Topic awaiting preservation: Wacom vs. Trust

I'm about to buy a graphics tablet, but I'm not sure which model.

My budget limits me to the two folowing tablets;
1. WACOM GRAPHIRE3 CLASSIC A6 USB http://www.my-graphire.com/main.asp?lang=1
2. TRUST WIRELESS DESIGN & WORK TABLET 400 http://www.trust.com/products/product.aspx?artnr=12579

I'm buying the tablet beacause I don't find the mouse acurate enough, when editing pictures in photoshop, and to reduce the risk of RSI.

The tablets differ in two ways:
* The Trust tablet has a larger active area but no eraser on the pen (and the pen looks uncomfortable).
* The Wacom tablet on the other hand has a smaler active area but a pen with an eraser (and... drumroll... it looks really comfortable).

I'm not really sure about the resulotion of the Trust tablet. In the spec. they write LPI (3048) and in the Wacom spec. they write DPI (2032). What is 3048 LPI in DPI?

As far as i know Wacom is known for it's quality products. But when I did a search on the forum I couldn't find much information on Trust's products.

I'm not good at drawing (won't be using it much in that way), so that could be an argument in Wacoms favour.

What's you opinion?

(Please don't point me to the "wacom faq" or the "should a buy a tablet of not" threads)

(Edited by Troxeye on 01-02-2005 04:26)

My sister has a Wacom and we only had one problem. When installed on one of our computers, apparently we got a corrupt driver that seemed to be unfixable. The driver worked ok, but if you move towards to top of the tablet, it stops working. At that point you can only use the mouse to move your pointer, you have no choice but to reboot to get it working again. We eventually moved it to another computer that took it fine and no problems since.

As for LPI, it stands for Lines Per Inch.

I have no real experience with either makes, however i did briefly have one of those cheapy brand tablets and was not pelased at all, there did not seem to be any accuracy at all, maybe a driver fault, who knows, i threw it out in the end, bnut recently i have been heavily involved in Photography manipulation and have decided to buy the Graphire 2 direct from Wacom Europe for 39 euro ( reconditioned ).

I am looking forward to it, however am aware it will take some time to get used to.

There are worst brands out there than Trust, but when it comes to spending alot of money, i tend to settle for tried and tested products rather than the lesser known,.

zavaboy: I know LPI stands for Lines Per Inch and DPI, Dots Per Inch.

As I have understood it a grahics tablet uses a grid of wires. Does that mean that LINES Per Inch is the number of horizontal wires per inch and DOTS Per Inch is the number of intersections per inch in the grid?

alexclarkeuk: "did briefly have one of those cheapy brand tablets". Which one is a cheap tablet (cheap as in low quality or as in doesn't cost much)?


What should a go for? Larger active area and no eraser or the oposite? (as long as the res. doesn't differ to much)?

- G M Y -

Troxeye, You said you weren't going to use the tablet musch for drawing. What will you be using it for? If your main use will be to trace or enter data from images, the absence or presence of the eraser won't make any difference.

I'm not sure why Wacom specifies their resolution in DPI. The standard I'm used to is LPI because it specifies (as you said() the number of wires per inch inside the tablet. Again if you're going to use the table for data entry then the higher LPI value will give you a better response.

Also if you are planning to use the tablet for data entry, you might want to consider getting a puck in addition or instead of a pen.



<after-thought>
You need to find out if the Trust tablet resolution is square. That is, does it have the same number of lines in both directions. This may be why they are specifiying LPI and Wacom DPI. Often time I have seen (in other industries) a specification of LPI used when a manufacturuer wants to only specify the higher of the two resolutions. If the LPI is not the same in both directions, then compare it to the Wacom using the lower of the two numbers.
</after-thought>



.

-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.


(Edited by hyperbole on 01-02-2005 16:21)

What I meant was that I'm not going to draw things like cartoons from scratch. I will use it mainly for editing existing pictures like rendered 3d images and photos. This mean that I will be working with the pricure zoomed in. Therefore I think the need for a large active area isn't verry important. Right?

Also, after reading reviews and and comments I've got the feeling that a larger active area is something you "need" if you're going to draw stuff scratch.

- G M Y -

Anyone?

I'm going to place the order tomorrow... So any sugestions are welcome...

- G M Y -

In all honesty, i would go for a wacom, it is by far the most popular product of the two and that is obviously for a reason. Its probably better supported in the event of anyu problems.

Based on what you're saying you will use the tablet for I would agree that the Wacom is probably your better choice. Most people find tht they only use a small area of the tablet even when drawing items from scratch. That is to say that there may be times when you will find the larger drawing area a help in what you're doing, but for editing pictures and even for 80%-95% of all drawing work, you can get along with the smaller area.

The only time I would tell someone they really aught to consider a tablet with a larger size is if they are going to be use the table mainly for digitizing information (which you have already said you won't)

As Axel said, Wacom has a good reputation for quality and support and it sounds like the Wacom tablet will meet most if not all of your needs.



.

-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

Thanks for all your advice. I have now placed an order for a Wacom Graphire 3 and it will probably arrive within 24h...

Hmm... What should i do while waiting... Maybe get a shovel and clear som space on my desk...

- G M Y -

Got the tablet some hours ago. At first it felt really akward to use. But now I've really fallen in love with it.

- G M Y -

(Edited by Troxeye on 01-05-2005 02:09)

I think you made the right decision with the Wacom. I've had two over the years and I couldn't have done without them.

By the way, if anyone is looking for a graphics tablet and can't afford a new one, I've got one up on eBay right now going cheap, cheap, cheap ...

Wacom on eBay

Damn that's tempting, and I would so bid on it if I could afford even that low price.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

I have also just received my Wacom Graphire 2 tablet, and as stated by Troxeye, awkward at first, but in time I know i will never be without one. I will posting my first ever piece of digital oil painting in the photoshop forum for you folk to view.