Preserved Topic: Another Wacom...errr...Aiptek thread

For Christmas this year I got $150, and realized that would only buy me a small wacom (4*5), and I have a fairly large brush stroke when I paint so I was a bit worried. I went to CompUSA and looked at some other tablets (Aiptek), and realized that I could get a 12*9 tablet (wireless mouse, stylus, everything) for $120.

It looks like it has a slightly higher resolution than a Wacom, the price diffrence is great, but the pressure sesitivity is only 512.

I went ahead and ordered it, but later realized that I should of checked if those tablets are good. So, are they?

I think you need www.wacom.com

if the sensitivity level is the only difference I would say you got the deal of the cetury and should report in here after a month of use and give us the scoop on it after using a bit.

512 levels is as much as the cheaper Wacom's isn't it? I've been using an Intuos for quite some time now and think I've only used about 12 of the 1024 levels really tho, with all the tool tweaking you can do within Photoshop that'll hardly matter I'd be willing to bet.

Like I said, do let us know how it works out.

Jason

is this the HyperPen 8000?

edit: wow. check out this review... it is the lamest review EVER! -->link

[This message has been edited by genis (edited 12-28-2002).]

Nope...It's the HyperPen 12000u

I'll report in after I get it, and after some use...

...Whats tje bog deal with Wacom anyway? Is it just that it's a known reliable product, or is it genuinly better?

1. They are always in stock.
2. They are commonly used and have a great rep.
3. I bought mine there.

Ok, InSiDeR all I have gotten from your posts is that they have a proven name. My friend bought the HyperPen 8000 and it works great, but the thing is that I don't have any other "pro" opinions. Ya, so InSiDeR, I really don't see your point, all you've told me to do is to buy a Wacom, with out any reasonable support. And who cares if their always in stock.

Ya, umm...Besides that, I guess I'll just report back on how good it works after it arives...

Wacom and Calcomp have been the big two in digitizers and tablets for a loooong time.

Wacom for graphics and some CAD, and Calcomp for most pro CADdies.
Calcomp makes the ultra large digitizers that are freakishly huge, for god knows what sort of engineering use.

Wacom was I think the first to come out with the wireless pens and airbrush capability.

As far as i know, it's just been the big kid on the block and most art programs tied functionality especially for Wacom for the longest time.

From these reviews of Aiptek I've found, though, it seems pretty promising.
They don't go into too much depth though, so I'm wary about the actual usability in PShop and other proggies.

Let us know!

Who cares? I do, because my mom ordered from some other place, and then received an email on Xmas Eve that they were out of stock. She told me and I asked her where she got hers, some tech place online. I pointed her to Wacom.com and I got mine within 3 days, dig?

By the way, my Intuos2 came with PS Brush software to ease paintings. Just to let you know.

[This message has been edited by InSiDeR (edited 12-28-2002).]

My friend has no problem using his with PS, Painter and Flash (or at least, he says)...I've only gotten to use it for about 20minutes. Damn the wait time, damn the wait time, damn UPS!

InSiDeR: It's in stock , I ordered it from their site...

[This message has been edited by counterfeitbacon (edited 12-28-2002).]

InSiDeR, are there any other products that you have large endorsement contracts with

Jason

InSiDeR, I got mine at provantage.com ...saved more than getting it from wacom.com , and got it overnight...dig?

Yes Jason, you may have seen me in a commercial add.

I believe I was payed to say "Dude! You're gettin' a Dell!"

I KNEW IT!!

KILL THE INFIDEL!!

The quality of the tool is lost if the musician is also a tool.

Dig?

Let's try again for the deaf folks at home (and the stupid folks who might be reading right here)
TOOLS DO NOT CREATE ART. A GREAT TABLET WILL NOT MAKE YOU A GREAT ARTIST.

So any idiot can go and buy a Wacom...but they'll still be an idiot with an expensive paperweight.

Use the Aiptek for a while, cfb. Let us know how it works. Jason's right...and he most often is. Get the deal and check the tablet out. You've got some sketching skill that I recall, so the learning curve will be the only impediment...and then you're off and running.

Can't wait to see what you make.

Peter

DG I'm just curious. I know you have a tablet, what kind is it?

Who cares what kind of tablet DG uses. The stuff he did with his track ball still has me licking my wounds.

Thanks for the heads up on the Aiptek tablets CFB, I'll be shopping for a tablet myself in the later half of Janurary with roughly the same budjet. I'm looking forward to your comments about it.

[This message has been edited by Dracusis (edited 12-30-2002).]

shit guys...i'm not getting all these stuff what's wacorn and what is it for? please i'm not really good at these..

Ars Longa Vita Brevis!

Yannah, click the yellow letters: http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm

Jason

Heh.

quote:

---

what's wacorn and what is it for?

---

See this for what a wacorn is...

Isn't Google grand?



[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 12-30-2002).]

