Graphics Tablet Recommendations?

[WG774]

Hi,

Due to a burgeoning case of RSI and the need to study CAD (not a great combination...) I need to invest in a Graphics Tablet.

I'm not terribly keen on forking out more than £150, although I might go a bit extra if it's really worth it. I would pay more for one in an ideal world, but my experience with such items tends to be that they invariably get sat on, drinks spilt etc etc, and one for much more outlay might be a cause for concern if used on-the-move etc.

Size-wise it'll have to be A5 minimum, and from what I can gather, A4 is preferred for CAD. I would rather find one without a mouse as I dislike the things and don't need another one.

Wireless might be nice...

I have no idea what Blue-Tooth is - I'm currently on a Dell 9300 notebook - no idea what I'd need for BT. Edit: I should add that the Dell has an OEM-fitted wireless device, which is currently used solely for the modem.

I've noticed that Wacom tends to be regarded as the premium brand, but you seem to get more hardware for your money with less-prestigious brands such as Trust... Are Wacom overrated, or is there a reason?

I need one of these things pronto, so many thanks in advance for any comments :ok:

[Mac the Knife]

Wacom are the best - I've had one of those el-cheapo tablets and it gave me nothing but grief. Wacom have the best drivers, the best integration the best support and are the de facto standard

Intuos3 A5 - around 230 GBP
Intuos3 A4 - around 340 GBP

Graphire 4 Studio - around 100 GBP

I'd go for the best you can't afford if you think this might get serious and the Intuos3 A4 gets my vote. There's nothing like struggling with a mismatched graphics tablet to turn CAD into a misery.

But hey, the Graphire is a neat little thing for fooling around with.

Good luck :ok:

[WG774]

Thanks Mac.

Funnily enough, I've spent the last 30 mins or so looking at the Intuous3 A4...

The CAD version comes with a mouse-shaped "Lens cursor" - which is obviously good for CAD, but not ideal if you have RSI...

Hmm... It looks as if the Intuous3 A4 DTP version could be the trick, but cheap it ain't...

Is there an alternative to the lens cursor for CAD? I can see why you'd need it: it saves extra dimensioning operations over a mouse or pen, which is a bit ironic considering an RSI sufferer wants to keep ops to a minimum, but doesn't want something mouse-shaped...:hmm:

[gizmocat]

I've been using a Graphire 4 Classic XL for about 4 months now. IIRC £150 from PC world. I too used to have one of those 'cheapy' tablets, and the difference is outstanding.

Granted, I use mine for photo editing, and it doesn't have a puck, but I would guess you could change the button assignments on the pen to suit a CAD environment.

[Loose rivets]

I used to sell tablets with my workstations many years ago, they were I think around £500 in the early 90s. We had some experience with the first cordless, but static was a problem.

I'm surprised by the size of the units being mentioned on this thread. At a guess, the pro tablets then were about 18" diagonally, however, most of this space was taken up with a command menu, which is, or should be, supplied by the software house in the form of an overlay in hard plastic. This covered dozens of commands and was fully programmable to one's own modifications.

The drawing area I seem to recall, is not much more than 4 inches across, and the ratio of the screen. (In CRT days)

You may find that your arm movements are increased but the wrist movement slightly less with this layout.

The puck used to have a pair of cross-hairs in a clear ring, and as many as a dozen buttons for regular commands. The commands would be annunciated on a second screen, so as not to intrude on the main drawing display area. With the advent of better screens, I expect that this will not be the case anymore.

We would also offer a pen type puck, with two buttons. It made a nice change, but was not really considered a professional tool.

I used to give some hours of training with each system, but usually, after some weeks of my customers having this kit, they would be working at blinding speeds, so fast that I couldn't keep up with the drawing, let alone the input movements.

[WG774]

Thanks to all for the suggestions :ok:

The unit with the cross-hairs or "rifle sight" is optimum for CAD, but as it resembles a mouse in many ways, I can't see it being suitable for my RSI.

I should have bought the thing this week, but I haven't and I'm now leaning towards the Intuos A5 unit.

Rip-off Britain being what it is, I've noticed you can get Wacoms on Ebay for the same amount of dollars as you pay here in pounds... Hmmm...

I have friends who work at educational establishments, and feel tempted to ask them to buy with Wacom's educational discount... I probably won't as it's a bit naughty really :E

Anyway, I might as well get the A5 with pen I think.

Cheers!