Mouse vs. tablet

[MadLetter]

After seeing the price on the cheapest Intuos3 I decided that I do not yet have the money. I'll probably go for the Bamboo, then.

Question now is: Which one? There are three: Bamboo, Bamboo3 and Bamboo Fun.

The Fun Version can become more costly but also bigger. Is the size worth the added 100€ ?

[RPMiller]

I think that depends on the personal preference and need. I personally like the bigger surface because it feels more comfortable and logic (if that makes sense) to me. That is why I got the wide screen format for the one to one mapping. With the smaller tablets you have to "'write' over your previous movements" a lot and it feels weird to me.

However, if you are going to be going mobile with it a lot I would say definitely stay smaller. Mine is the same size as my widescreen laptop which makes it a little unwieldy when I'm moving around a lot, but if I'm staying in one place for a while it isn't bad at all.

Again, I think it comes done to affordability and what you are comfortable with. Just out of curiosity, do you have any computer stores near you that might carry tablets, even non-Wacom ones, just so that you can try one out and see what feels natural to you? That would be the best way to go.

[jakeforddaniels]

I bought a Wacom Bamboo Fun a couple weeks ago and have been using it since for general computing as well as mapping, Photoshopping and such. I went with a cheapie because I'm not a hardcore artist (I'm a photographer, though) but I really liked the idea of a stylus instead of the cramp-inducing mouse. Also, I was mourning the end of a romantic jaunt, and new tech is always a good picker-upper.

The Bamboo Fun is small, the name's a little silly, but it fits my needs and it's really been encouraging to see the stuff in my head come out on the screen. For me, it's made that kind of intellectual transfer a little faster, a little more fun, and a little more instinctive.

[Absinth]

Hello folks, I'm also thinking about buying a Wacom Bamboo, but first I have a few questions:

What is your experience using the tablet with GIMP? On several GIMP boards, I read about the problem that the Pen "freezes" for a few seconds from time to time. Did you come across this problem too?

How long does it take to get used to drawing on the tablet but only seeing the result on screen? I haven't tried it yet but I imagine it to be weird. I'm drawing for nearly thirty years now and am so used to see the drawing on the surface I'm working on. I really can't imagine how it feels to see it different. Any problems with this?
Out of this reason, I'm toying with the idea to buy a Cintiq with a built in screen, so that you can see the drawing on the tablet. These tablets are far more expensive than the Bamboo and I don't know if it is worth the money. Please tell me about your experiences getting used to unfamiliar hand/eye-coordination. Thanks!

[RPMiller]

For me, I was able to get comfortable with the tablet within only a couple days. There are a couple tutorials posted in this thread with some simple exercises to get you used to it pretty quickly. As for the Cintiq, Arcana is the only one that I know of that has one so you'll need to ask him. From what he has mentioned so far he loves it.

[Absinth]

Okay, I guess I'll just try it. I don't really want to buy a Cintiq, because it's nearly ten times as expensive as the Bamboo. I have no doubt that it's really nice, though! But I guess so many people are using tablets without screens and get used to it. Why should I be an exception? And, if possible, I'd like to prevent the discussion with my gf about the need to spend thousand euros for a graphic tablet...

[RPMiller]

Just noticed your location when you said euros...

Ja, das heißt nicht artig zu versuchen zu auslegen jene Betrag über Draht als "ein Baumfalke" (is Baumfalke the right word?), aber falls Sie anfertigen Draht.

Hopefully my German wasn't too painful to read. Hopefully you are German. LOL

[Absinth]

RPMiller, you just nearly caused me to die a painful but rather funny death! Yes, I am german and german is my first language, but what the hell did you try to say? Please, don't feel offended, but I have absolutely no clue what this was supposed to mean. It doesn't make any sense! (Hopefully my own posts don't cause confusion like this among the english speaking users!)
A baumfalke is a falcon! What does this have to do with graphic tablets?! Oh, wait, maybe you tried to translate the word 'hobby'?
There's no german translation for 'hobby'. The word is used in germany as well. But even if I replace 'hobby' with the translation for 'pastime' (Zeitvertreib), I'm still clueless.

This whole conversation reminds me of the killing joke from Monthy Python's Flying Circus. Cool, you just made my day! Awesome!

[torstan]

As for the freezing issue, I know that it was an issue with the graphire as well but that you could work around it by going in and editing some of the Gimp files. The other option for the graphire was that you go back to an older driver - which is what I ended up doing. That's probably not an option for the Bamboo. As a result I'd guess that there will certainly be a workaround by now for the Bamboo with Gimp. How painful it is, I don't know.

[RPMiller]

RPMiller, you just nearly caused me to die a painful but rather funny death! Yes, I am german and german is my first language, but what the hell did you try to say? Please, don't feel offended, but I have absolutely no clue what this was supposed to mean. It doesn't make any sense! (Hopefully my own posts don't cause confusion like this among the english speaking users!)
A baumfalke is a falcon! What does this have to do with graphic tablets?! Oh, wait, maybe you tried to translate the word 'hobby'?
There's no german translation for 'hobby'. The word is used in germany as well. But even if I replace 'hobby' with the translation for 'pastime' (Zeitvertreib), I'm still clueless.

This whole conversation reminds me of the killing joke from Monthy Python's Flying Circus. Cool, you just made my day! Awesome!

Yes, I couldn't remember a word for hobby so depended on babble fish to translate... Now that you say Zeitvertreib, that sounds more familiar. You would think that after 5 years of learning German I would be better at it, but as they say use it or lose it. I'm glad I was able to give you a chuckle at least. And for the record your English is very good.