Wacom Intuos3 or Graphire4?

[catsclaw227]

Hello all!

I am interested in taking advantage of some extra $$ to get a pen tablet for my cartography. I have used my mouse like a pen for a while, and though I am pretty good at it, I still think that I could do better with a tablet.

That said, since I am not a professional artist and will really only be using this for cartography, will the Graphire4 be sufficient, or will the tilt, extra pressure levels, and variedd pen types going to make the extra $100 worth it?

FYI -- I am looking at 6x8 models and I wonder if the footprint of the Intuos 6x8 might be a bit too much.

Any thoughts gang?

Matt

 

[cattoy]

I use a midsize Intuous II and the external dimension is about 10 x 13 inches.

I love it for digital painting, although I still use the mouse for most stuff.

Will you get your money's worth if you intend to draw maps with it? Only you can answer that.

 

[Fargoth]

I have never owned a Wacom. I do own and use an Aiptek Hyperpen 12000U. The wireless mouse that comes with it is absolutely terrible. I use the tablet for maps and it works well for me. The working area is 12"x9" so that's a nice plus! The price is much more reasonable as well. ($100 new or $70 for a refurb) I intend to keep using the Aiptek until I find a reason to dump it for an upgrade.

http://www.aiptek.com/

 

[catsclaw227]

I use a midsize Intuous II and the external dimension is about 10 x 13 inches.

I love it for digital painting, although I still use the mouse for most stuff.

Will you get your money's worth if you intend to draw maps with it? Only you can answer that.

Well, I am buying a tablet no matter what. So I am curious if I could get the job done with a Graphire4 tablet instead of paying the extra $100 for the Intuos3. I am leaning towards the Graphire, but I don't want to come up short wishing that I had gotten the Intuos4.

 

[defcombeta]

the graphire an the aiptek are the same bar the aiptek needs batteries in the pen.

you do know that wacom sells there sales demo models for around 130 less than a new unit and offer the same two year warranty. you have to keep an eye on the site and when one comes up nab it asap. the Intuos 3 is the better model but i recommend going for at least the 12 x 9 inches, you need that room for hand gestures and sweaps I find, , those are a demo model are around 300 . i start myself on an aiptek and i got great value from it and it did a lot of grunt work and only once did i have a problem that was fixed with a driver upgrade.

j mac

 

[JVisgaitis]

That said, since I am not a professional artist and will really only be using this for cartography, will the Graphire4 be sufficient, or will the tilt, extra pressure levels, and variedd pen types going to make the extra $100 worth it?

I have been using Wacom Tablets for years. I used to use a Intuos2 and then I bought the Bluetooth Graphire. I like the Bluetooth Graphire, but it is limiting without tilt and all of the other functions so I'm going to purchase a Intuos3 as soon as my freelance check comes in. I'd say for the $100 definitely go with the Intuos3. The Intuos3 line is better put together, it has the customizable strips and buttons, and the pressure feels a lot better. Definitely worth $100.

 

[catsclaw227]

Thanks for the feedback Jeffrey. What size did you get? Have you tried the widescreen models? I was almost ready to go with the Graphire4 (put it in my buy.com basket last night) but maybe I'll look into the Intuos3.

EDIT: OK -- I did it. I got the Intuos3 6x8. 'nuff said.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Thanks for the feedback Jeffrey. What size did you get? Have you tried the widescreen models? I was almost ready to go with the Graphire4 (put it in my buy.com basket last night) but maybe I'll look into the Intuos3.

I have the 6x8 and its the perfect size. My Intuos2 wasa 9x12, but it was way too big. I've also tried the 4x5 which is a tad too touchy. I have a widescreen iMac and one would think that wide screen tablet would make sense, but I think that they are a waste. Reason being is you never use the entire screen to paint as you always have palettes and other things in the way. I'd say 6x8 Intuos3. If you don't have Painter X, I think they have a bundle where you can get that cheaper as well. Painter X works great with the new Intuos. Its very sweet.

 

[stilettoblade]

i have used both the intuos (1, 2 and 3) and the graphire (3 and 4) lines (haha, i wish i could afford to buy my own that often)
the graphire line is great, they are reasonably priced and work very nicely. if you have the budget, the intuos are definately nicer, with the tilt and extra levels of sensitivity and such.
personally, if i only intended to do stuff for myself, i'd probably go with the graphire. if there's any chance you might need to work on hi-rez stuff for print, or freelance for paying clients, i'd say the intuos is the better bet.

all the people saying the big tablets are better, i have a 4x6 and a 12x12 intuos at home, and i find that the small one is the one i use 95% of the time. i think a 6x8 will be the perfect size next time i buy one.

just my 2¢

 

[catsclaw227]

As noted above in my recently edited post, I dropped the duckets on the Intuos3 6x8.

Now I must wait for it to arrive. I expect my cartography skills to improve by at least 17%.