CFB -
I have an Aiptek... the 8000 I think... And I have it because I was mortified at the cost of the ever popular Wacom tablets... As far as I was concerned, it was worth the price just to have the learning experience of using a tablet with PS... Most of the effects and things I do are strictly through PS, so I don't use the tablet functions a whole lot anyway.
The only problem I've had with it is that when the battery in the pen runs low, the cursor skips occasionally. As for turning out artwork and general mouse-type functions - It works. I like it. And I feel it was worth it.
Perhaps one day, if I feel like dropping $300-$400 on a Wacom, I'll do it. But I'm all for economy of price, as long as the end result is the same. Their site isn't real user-friendly or majorly informative, but the product functions, and the couple of questions I've addressed to their tech support have been answered pretty promptly and succinctly. And that's really all I need. At least until I get to a point in my CG development where I can afford to be discerning where technology is concerned... )

Bodhi - Cell 617

Argh! Four days and it hasn't come! (I'm an impatient bastard, I know)

Looking at the specs: Something that is missing from the Aipteks that Wacom has is a tilt function on the pen. Is this a very usefull feature? Is it something I'm missing, and what exactly does it do. Wacoms site isn't all that informative either


(LOL@WS )

[This message has been edited by counterfeitbacon (edited 12-30-2002).]

is there a battery in my wacom pen i'll have to replace?? only manual i read was the installation one..

chudzta, I don't think Wacom puts batteries in their pens (at least not in my graphire). I believe all the power is in the board and the pen is a passive sensing device. Could be one more difference between aiptek and wacom.

I got a WACOM 4x5 over a year and a half ago. I really wish I knew that there was a 12x9 tablet out there for that price. And If i'm not mistaken I think the Wacom 2 only has 512 pressure levels also. 499 I don't think i've ever seen.


Anyone want to buy a 4x5 wacom. I'm upgrading!! :P

A wise man once said;
"I don't know!?!?"

MalFunk: If you are looking to sell your Wacom, I suggest auctioning at ebay.

Ya, I think that the only time that I'd see all 512 of the Aipteks is if I had a 512 pixel brush. Correct me if I'm mistraken, but If I'm using a 3 pixel brush, then the most pressure sensitivity that I'd use is 3 levels, right? (Minus the 0 pressure, where it wouldn't draw). If you were using it to sense opacity, then you would only use 100 levels, right?

yea cfb that makes sense to me, theres another way my mind can interpret it but thats the way i always saw it..

thanks silence, just makin sure, i didnt think they did either.. plus after fiddlin with my pen theres no darn way to even open anything so..

Mine works like this.

Max Pressure = Opacity. So if I press as hard as I can (as hard as I need to, not taken literally) on my wacom with 50% opacity, than the brush will only produce 50% opacity. If I do it with 100% and I press about half way as hard, it will produce about 50% of the color with the brush. 10% with as hard as I can, 10% opacity is produced. The higher the opacity that is set for the brush, the more sensable it is.

InSiDeR: Mmmhmm, and what else is new? Did you just figure out that setting the flow higher gives you more control over the flow?

------

Thanks everyone for you information!

Actually, I'm pretty sure if you use it to sense opacity, you'll get all 512. Therefore, you'll have about 51 levels for each 10% of opacity, or about 5 levels for each percent of opacity.

Opacity doesn't have to be a whole number.

CFB, did it ever occur to you that you quite possibly you're a rude prick?

Yes, this being my 5'th day with my Wacom, I figured that out the day I got it. Jackass.

Actually I think there would be 256 levels of opacity. While the opacity only allows for 100 different steps in opacity I believe the opacity for each layer would be stored an 8 bit or 256 colour greyscale image; much like a custom channel. I don't see too many cases when you'd need that many different levels but with the PS7 brush engine and programs like painter I would bet that it would take advantage of pertty much everything you throw at it.

The Wacom Graphire 1 & 2 tablets only have 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, don't contain a battery in the pen and don't have any tilt sensing functionality nor does it have a quick access menu on the tablet itself. The Wacom Intuos tablets have 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, again no battery in the pen but they do have tilt sensing and a quick menu across the top of the tablet. In addition the Wacom Intuos tablets have a large range of stylus types (like the airbrush) and some nifty features for using different pens on different tablet while retaining the setting used on it's owners tablet.

All in all the Wacom tablets are so expensive because of the cordless and battery less pens. This is their main selling point over any other tablet on the market which is why the budget graphire tablets are also battery less and cordless. The tilt functions aren't all that useful and are not supported at all in photoshop untill version 7.

Intuos tablets are still king on paper but their bloody expensive kings. With a budget of $150 US I'd be shopping around and looking at the competition too. I found a review of a graphics tablet once that actually pulled the tablet apart and poked around inside, the reviewer concluded that it was not only cheaper then a wacom but it's methods of sensing the pen gave for a much more responsive feel than the wacom tablets. It also had a lot of drawbacks but the golden rule still stands -- where there's competition the only winners are the consumers.

damn... i can't take reading much more of this....

that's it. I'm buying the 8000u Aiptek.

Dammit!

Look what you've made me do!!

thanks...~~~

Yannah - a much nicer sig than some of your previous efforts.

I've been very happy with the Aiptek 8000, even with the batteries in the pen. I did a lot of cost research on digitizers before I chose this one, and it seemed to me to be the best value for the money I had to spend. There's a number of different digitizer products out there, if you care to spend a little time searching Google for "digitizers"... Mostly for CAD professionals, but I was pleased to find that Wacom wasn't really the be all end all of the digitizer industry. Just the current top dog... If they have any sense at all, they'll start working to appeal to the hobbyist a little more and start offering a little more functionality for a lot less price!

Bodhi - Cell 617

hey, how's this tablet?

Jason

faq-a-licious

niiiiiiiiiiiiice

how's the vacation? lose your Q?

Jason

oh.. vacation has been pretty good for the most part I suppose. It was off to a rocky start but shaped up nicely.
It's given me a lot of free-time to just sit down and think over re-enlistment without nessecarily being hassled by anyone.
I'll start my trip back on friday afternoon... and be at my place mid-morning on saturday.

Then I'll be on the Q.