Help me spend Christmas money...tablet!

Hi, I have about $150 to spend from Christmas and I've thought perhaps now is the time to get a tablet to help me with clothing design. So far I've always used my mouse to draw, and I think it'd be a great step forward to move to a drawing tablet (used to draw a lot).

I am hoping for advice on what sorts of tablets are good buys and where are good places to buy them. So far I've looked only at Amazon.com at the tablets there, and there seem to be two or three major brands and quite a huge difference in price even for similar size tablets. Since many of you are graphics professionals, perhaps you might have some insight? $150 is the absolute high side price. Lower is nice, provided not much quality must be given up. I also plan to use the tablet for illustrations of children's stories I've written over the last couple years.

Thanks much!

I have been very happy with my Wacom Graphire 2.

Dell's business department seems to have good prices on Wacom's bit cheaper then Amazon.com but I personally haven't had it to spend so I can't tell you what quality they are.

I bought a Wacom Graphire on Wacom's website under refurbished. It comes with the same warranty that all of their tablets have so I figured how could I go wrong. The one I got is a graphire and I think it is 4x5. It is small, but it was only $79. I really like it so far and it works great. Here is the URL for the refurbs http://direct.wacom.com/stores/5/Refurbished_Tablets_C71.cfm?UserID=1620778&jsessionid=a63038663976$C2z$F5$
However, I just went and looked and it looks like I got the last one. Maybe they will have some more up there soon.
BTW..when asking friends about these tablets...they said the Bamboo line was not very good, but the others are great.
Good Luck
Ron

Whatever you get, make sure it's a Wacom. No other brand is even worth looking at. Comparing a Wacom with any other tablet is like comparing a Cadillac with a horse-drawn wagon. Yes, the difference is that dramatic, no exaggeration. It's Wacom or nothing. No one else has even come close to figuring out how to mimic Wacom's technology.

With a budget of $150, your options are a bit limited. Ron's suggestion of a refurb is a good one, if there are any available. You might also want to try eBay.

As far as new in the box options go, it looks like Wacom has made some changes to their product line of late. The Graphire line used to be Wacom's starter series. It looks like they've replaced that line with the Bamboo Fun series (very strange name). Only the Wireless version of the Graphire remains, but it's outside your price range, and you might not want to go wireless anyway.

They've also got one called just plain Bamboo (no Fun), which is a little cheaper. It doesn't look like something I'd recommend. For just $20 more, the Bamboo Fun gives you an eraser on the pen (extremely useful) and a mouse (not so useful, in my opinion), plus a bunch of software. That eraser alone will more than justify the $20 in your first hour or two of use.

The Bamboo Fun appears to have the same specs as the last Graphires had, plus some extra buttons and a circular touch pad at the top. I've never used a Bamboo Fun, but I can tell you about my experience with a similarly spec'ed Graphire. Even though the Graphire was not as full featured as an Intuos (Intuos is Wacom's pro line), it was still every bit a Wacom, and as such was still a really good device, and still beat the snot out of any other brand. I'd imagine the same is true of the Bamboo Fun.

I used a Graphire 4x5" for years before I finally got my big Intuos 12x19". It worked great. I kept the Graphire for about an additional year or so to use with my laptop when traveling, until I finally replaced it with a 6X8" Intuos. I then gave the Graphire as a gift to a friend who needed a tablet, and he loves it.

Anyway, the small size Bamboo Fun (roughly 4x6" active area) is only $99, so you can definitely afford it. If you can spend a little bit more, Best Buy currently has the medium size (5.3x8.5" active area) on sale for $179.

I always recommend getting the biggest size you can afford with any tablet, by the way. You can always subdivide a big tablet to a small drawing space whenever you want if you feel the need, but you can never make a small tablet bigger.

My advice, take the $150 you have, find a way to cough up $30 more, and get the medium sized Bamboo Fun.

I just got a tablet for christmas actually o.o wooters..totally unexpected..anyway, I'm really happy with it so far.

Bamboo Fun by Wacom... tablet, includes a mouse which the tablet itself acts like a mousepad for.. which is interesting to me lol.. umm... works wonderfully, comes with some nice programs too. (PS Elements 5, Corel Painter Essentials, and something else i forget lol)

I have a wacom graphire Id sell, I got it this fall and barely used it. Dont know if I still have the box, but it is basicaly in mint condituon.

I gotta say. I used drawing tablets when they first came out way back when and I hated it. i had a cheapo one and it was horrible to use. Just this past week I got the Intuos3 6x8 and im in love with it. i thought it would be hard to get used to but its not. Deffiantly get the biggest one you can afford. If you are just starting out the Bamboo might be for you but from w hat I was seeing on it, its more for a doodle tablet then anything serious. If you are a student there are also websites out there that offer discounts on wacom tablets to students. Try http://torcomp.ca It is a canadian based company but they do ship from the US (not sure where you are) and also ebay may be an option or maybe even amazon.com has a used one. If you know you will have a bit more money saved up in say a month or two, its worth the way to get a Intuos if you can afford it.

I'm going to second Chosen's "Wacom or nothing" here. I can't emphasize this too strongly. Don't waste your money on anything else.

I've used Wacoms since I got my first tablet, and was always pleased with them, but didn't realize how good they were until I needed a tablet "right away" for a laptop. (I was about to take an extended trip, my tablet was too large to be portable, and when I suddenly was given a laptop, I needed a tablet to go with it.)

They didn't have any Wacoms in stock at the only computer store in the area, so I got a different brand. I thought, "Hey, a tablet is a tablet, right?"

Boy was I wrong.

The new tablet had batteries in the pen. (Wacom doesn't. It doesn't have batteries at all. It just works.) When the batteries would start to get low, the thing would go haywire. It would record random clicks all over the place, which made it completely useless without really fresh batteries.

