Help choosing a tablet

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Hi all,

I'm currently using an A5 (6x8") Wacom Intuos. When I bought it I was on a single monitor. Now I'm using dual monitors and I keep falling off the edge of the tablet (I mostly use mouse mode).

Anyway, I'm thinking of upgrading to an Intuos 3 and a slightly larger tablet. My problem is I'm not sure what size. I've narrowed it down to either the A5 wide (6 x 11") or the A4.

Has anyone tried either of these, or better yet both? Or has anyone changed from an A5 to an A5 wide? If so did it make much difference.

Any feedback much appreciated.

[Thomas]

I swap a long time ago from an A4 to a A5. A4 is too big in my opinion. I'm on dual monitor too, and I setup my wacom to work only on my first monitor (I don't use the mouse mode)

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Thanks for the reply Thomas. As I have an A5 already perhaps I just need to find better ways of working with it. I really don't want to lose too much desk space. Thanks again.

[JuST]

What do you both think about the Wacom Volito2? I'm thinking about buying this one (the Intuos is too expensive for me ) Do you think it would be enough?

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It really depends on what you want to use it for. Have you considered the Graphire range, not knowing your budget this may also be too expensive.

If you are using it as a mouse replacement then size is probably the only issue. I find that anything less than A5 is too small for me. But others use A6 with no problems. I cut out some bits of paper at the size of the active areas (which I found listed on the Wacom site) of the different tablets to see what it actually felt like moving a pen around that space.

If you want to use it for painting then other factors come into consideration as well. I’ve not used a Volito so I popped over to the Wacom site to have a look. If you’ve done all this research already then just ignore the next bits. Though it can be interesting to see what other people came up with.

The main difference I can see is in the resolution. The Graphire has a resolution of 2000 whilst the Volito is only 1016 (Intuos 1 and 2 were 2540, Intuos3 is 5080!). The higher the resolution the better the response to small movements, this is especially important for smaller tablets as the movements are restricted. What you might find is that you have to zoom is more often to paint small details.

The Volito pen doesn’t have the eraser. However, I don’t use the eraser on my pen very much.

Now, if you are painting with the tablet then the Intuos is really the only way to go. Is there any way of getting a used one? The Intuos 1 is what I use at the moment and it has been great. By the way I don’t think you get tilt on either the Graphire or the Volito.

If you really can’t afford the Intuos then I think the next best thing is the Graphire. Have you tried looking at the used section on the Wacom site. There is a Graphire 3 there at the moment for 76 euros.

The Volito is very much an entry level tablet. If you’ve never used a tablet before, or are a beginner/hobbyist then you may want to try it out, but I would consider the Graphire, if possible. The best thing would be if you can find a helpful local retailer that would allow you to try the different models out, or, take one home, try it and swap it for a more expensive one if required.

Not sure if I answered your question but I hope this has helped you. It’s not easy choosing, but, for myself, any tablet is better that no tablet at all.

[JuST]

Yes thank you very much. I understood and I will try to buy the graphire if possible. Or I'll have to wait until my birthday to make someone give me the smallest Intuos as a present. Perhaps this would be the best solution.

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Hi again, Just, you might want to check out this thread as well. Forgot about this one.

http://www.subdivisionmodeling.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345