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View Full Version : The Wacom Bamboo, Wow

TheCleaner
11-09-2007, 10:49 AM
Just to give you some background, I have owned an Intuos 3 A5, sent it back, went to all kinds of lengths to ensure an A6 would be more suited;

http://img195.exs.cx/img195/2277/a6intuoscard.jpg

and had a pretty long thread on the whole debate with myself on whether i shoudl send back the A5 for an A6.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=2&t=221031&page=1&pp=15

Anyway, I'm now in Uni, final year and after almost 3 years of loyal service from my Intuos3 A6, I had to part with it, swapping it for a laptop which i desperately needed. Anyway, all is well with the laptop but i missed the tablet.. Not having the cash to replace the void with another intuos3, i looked for something a bit cheaper.

At first i was looking at ones by trust.. though the quality of wacom always shone through with the intuos. Graphire was sold out everywhere, and still pushing close to £100, i was looking more around the £50 mark. I noticed the new bamboo line, and after checking specs, its pretty much a rebadged updated graphire.

The bamboo is amazing, and for the price, better value in terms of quality and use, than an intuos3. Its so very thin and small. and with the contrasting piano and matte black, it looks brilliant. I'll update this thread with a bit more in depth review, but if your looking for info on the bamboo, ask away, its amazing for everyone i'd say.
TBart
11-09-2007, 06:23 PM
I'm glad you like it, but the tablet looks terrible. I never thought it was actually MADE of bamboo. :D
DrFx
11-10-2007, 12:14 AM
Cool. Did you get the plain Bamboo or the Bamboo Fun? I really think the Graphire 4 was one of the best values Wacom had, as opposed to the Intuos (expensive) and the Volito (crap), so I cringed when they dropped it out of their product list.
evanfotis
11-10-2007, 11:37 AM
Just got a white bamboo fun small, to match a macbook.
IMHO, the graphire 4 silver is for graphic artists a better choice.
First of all, the tablet driver of graphire is the same with the intuos line, and supports multiple tablets, each with custom settings for any application!
The bamboo software, does not have this. It only supports one setting for everything.
Also, the Bamboo eraser has less sensitivity than the graphire does.

Other than that, the Bamboo has 4 xpress keys instead of 2 for the graphire, and a handy zoom ring.
Also, the 1st pen button is by default mapped to the hand/move tool, which is very useful.

Can one explain why the pen stand is so light, in contrast wit the intuos stand, and what one can put inside since it opens up?
TheCleaner
11-10-2007, 08:09 PM
very true, i do indeed miss the customisation of screen-tablet mapping, and the advanced features.. as i just miss the quality of the intuos3 itself. The pen for the intuos 3 is much better with its rubberised grip but we'r looking at a price difference of £50 vs £150, and the wacom quality is most definitely still there with the bamboo

its also so much smaller and lighter than the equivelant size intuos. I was shocked at how slick it is.
evanfotis
11-11-2007, 07:55 AM
v... but we'r looking at a price difference of £50 vs £150, and the wacom quality is most definitely still there with the bamboo

its also so much smaller and lighter than the equivelant size intuos. I was shocked at how slick it is.

The reason why I suggested Graphire 4 over bamboo..
Even the transparency film has gone.. (not that I ever used it in the graphire..:))
But for as far as what Wacom quality used to and what is now... I need not say things by myself.
Wacom itself still sells Intuos 1 4Dmouse (http://www.wacom-shop.net/cgi-bin/wacom.storefront/4736c2910045b59c273f50f336190684/Product/View/GC&2D500)which has reached EOL for over 100euro, whereas the current I3 mouse (http://www.wacom-shop.net/cgi-bin/wacom.storefront/4736c203003f547a273f50f3361905e2/Product/View/ZC&2D100)for under 50euro...
Not saying that the technology is not up to it, just that I can see a bit of skimping costs here and there, and when one pays that amount of cash for a product, more is expected...
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