Wacom Graphire 4 or Bamboo?

[St3ViL]

I've just started using Photoshop and Painter to do some digital design as a hobby and I'm looking to buy a graphics tablet.

I've done a bit of research and narrowed down my choice to the Wacom Graphire 4 A6 and the wacom bamboo A6 - I've read a number of reviews and it looks like these are both good tablets from one of the best manufacturers.

I'm tending towards the bamboo but thats only because it looks cooler

As i said, it's just for my personal use so i don't need any professional features and the bundled software isn't important as I already have what I need.

So which tablet would be the better choice?

 

[darktiger]

I bought the bamboo for my brother, it is pretty cool. I use the Intous3 and enjoy that.

 

[Grentz]

Bamboo is really just like a Graphire 5 (as in next version of the Graphire Series (there is no graphire 5)) i believe.

 

[Big D.]

Honestly, if you're not very good at drawing/painting or are new to 2D apps, don't even bother spending $400-700 on a tablet just because it says "WACOM" on it - it's a waste of money.

Focus on what features each tablet has and get the cheapest one - just in case you won't use it that much.

Personally, I've been drawing pretty well since I was a kid, painted, I've been doing 2D/3D graphics for about 10 years, etc. and I bought a 12x9 inch tablet for under 200 dollars on eBay - brand new, in the box. It had the exact same features as the Intuos 3 12x9" tablet which was $650 plus tax when I made the purchase. I went down the list and one by one they were identical feature-wise.

The main features you'll use are the levels of pressure it detects (1024 was the best at the time and I draw lightly), pen tilting and how many buttons it has. Mine has a whole top menu with cutomizable buttons and you can also change the area of the tablet you want to use at any time. I generally use less than 12x9" anyway because I don't like to draw very long lines. The tablet's great for drawing, digital painting, texturing 3D models or even modeling in ZBrush.

If you're a beginner, go for the cheaper, smaller tablets and focus on features not brands, since you won't get your money's worth with the overpriced larger ones.

 

[aguydude]

I own a Graphire4 and I can tell you its one of the best investment I've ever made. The tablet is very sturdy and apart from not being able to sense tilt, its pretty much the same as the (much more expensive) Intuos. Wacom is bar-none the best in the tablet industry, and you really can't go wrong with either the Graphire or the Bamboo. Here's a sample of what I was able to do using my Graphire4:

 

[St3ViL]

Honestly, if you're not very good at drawing/painting or are new to 2D apps, don't even bother spending $400-700 on a tablet just because it says "WACOM" on it - it's a waste of money.

Focus on what features each tablet has and get the cheapest one - just in case you won't use it that much.

Personally, I've been drawing pretty well since I was a kid, painted, I've been doing 2D/3D graphics for about 10 years, etc. and I bought a 12x9 inch tablet for under 200 dollars on eBay - brand new, in the box. It had the exact same features as the Intuos 3 12x9" tablet which was $650 plus tax when I made the purchase. I went down the list and one by one they were identical feature-wise.

The main features you'll use are the levels of pressure it detects (1024 was the best at the time and I draw lightly), pen tilting and how many buttons it has. Mine has a whole top menu with cutomizable buttons and you can also change the area of the tablet you want to use at any time. I generally use less than 12x9" anyway because I don't like to draw very long lines. The tablet's great for drawing, digital painting, texturing 3D models or even modeling in ZBrush.

If you're a beginner, go for the cheaper, smaller tablets and focus on features not brands, since you won't get your money's worth with the overpriced larger ones.

I've heard that the brand can make a big difference as often tablets claim to have a certain pressure sensitivity but the actual performance doesn't compare to that of better brands.

The low-end Wacom products aren't much more expensive than others in that range so I think I'd rather go for a well known brand. Besides both the Bamboo and Graphire4 have all the features I want.

 

[Scotty_SFF]

I think the Graphire has more features than the bamboo, not sure on that though.

I have a Intuos3 A5 Wide, is purdy

 

[Wally]

I'd say intuos3 if you could afford it, and intend to do anything serious. I know it's what i'm aiming at.

 

[St3ViL]

I'd say intuos3 if you could afford it, and intend to do anything serious. I know it's what i'm aiming at.

I don't want to spend that kind of money on a graphics tablet as I've never used one in my life. I'm looking for a decent starter tablet so I can try it out and if I ever get serious about it then maybe I'll consider a better tablet.

 

[Black Morty Rackham]

Just save up for an Intuos3 A5 Wide. It's the best tablet I've ever used, by a wide margin. Instead of buying a cheap one to "try it out," buy a good one and sell it later on if you don't want to keep it. They don't lose value that quickly, really.

 

[MattyC]

I don't want to spend that kind of money on a graphics tablet as I've never used one in my life. I'm looking for a decent starter tablet so I can try it out and if I ever get serious about it then maybe I'll consider a better tablet.

Then I would go with the Bamboo for now. It is super cheap and yet still a great tablet. I love mine. If you really wanted to go hardcore into it later then sure you would probably want a higher end tablet, but just to get started on? Why not get the Bamboo. I picked mine up for $70 new, you can't really beat that.

 

[Big D.]

I've heard that the brand can make a big difference as often tablets claim to have a certain pressure sensitivity but the actual performance doesn't compare to that of better brands.

Not in this case. My tablet has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and detects pen tilting (though I don't use most of the time anyway - I just use pressure for size, spread or transparency in Photoshop).

When I bought mine, those 2 features were the main difference between the Graphire and Intuos, apart from the size difference. Keeping in mind that the Intuos one was 3-4 times the price of what I bought, I got a great deal.

I would recommend that you buy something smaller than 12x9 inches though and something under $100 if you can, just so you don't waste your money. Also, even professionals don't really need big tablets, since you generally don't use most of the space anyway...and if you make a good living as a digital painter, you'll probably go for one of those $1500 tablets that are a screen that you draw on. I'm still much more accurate when I draw than when I use my tablet, so I'd love one of those things...but not while I'm still doing this as a hobby, hehe.

Here's a sample of what I was able to do using my Graphire4:

I don't wanna rain on your parade, but even though I like the shading, angle and concept of your car, the bar on the front-right side (bottom-left part of the windshield in the image) is at the wrong angle. The line should be bent towards the outside, since the edge of the side window is round like "(" instead of sticking in like ")". Now it doesn't match the left side of the vehicle because it's not symmetrical.

 

[St3ViL]

Then I would go with the Bamboo for now. It is super cheap and yet still a great tablet. I love mine. If you really wanted to go hardcore into it later then sure you would probably want a higher end tablet, but just to get started on? Why not get the Bamboo. I picked mine up for $70 new, you can't really beat that.

Thanks this is just what I wanted to hear. Think I'm going for the Bamboo!

 

[aguydude]

I don't wanna rain on your parade, but even though I like the shading, angle and concept of your car, the bar on the front-right side (bottom-left part of the windshield in the image) is at the wrong angle. The line should be bent towards the outside, since the edge of the side window is round like "(" instead of sticking in like ")". Now it doesn't match the left side of the vehicle because it's not symmetrical.

Thanks for the crit. But I drew that car like...2 years ago when I was 17, so you're a little late. The sketch is just for idealization and as a reference for 3D modeling. I'm not going to post the 3D model of the car in this thread, since this is obviously not the place to do so.

 

[Big D.]

Thanks for the crit. But I drew that car like...2 years ago when I was 17, so you're a little late. The sketch is just for idealization and as a reference for 3D modeling. I'm not going to post the 3D model of the car in this thread, since this is obviously not the place to do so.

Sounds good. I just posted that because I also draw, paint and make 3D graphics.