frustration does subside | Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet

Great tablet | Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet

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	• Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet Wacom Wacom average customer review:based on 172 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Perfection

If you like to draw at all you need to have one of these tools. It is like having the largest market collection in every color and tip size right on your desktop. It works extremely well and gives you tons of control. I've only spent about 20 hours on mine but the more I use it the more I love it.

frustration does subside

I've been using this graphics tablet for over two weeks now. At first it takes some getting used to. Every point on the tablet corresponds to a place on the screen, which is completely different from a mouse. With a mouse, you can pick it up, place it in a different location and continue as normal. With a tablet, you just have to move. It took me four hours of wanting to throw this thing out the window to realize that I absolutely love it.

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Great tablet

My 13 year old daughter is into Photoshop CS and drawing/editing pictures. She wanted this tablet and it is great. She commented on how it has helped her edit pictures in a tenth of the time it would take her with the mouse. She loves it!

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No Problems

Works like a charm, but I think if I had it to do over again, I might get the larger size. This is one of those things where bigger might be better.

I LOVE THIS BOARD!!!!!!!!

I am not a newbie to graphic tablets. I've owned three before this one. The first one I owned was an off brand which ended up being mearly a kids toy but it was 6X8 (256 levels of pressure though). When I upgraded to XP and was no longer able to use that one, I upgraded to the Wacom Graphire3 (4X5). Then I upgraded to the Graphire 4 (4X5) (The Graphire 4 is the model below this one) when the cable on that one went dead. I still own the Graphire4, but when I became really serious about digital art and enrolled as a Graphic's Art student... I knew I needed to upgrade.

First of all, I had trouble coming up with an adequate review to say just how pleased I am with this product, but all the reviews about how wonderful this product is are true!

When I first picked up this tablet, I was surprised at how sleek it felt and how natural the pen surface felt for a graphics tablet. My biggest complaint with tablets is that most surfaces were too slippery and didn't have a good contact with the pen. For digital, I think this surface is as good as it gets. Some people may still need to lay a sheet of paper over the tablet if they feel it is too unnatural for them, but I find that it is adequate for me. (Keep in mind I have not used the "hard" nib that comes with this package)

Obviously since I've used the Graphires for a number of years, I understand the differences in terms of size and pressure sensitivity. 4 X 6 is just too small. I have never made the investment to a professional line until now, but it is like going from dial up to broadband... you don't go back if you can avoid it.

The pressure sensitivity is probably the most important feature because of the 1024 levels. The Graphire line uses half of this, and it is difficult to get a fine balancing of medium and "in between" values of line weight (or opacity or whatever you are modifying with the pressure). A key feature of this tablet is the pen's "tilt" feature which gives you another way to modify size, color, etc. Honestly, you could go without this feature, but once you start to use it--it CAN have it's purposes. But the pressure sensitivity can not be overlooked, especially in terms of design factor and time saving, you need to be able to get that very delicate line and value.

I had purchased the Wacom Intuos3 4X6 before this one, because I was like some people tend to be, I was skeptical about whether or not the size would play a big part or not--especially when you're already spending a lot of money. It does play a big role. I don't know if I can ever really explain it but when you go from 4 X 6 to 6 X 8, there is just a control factor that can help when you're drafting out designs or especially when you're working on very minor details. I just did not have that sense of control and I would normally have on paper (btw, I am using a 1024 X 768 res two monitor setup). Since I've upgraded to this one, I feel a lot better and less cramped. I think 6 X 8 is a wonderful size and I would recommend it as the minimum, though I could go larger and definitely make use out of that I think as well.

This one actually fits in my laptop bag very snugly and it's not as heavy as you would expect it to be, but it's not light either. Though if you're thinking of using this portably, you better have extremely above average battery life and a plug outlet nearby. This laptop turned my 3 1/2-4 1/2 hour battery to about an hour (and that's low LCD light, everything turned off and settings toned down). So obviously this tablet drains quite a bit of power. The 4 X 6 model (wide screen version) as well had the exact same impact (The Graphires were substantially better). Being that this is a pretty powerful device, that's not surprising, but I would keep this in mind if you plan to purchase to use portably ^^

One of the biggest differences besides pressure sensitivity that I have noticed with the Intuos compared to the Graphires though is the response rate. You can actually achieve a smoother line much easier because of this. The actual pen to display is much more responsive, not to say the Graphires are unresponsive in any way, but the Intuos provide that feel of speed and dexterity because of the high response rate (which is an emotional high when coupled with the enormously smooth surface! ^,^).

The drivers have a lot of features--one feature I cannot live without is the Monitor toggle which allows me to alternate between two monitors. This is actually a newer feature with the newer drivers, though I had problems on my desktop with the driver before that version (whatever was out during that time), however my notebook didn't have any issues whatsoever with the same driver version (It was computer specific, but when I updated to a driver below that one and then up to the one causing problems, it seemed to work fine for some reason) The control panel will save the key functions to specific programs, will recognize different pens as well as different tablets and save settings for all those as well. I have never had to deal with their customer support, but they are actively releasing new features and drivers on a regular basis for this product and it'd can't be underestimated.

The only cons I would give this product is the driver problems I had originally. The overall durability of this product seems a lot better than the Graphire lines, especially with their cords. But just in case ;), I keep a piece of tape over the bottom and sides of mine to prevent any damage I may cause by leaning back in my chair and perhaps for when the cable inevitably gets caught somewhere (which happens with me a lot). Though I don't see how many people will have problems with this if they take care of it, as the tablet itself has a very long cable. I was actually very pleasantly surprised when I opened it!

If you are looking to spend your money on something you will enjoy, that will last you a long period of time, and that will provide you features that will support you as you persevere and work towards being an artist, then this product will not only support you but it will give you advantages as well (with the tilt features, etc). I think it makes my life a lot easier, and it's definitely much easier to use than the Graphires!

If you are still looking at a lower size, at least do what I did and purchase the lower size at Best Buy or Compusa first so you can return it, then see if it will enough for you. If this is a long time investment for you, unless you absolutely need it right away, I would save for the highest necessary size first (or buy a Graphire first if this is your first tablet). If you end up upgrading after that, at least you will only lose at most $100. If you are pursuing digital art, especially things dealing with CG like photoshop or painter, I recommend getting a tablet ASAP, because a tablet can have a bit of a learning curve. It is different than traditional media so you will have to get used to drawing directly to screen. Especially if you feel intimidated by it.

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