hello all,

i need to replace my old tablet, which is the made-for-kids kbgear pablo.
i recently purchased the aiptek hyperpen, and after only a couple of days,
it crapped out on me, so i'm returning it for a refund.  this takes me to
my question: i'm sure most of you are using a wacom tablet.  i have read
good reviews for it, although there is an issue with the price.  both of
the previous tablet i bought was 6 x 8, which gives me plenty of room to
draw.  but i have seen people use the 4 x 5 one, and was wondering if the
small size is feasible for using to draw with.  is there a big problem with
a big stroke?  any commends are welcome, since i would like to know all the
pros and cons before i actually throw down money.

james

On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 20:35:53 GMT, astroboy2520
<astroboy2520@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>hello all,
>
>i need to replace my old tablet, which is the made-for-kids kbgear pablo.
>i recently purchased the aiptek hyperpen, and after only a couple of days,
>it crapped out on me, so i'm returning it for a refund.  this takes me to
>my question: i'm sure most of you are using a wacom tablet.  i have read
>good reviews for it, although there is an issue with the price.  both of
>the previous tablet i bought was 6 x 8, which gives me plenty of room to
>draw.  but i have seen people use the 4 x 5 one, and was wondering if the
>small size is feasible for using to draw with.  is there a big problem with
>a big stroke?  any commends are welcome, since i would like to know all the
>pros and cons before i actually throw down money.
>
Basically, Wacom is the only one worth having. The price gets you good
build quality. Of courser, Wacom know this which is why they charge
what they do. However, you can often get a much better deal by going
to the Wacom site for wherever you live and seeing if they have what
you want as a used version. Most of the time the used versions have
only been used by Wacom themselves at computer shows. I did this and
got an Intuos2 A4 at 75% of the new list price. And it's great :)

And yes, A5 is good. However, if you are a Painter user like me,
you;'d be better off with A4.

--

Hecate - The Real One
Hecate@newsguy.com
veni, vidi, reliqui

astroboy2520 wrote:

> hello all,
>
> i need to replace my old tablet, which is the made-for-kids kbgear pablo.
> i recently purchased the aiptek hyperpen, and after only a couple of days,
> it crapped out on me, so i'm returning it for a refund.  this takes me to
> my question: i'm sure most of you are using a wacom tablet.  i have read
> good reviews for it, although there is an issue with the price.  both of
> the previous tablet i bought was 6 x 8, which gives me plenty of room to
> draw.  but i have seen people use the 4 x 5 one, and was wondering if the
> small size is feasible for using to draw with.  is there a big problem wit
h
> a big stroke?  any commends are welcome, since i would like to know all th
e
> pros and cons before i actually throw down money.
>
> james
My first tablet was a 12x12 (Wacom -- 1992) -- you'd think that was a
great tablet to work on -- NOT... it basically needed its own table to
be placed on. I had to hold it in my lap while I worked -- I had to work
further away from the screen -- drawing usually required larger arm
movement -- more like sketching on an easel. It was "alright" in a
pinch, but I ended up using a mouse more.

4x5 is plenty -- you're not working so much on a graphics tablet
surface, but on a document in screen space -- all tablets map to screen
space, so the bigger the tablet, the more your arm has to move to move
from one side to the other.  The smaller tablet usually means that
you're working only from the wrist and not the whole arm. The level of
detail is always determined by the level of zoom the image is in as you
work upon it, and even the 4x5 graphire tablets have plenty of
lines/inch resolution to handle as much detail as you'll ever likely
need. Furthermore, you're usually looking at the screen and not at the
graphics tablet (unless you use the tracing feature, which I never have)
so your hand-eye coordination is a consideration and a smaller tablet
makes this much easier to deal with. In my experience, I find smaller
hand motions are more accurate than larger ones.

The older Pen-partner had 1/2 the resolution as the newer Graphire
tablets, which in turn have half the resolution as Intuos tablets... The
Pen-partner had more than enough resolution for the work I do. I do
prefer the extra pressure sensitivity of the graphire over the
penpartner, but don't feel I need the level of "expression" available in
the intuos.

Your decision will rely heavily on the kind of work you do. My
experience with graphics tablets is with photo-retouching,
photo-illustration [montage], and "web" graphics (banners and such) -- a
lot of detail work. I spend a lot of time "in close" with the work. I
have two computers side by side (notebooks) with two graphics tablets, a
wireless keyboard and mouse -- I also have to consider my "desk" space.
The 4x5 is about the same size as a mousepad [and considering I buy the
pen/mouse combos, the tablets act as mousepads (I have one connected to
each computer.)]

Bottom line: I don't think you can do any better work with a graphics
tablet larger than 4x5 (most of the professional graphic artists I know
are using 4x5s.) Of course, if you're used to working in a larger
medium, and that's what you like...

2 cents worth...

Fox
************

In article <Xns957B8A611AD99astroboy2520sbcgloba@64.164.98.6>, astroboy2520
@sbcglobal.net says...
>
>hello all,
>
>i need to replace my old tablet, which is the made-for-kids kbgear pablo.
>i recently purchased the aiptek hyperpen, and after only a couple of days,
>it crapped out on me, so i'm returning it for a refund.  this takes me to
>my question: i'm sure most of you are using a wacom tablet.  i have read
>good reviews for it, although there is an issue with the price.  both of
>the previous tablet i bought was 6 x 8, which gives me plenty of room to
>draw.  but i have seen people use the 4 x 5 one, and was wondering if the
>small size is feasible for using to draw with.  is there a big problem with
>a big stroke?  any commends are welcome, since i would like to know all the
>pros and cons before i actually throw down money.
>
>james

Hecate is correct on Wacom and directing you to the Wacom "refurb" store. Th
e
only problem that I have with smaller tablets, is in critical PS/Painter wor
k.
It just does not fit my method of working, so I buy as big as my desktop wil
l
tolerate and always feel more comfortable. However, I do NOT work with it in
my lap, so size, so long as it fits the desktop, is better for me. Remember,
these are MY personal opinions, and your working methods may vary greatly.

Hunt