I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

[midnghtraver]

But I don't know which one I should get.
(I'm using a mac by the way)

Spitefire, what kind do you have and how much did it cost? Same goes for you DS.

It doesn't have to be wireless.

Also, I don't want to spend too much money.

It would also help if it was sold at Best Buy, Office Depot, etc...


Thanks!

EDIT: What should I put into google because "slate" and "tablet" only bring up things like the ipad.

EDIT2: Obviously I want this for art, and I have no clue what i'm looking for. But this one seems good?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Wacom+-+Bamboo+Pen+-+Black/9469014.p?skuId=9469014&id=1218110423543

[darkshark]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

Yeah slates and tablets are two different things. There's been a few threads on which tablets are best, but here goes:

The Wacom Bamboo you linked is the most basic entry level tablet from Wacom; It's also the smallest. This one could absolutely suit your basic needs for light drawing purposes, but if you plan at all on getting serious about art in any way (pretty much anything beyond sketching) then I would recommend Wacom's next line up; the Intuos.



I've got one of these, and it will last you a lifetime (Wacom makes the absolute best tablets out there in terms of quality and features). It's a bit pricey depending on what size you get, but I can guarantee you it will last you at least a decade.

Check the site for pricing information and stuff.

https://direct.wacom.com/stores/5/INTUOS_C136.cfm

[stoners_netname]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

I agree with darkshark. My wife has the wacom bamboo, but shes been wanting to step up for a while. If you plan on committing more than a small amount of time, I'd say it would be worth saving up and bumping up.

[LongGone]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

Then again its also important to understand why you would want an Intuos over a Bamboo:

I'll just quote an old post I made, please do correct me if I'm wrong anywhere

Everything Darkshark said, though you might not need an Intuous.

What are the differences?

Bamboo at $70ish
Intuos at $200ish cheapest

Intuos (cheapest model) is slightly larger than the Bamboo

Intuos has twice or more (I forgot) the pressure sensitivity level which isn't noticable to the layman

Intuous has tilt sensor, Bamboo doesn't (Imagine if I were using a pencil. If I tilt it at a certain angle I'd get a different effect than if I were to hold it straight up. An Intuos can replicate this effect; Again not necessary for the typical user)

Intuos comes with various side buttons and a scroller wheel for easy access (not needed, you can always put your tablet in front of your keyboard and just access your keyboard whenever required)

Intuos comes with many various spare pen tips (useful)

Its your choice if you want to splurge that extra $130 for a larger, more professional tablet (if you are going serious), I used some old Wacom Graphire 3 tablet that is 7 years old and still works (just shows how well built these things are made)

[Nullifidian]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

I started using intuos during my internship and I would never want to go back to bamboo. Bamboo has almost no pressure sensitivity compared to intuos and just feels like you're carving something on a piece of wood.

I use an intuos2 myself, which works great in my opinion. But I heard intuos4 works even better. Depends on if you wanna spend 200 euros on a tablet or not.
I'm happy with my intuos 2 A5 format though and I got it for around 80 euros 2nd hand. However, I wouldn't buy anything lower than A5 size, and A4 size feels awkward unless you have a pretty big monitor (bigger than 1920x1080p).

Are there any options to try out a tablet at a computerstore near you? I would reccommend doing that, and feel for yourself which works best.
I myself would never want to go back to bamboo again.

[supermousie]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

My Intuos4 is about a year old, it gets frequent use, gets carted around everywhere, and is still in perfect condition. Like the other guys have said, pressure sensitivity is far superior to the Bamboo. I'm pretty sure it comes in 4 sizes- small, medium, large and extra large. Medium is probably the best for general use. The pen doesn't need batteries, and has two buttons. One for left click, and the other for right. It comes with a slick holder which houses 10 (?) other nibs that have different textures (like pen, pencil, paintbrush and whatnot)
I'll tell you now, once you move onto a tablet, the mouse sucks as a drawing tool.

Oh, and the glossy panel picks up fingerprints like a bitch.

[darkshark]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

I'll tell you now, once you move onto a tablet, the mouse sucks as a drawing tool.

This x10000000000.

I don't even attempt to draw ANYTHING without a tablet anymore, even in MSPaint.

[Spenner]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

I might be winning an intuos4 medium tablet for free, it'll definitely be a step up from my Aiptek 14000U (which is HUGE and served it's purpose well as a starter tablet that's for sure). I've used an Intuos4 at a studio briefly and it feels so much more natural than any other tablet I've used. It's definitely worth going for. But again, it depends if you're planning on getting a feel for digital art first or if you're confident you're going to get really into it.

[darkshark]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

Or get the 21ux like Mr. Renevatia over there.

[Nullifidian]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

I'm not sure if I would like the 21ux myself. I think it'd feel awkward as hell, at least in the beginning.

[LongGone]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

Now I'm thinking, if only the iPad screen had pressure sensitivity.....

[darkshark]

Re: I'm gonna' buy a slate...DS and Spitfire

Get the Asus EEE slate. It's like the ipad, but runs on a core i5, windows 7, and has a built in Wacom pressure sensitive touchscreen ;D