Yeah but wacom is the major company…all of the other stuff I’ve seen looks not as high quality plus more expensive…so it’s a no brainer :P.
Oh yeah do you think a 4x5 should be adequate? 6x8 is like + 100$ US :(! Is size really that important? Does anyone know if you can trace pictures with the graphire series? Like put a picture on the actual tablet and trace over it? Wacom advertises the intuous’ specific ability to do that plus the pens work a quarter inch of the table…blah blah blah. I just wanted to know if anyone knows if the graphire is also able to trace pictures like that, especially seeing as intuous are way more expensive =/. 100$ US + tax + shipping/handling (so like 135$ US :-/) is still alot so that’s why I’m asking all these random questions :P.
Thanks
Fargate 
dude, simmer down! 
I’m guessing here, but i can’t see why you couldn’t put a picture under your graphire and trace it… it has some thing where you can make “wallpaper” type things, so you could just put your drawing there and trace it…
especially for your first tablet, buying a huge one might be bad because if you don’t like it, you’ve blown all this extra money. A lot of people find the 4x5 to be perfectly adequate,especially if you don’t use huge movements when you draw. Some even say the bigger sizes annoy them.
i don’t think wacom adds any filters to photoshop when you buy a tablet… dunno where that idea came from, i’ve no reason to believe it.
all the major programs (i.e adobe and macromedia) will support tablets, so all the pressure sensitivity and stuff will be useful. But for vector (i.e flash and illustrator) a lot of people find a mouse is actually easier to use, since it’s point by point illustration instead of painting stuff…
the intuos series has tilt (i.e it can tell what angle the pen is at) and i think more sensitivity as well, which makes it cost more. also, i believe the graphire’s don’t have a strip at the top of the tablet where you can assign different “hotbox” commands (i.e shortcuts to certain commands) that i think the intuos does. Obviously, if you check the Wacom site they’ll have all the product details.
I use a Wacom Graphire 2, only for photoshoping and stylised vector strokes in illustrator. Now a Graphire 2 is enough for me, i admit it was strange to use at first but i got use to it. About tracing, it does have a transparent flap which you can place paper underneath it and trace the illustration but i dont see why this is any good, personally i would scan the image in and trace it in photoshop/illustrator, because you are limited to size of the tablet otherwise.
Like iLikePie said the Intuos series are more expensive since they have “macro” buttons (hot box commands) and the tilt features, they are also usually a larger sized pad since for more proffessional work every mm counts. its full control.
With having a larger pad you have more control on speed and accuracy of your artwork. Also a feature on the more expensive pads are increased pressure sensability (meaning there more control for min to max pressure) which again gives you more control.
Regarding the plugins to photoshop, when you purchase a tablet you get a package, the cd’s that are in the box are usually painter(old version), some trial photoshop filters and some free filters that work with the pen, also you have drivers to make your tablet work, you need to install these yourselve, and the tablet might be plug and play but for its features to work you need to install the provided drivers.
Now your purchase is up you, depending on what you use it for will determine what size and what wacom(if you wish to get wacom) style of tablet you want, are you using on a pro level? are you using it to make you money? are you using it to have fun/play around?
Go to the wacom site and look at the features provided with each tablet, look at its price and find something reasonable yet meets your needs.
hope this helps
cheers
.soulty
Wow thanks both of you for the detailed responses =). But I’m getting the impression from both of you that it’s not so great for programs like flash, and freehand? I mean I know they’re compatible and everything, but both of you seem to say it’s more geared for photoshop stuff, and minor vector things. Flash was one of the major reason I thought of getting a tablet in the first place, because my mouse drawing skills in flash suck, and I really need to better my drawing skills in flash. So are you saying that the table probably isn’t worth it as much if I’m interested primarily in improving my flash graphics? I just wanted to make sure :P…be a shame if I got one and then it didn’t help me much in the area I most need to improve :-/.
Thanks
Fargate
EDIT: Oh yeah I forgot to ask in my last post. Does the cordless mouse that comes with the tablet work on other surfaces besides the tablet? Or does it only work inside the activity/drawing zone of the tablet? If so I guess it’s pretty useless with a 4x5 :P. Be cool if it works on other surfaces though seeing as I currently have a track ball =).
EDIT #2: Oh yeah ILikePie, here’s where I got the idea that ps filter’s come with the tablet’s:
http://www.wacom.com/tips/tip.cfm?ID=7&STEP=2&category=Other
Check out step 2…It obviously looks like it adds a whole new section of filter’s called pen tools. Oh well maybe I’m wrong, maybe it only come’s with fancier version.I’m pretty sure he’s using photoshop in that screenshot though :P.
it can help with your flash drawing, for more stylised illustrations, but most other things can be done with the pen “tool” or mouse.
Regarding mouse, only can work on the pad.
Regarding filters, i did mention the filters before, they are just some free plugins you can install into photoshop/painter that use your pen’s features.
i dont use the tablet much at all these days , but when i do need something that requires it, the wacom graphire does enough for me and from what it sounds like i think it will be enough for you.
LoL… ok ok… look…
The tablets work great for EVERYTHING there are no exceptions. If you want to know what the difference between the tablets are look at their site. I mean it’s pretty cut and dry what they are telling you.
As for tracing… the Intous comes w/ a thin sheet of plastic over the wacom which you can slip things under it so it doesn’t move when you want to trace it. The wacom in almost every way, in EVERY program is more efficent than a mouse especially if you’re a traditional artist.
I will add my .02 from a perspective of a person that does not like them that much. It is an acquired taste and may take a while to get used to. I do alot of concept sketching and cartoons so I was able to notice the lack of accuracy, albeit slight but I noticed it. There has been situations where I forced myself to use it due to the project. But I find that my optical mouse suits me well. Os there is not really a need to jump on tablet band wagon unless you are a hardcore traditional (digital) artist, pencil and paper do just fine. Hopefully it was said. But try the smallest one first to see if you like it. Because like I said it is an acquired taste.
Since you asked how the interface was for configuration, here’s a SC of the 6x8" intuos2… you can configure it for any of your apps, and quite extensively !
Ok ok sounds good…looks like I’ll go with the graphire 4x5 :). I forgot to mention that I’m left handed. Could that be a problem :q: Are there right handed or left handed tablets or it does it not matter whether your left or right handed? A few posts back I read about someone not being able to use their graphire much because they were left handed :h:. I guess I better improve on my general mouse drawing first before I buy it though…besides I’m no professional artist :P. If I’m not really good with a mouse to begin with I guess I won’t be all that better with a tablet right? Or Will I :q:… Does anyone have any particular tips on mouse drawing or know any helpful flash design sites? I can never control the pen tool lol…always goes in the opposite direction :P.
Thanks for all your help guys =).
Fargate 
