United3dArtists Archive

Just curious. I went shopping today and brought home a Genius G-Pen 450. It only cost about $50. I was looking for a Bamboo but they only had Bamboo Fun which has some software and cost about twice as much.
We figured we could always use this one to try it out and later upgrade if I stayed with it and learned what I was doing. My Son would inherit this one.

Hi Kenc3,

I use a medium-size Wacom 9x12 Intuos 2. It has a large 12 x 9 inch (31 x 23 cm) drawing area and, sadly, I don't use it as often as I'd like because it is too large, making it awkward to use. (It's external dimensions are 18 x 14.3 inches or 46 x 36 cm!) It has both a pen and a puck (mouse). The pen also has an eraser which is great with drawing programs like Photoshop which support it.

Nowadays, I would not recommend using a large conventional tablet unless you want to use it to manually trace a print. Personally, if I need to trace something, I will just scan it and trace it with Adobe Illustrator. From there, the vector drawing can be imported into trueSpace.

However, there is one situation where I would still want a large tablet---Wacom's display tablets (like a CintiQ 12WX or 21UX) work best at larger sizes because what you're doing is drawing on the surface of your computer display. In this case I would recommend getting the largest tablet possible with the highest resolution. I suspect that we would all be using them if they were more affordable because they are super-easy to use since there is no hand-eye disconnect which is the bane of traditional tablets. Technically, they just lack one thing: wireless communication with the computer (I hate wires!).

If I ever buy another conventional tablet, my next one will be smaller and have either a 16x9 or 16x10 aspect ratio to fit my widescreen displays (like a Wacom Intuos 4 Small).

Best regards, First Light

I got a Genius G-pen F350 3" x 5" which is a tiny one made for laptops but sadly it did not work so well with Vista :( [cheap test one for about $50 )

Struggled to use it properly with trueSpace on my XP home computer as well.

Was thinking of getting either the Genius G-PEN M609 Tablet 9” x 5.5” dual-mode & multi media tablet ( http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-geni ... 46481.html" ) which costs about $150. Hope it will be better than the F350....

Theuns
I a wondering if the covering with the circles on it that comes with the Genius is supposed to lift off. Mine seems to be lifting up on the bottom. The book doesn't say anything about that.

I've tried non-wacom tablets before but they never seem to work as well.

Currently I'm using a 4x6 Intuos 3. I like the wide-screen format, but I think something slightly larger would be better.

Ken, what cover with circles are you talking about? i can't remember seeing anything like that on mine...

Jack, aren't Wacom tablets very expensive?

It seems to be an overlay which marks out the 28 hot keys they talk about in the book. Maybe it isn't in your model.
As to the Wacom tablets, I noticed the Bamboo is their entry level. They also have a Bamboo Fun which is all that they sell here. It comes with some extra software and they increased the price to cover that. By comparison, I found a Bamboo on ebay for about the same price I paid for mine.
I did notice some tablets available in the US for sale.They were used and were being replaced withnew 64 bit ones.
So far, I am happy with mine.

Yes. It was a big expenditure for me at the time, but well worth it. There's just something about how the Wacom responds that is much better than the other tablets.

Here's the one I recommend:
http://www.wacom.com/intuos/medium.php"

I use an Adesso Cyber tablet... cheap but effective.... but admittedly when I really need a good one I will go for a Wacom....

Jack, have you tried a Genius tablet before to compare?

No. I used a 9x12 Aiptech and one other that I can't recall off the top of my head. Both produced poor results when compared with the Wacom. It's a matter of line quality -- I think the Wacom interpolates the line better. There's also a difference in feel. A Wacom in Photoshop glides like butter. It's just that smooth.

That said, any tablet is better than just using a mouse. And you can likely sell your used one on ebay without difficulty, so they aren't bad investments. So you could buy a cheap one used and see how it works out, then upgrade to a Wacom once you decide to get serious about your art and resell your old tablet to recoup the initial cost.

Wacom is about double the price of the similar size Genius one and I don't know what the shipping costs will be when buying from eBay with the local currency exchange being 8:1 to the $...

I'll probably try the Genius fist off and see if it is worth while, otherwise save up for the Wacom...

I have a Genius 6x4 and is perfect.. not expensive, and works fine!!!

Got a Wacom for some years now and it works well.
But more important than the brand of tablet is that the software is made for tablet use.
Truespace isnt very tablet friendly but possible to use....

[quote="Prodigy"]I have a Genius 6x4 and is perfect.. not expensive, and works fine!!!
:bananathumb:[/quote]

do u use it on Vista or XP Prodigy? which model do you have?

the tiny laptop Genius F350 I have behaves erratically on Vista Business, shudders and wiggles which makes it very imprecise and unusable for basic mouse use or writing...

i might consider the bamboo fun small it is worth while...

If you are goig to the bamboo, look for just the bamboo and not the bamboo fun. The difference is the added software and the added price that goes with it. Good luck though, as it seems they have stopped carrying it without the software.

theuns wrote:do u use it on Vista or XP Prodigy? which model do you have?

My fault was not 6x4, is model mousepen 5x4, and i tested on XP, i can test it on Vista if you want.. works fantastic and it cost me only 50$ quite cheap IMO.

My recommendation?

5x4 is a bit small, 8x6 i think is the next size, i think it's the perfect size for a desktop! and i found here at 70$.. like me, you will use this for fun, sometimes to do something, but you will not work as a professional artist draw right? so my recommendation is go for a genius with a good size as 8x6 and with the rest of the money invite your wife to dinner

[quote="Prodigy"][quote="theuns"]do u use it on Vista or XP Prodigy? which model do you have? [/quote]

My fault was not 6x4, is model mousepen 5x4, and i tested on XP, i can test it on Vista if you want.. works fantastic and it cost me only 50$ quite cheap IMO.

My recommendation?

5x4 is a bit small, 8x6 i think is the next size, i think it's the perfect size for a desktop! and i found here at 70$.. like me, you will use this for fun, sometimes to do something, but you will not work as a professional artist draw right? so my recommendation is go for a genius with a good size as 8x6 and with the rest of the money invite your wife to dinner ;)[/quote]

hehehe, take the wife for dinner, VERY good idea :) will have a look at the 8x6

[quote="Kenc3"]If you are goig to the bamboo, look for just the bamboo and not the bamboo fun. The difference is the added software and the added price that goes with it. Good luck though, as it seems they have stopped carrying it without the software. :bananatyping:[/quote]

Interesting ,I will look at the normal Bamboo small instead of the fun one then, thanks for the advice Ken :)

I just got a LaPazz 9x12, with the exact same specs as a
Wacom. It *seeems* just fine, but I've never had a wacom.