For the price of a 4x6 Intuos, you can pick up a Medium Bamboo (around 5x8). Unless you need the tilt, I'd go with a Bamboo.

(Edited on January 14, 2008, 6:34 am)

@Wacc: Did you try setting your image pan to middle click? I'm not sure all programs support it, but it is the standard key for both Autodesk programs (3DsMax) and openCanvas. Have they discontinued graphire/volito?

It also depends on the aspect of the monitor you have.. Intuoses are generally 4:3 (although there is one that is 1:1), and bamboos are generally 8:5. I'm not sure if the new ones are better, but the mapping on my old Intuos 1 was horrible. When I went widescreen, it became useless.

@Tigr3ss: OK, OK... I'm still using Photoshop 5.5. Maybe a newer version would have better scrolling support. Also, the Bamboo replaces the Graphire. The Graphire is now basically a Bluetooth wireless Intuos. Why wireless isn't an option on the actual Intuos is a bit curious.

I have a job now that pays mad well. I'll have to let it play out and pay off a lot of my debt first, but after that is cumputational upgrades galore. Any idea what tablet I should get? And how would I draw using a tablet? Does it show me what I'm drawing on the tablet like a nintendo DS touch screen?

Real men build their own tablet from scratch!!!

@Wacc: woops, it wasn't meant like that. I use 5.5 too, but mostly for post-processing, I don't like drawing in it. I don't think it supports it clicking to pan, sadly. And as you have complained earlier, its hotkeys cannot be rebound, right? @Pig; And I recall real pigs draw with a bleeding mouse

I like the tilt thing that painter has with Wacom. I think I shall go with classic. I also looked at the screen version too but I have a hard time getting my self to spend 1k on a tablet I have never tryed. I wish some place allowed you to test them out so you know what one is best for you.

@Pig: You mean, like HERE? http://www.bongofish.co.uk/wacom/wacom_pt1.html

@Sakana_Katana: Yes!

I've been using my intuos for about three years now and it's held up pretty well so far, the only problem is that it doesn't come with any sort of protective cover for the drawing surface and could get a scratch or two. This can be avoided pretty easily however by buying a sheet of good strong mylar and cutting it down to size after which it can be taped in place and offers the advantage of being about a tenth of the price of an official cover from wacom. As far as the bambo goes it's a pretty good tablet so long as you don't do allot of pressure sensitive renderings. The lack of extra buttons really isn't too much of an issue if you're like me and just use keyboard shortcuts for everything, and zooming with the scroll wheel is actually really fun. In short, if you're planning to do alot of complex coloring and rendering or just want to be prepared should the occasion arise then the intos i a good choice. However, the bamboo is awesome for straight up drawing and simple tones, I have a few friends who actually prefer the bamboo for it's straight up sketchability.

You know, its funny but a lot of people in Falador have called me an idiot with the way I handle my summons. You see I'm more partial to silk pouches. They're easier to carry and are quite resilient even with my daily treks across the continent. The one real downside is that it doesnt hold the essence particularly well and I sometimes end up with a botched summons that chases me into the hills until it evaporates. But thats partly why I drawn to silk, since I'm not casting for long term or even permanent summons really. Everyone says I should go burlap, but people fail to see the problems with it. Burlap cant summon anything beyong a rabid moose, and a few of the castings I've seen have run off with their owner's equipment. I saw a spirit wolf pounce his summoner and run with his adamantite into the woods. Dear oh dear.

What. (Apologies to Samu3l K, for using his line.)