Even when they were fresh, though, it was never as accurate as a Wacom. I was used to putting the pen to tablet, and recording a stroke exactly where I did. This wasn't true with the other tablet. It was close, but not really accurate.

I found myself reaching for the mouse, nine times out of ten, when I needed to place a point exactly where I wanted it to be. (I was working in vector software.) Since, after a Wacom, drawing with a mouse is rather like drawing with a bar of soap, I was not a happy camper.

As soon as I got back home, I ordered a Wacom for the laptop, and junked the other one. I couldn't even bear to give it to anyone, because I didn't want anyone else to go through what I'd gone through.

Currently I have a Wacom Intuos 3, and I love it. (Out of your price range, I'm afraid, but then, I make my living this way, so it's a tool and a tax deduction for me. )

You might be more comfortable with a smaller size, though. I am. I've had big tablets, and small ones, and the 6x8 is perfect for me.

I suggest that you cut a pieces of paper to the size of the tablets you're looking at, and draw on them. Which one feels most comfortable to you? That's probably the size tablet you'll be most comfortable with, too.

Hope this helps!

Another plus about the Wacom: practically indestructible. After 2-3 years I still haven't managed to break it or any of its parts, and I have one at home and one at work.

I had a nice lil' 4x6 tablet from AceCAD that served me well for a few years.... till it just "gave up" (from 1997-2006). Only paid $50 for it. 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, 3 button mouse functions. Worked really really well. Only issue was the pen used AAAA batteries- but at least I could get those cheap at Radio Shack.

Used some old Wacom's in school. They're also nice, but a bit pricey.

Then there's a matter of HOW you like to draw: Do you prefer large or small? I always drew in large sketchbooks, so I preferred a large surface. I was able to find cheaper tablets with large drawing areas pretty cheap. They all had some ups & downs, but for the same drawing area size in a Wacom, I'd be able to buy another car.

I guess if you plan to spend alot of time in Photoshop, etc, then a Wacom might serve you better.

Haha. I guess you've never met my mother's dog. I bought her a Graphire for her birthday a couple years ago. She's a photographer, and had been wanting one. It didn't take long before the pen fell to the floor one day, and the dog quickly snatched it up and shredded it. Money well spent, right?

O_O;;

At least it was a Graphire?

I would probably cry if that happened to my Intuos pen. Wacom's shipping to Canada is a pain, and the replacement cost for the pens isn't very nice either.

Anyhow.. pricewise, if you hook up with the right seller, ebay can be your friend. I picked up my Intuos2 9x12 about... 4-5 years ago i think? I spent about $200 less than retail.

I've also seen some older Graphires go for less than $70 and sometimes refurbs make it to ebay too.

Even the first generation Graphire should be sufficient, as far as I know, and I've seen some go for $30 or less.

Just looked, the one I have is a Graphire 4. Im willing to sell it. If you want it make an offer!

/me adds to her list of reasons not to have a dog...

I am so grateful for all the great advice. I knew this was the place to turn. I think I will try to save up a little more money over the next month or two, since from the sound of things the ones really worth having do cost a little more. If I were able to limit myself to what is available on amazon.com, I could probably go higher, since I also have a gift certificate for amazon which I wasn't counting into my figure.

So....

1. Wacom...yes.
2. size? I'm going to try your idea, Robin.
3. used? Really really leery of buying used electronics.

Thank you again everyone who has helped me. I'll follow-up in this thread once I actually order something.

I am with you on this one, particularly for anything with moving parts. Like, printers are possibly the worst thing ever to buy used. However, Wacom tablets last a really long time, so I wouldn't be as concerned about getting one used. I can vouch for what Malia said, that Wacoms are practically indestructible. Notwithstanding Chosen's mom's dog, a Wacom tablet lasts a really long time, certainly longer than any computer you might use it with.

Also, Wacom's support for old products is superb, mostly because the core technology never actually changes, just the periphery details and features. I got my first Wacom tablet back in highschool, and many years after I had bought that first tablet, years after they discontinued that line even, I had no problem getting drivers from Wacom for my new computer or ordering replacement parts (new tips for my pen.) The only reason I ditched my old Artpad II for a Graphire (purchased a Graphire 2 shortly after Graphire 3 was released, I saved a bunch by cherry-picking old stock stores were trying to dump) was because the old tablet used a serial port and I needed one with USB.

Some years ago a co-worker sold me his old Graphire1 because he was getting himself an Intuos. Graphire....3 had been just released and his unit was a bit worse for wear - very scratchy, at least 3-4 years old - but still in perfect working condition. I eventually gave that one away to a classmate who was in need of one (given that I already had my bigger tablet) and to my knowledge that tablet is still serving her well today.

Wacom tablets are remarkably well put together and beyond usual wear and tear, i've never had any problems with the units.

As long as the unit itself is intact - not cracked open at any point or cords frayed - you should be fine.

Chosen....will you marry me?
I don't have a SL husband and I sure could pick your brains
In return I can offer you a place to sell your wares and a UK time zone Q & As sessions were I ask the Qs and you provide the answers - subject matter- Textures / Photoshop ...your choice.

Let me know!

An update: I got a used "Intuos GD-0405-R" on ebay for under $50. (I bid on six or seven others, but never won, hehe.) I know it's smallish, but I thought it might be good to see how I do with it and start from there. Hopefully I'll have it by next week, whee.

And now I have virtually a new computer (video card, motherboard, processor, memory)....when I logged into SL, I was shocked to discover reflections on the water. Then I downloaded the Windlight client.....wow! I thought those pictures of people standing in water with their feet all quivery-looking were photoshopped! I had no idea it could look that nice.