dang: Archive

Comparing Wacom Bamboo (discontinued model) and the Intuos4 Large

oshaikeuchi:

obsessivedreams:

I noticed that NO one really explains the difference between the Wacom Bamboo and the Intuos4. I mean, people compare the sizes and we can see through specifications how they’re different, but how different are they? I’m not sure why, but I figured I’ll do a comparison to help people decide. This was something I wish someone did when I was deciding on upgrading my tablet but I don’t regret my choice.

So, I got my new Intuos4 graphics tablet :D and I wanted to make sure the upgrade was worth it so I compared both my old Wacom Bamboo and the Intuos4.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the Wacom Bamboo, it’s helped me for years albeit a few hiccups and problems, but it’s always been handy through out the years. I think I got this at least 4 or 5 years ago and it’s done its job. This is the model I have, although it’s been discontinued and replaced by a newer Bamboo brand.

This is the new Intuos4 Large I got today.

There are a few major differences I’ve noticed between the Bamboo and Intuos4. I think the most noticeable would be the size. My Bamboo is a6 while I’ve decided to upgrade to an a4. Here is a photo to show the size difference.

Another difference is that the Bamboo has 512 pressure sensitivity while the Intuos4 has a whooping 2048. That’s roughly four times as much pressure sensitivity. What does that really mean though? Well, I figured it would be better to show.

Here I just tested some brush strokes between the two tablets. As you can see, the right side has a much wider variation to the brush strokes as it varies according to the pressure you apply to the tablet with your pen. Bearing in mind for BOTH tablets I used the same brush at the same size, at the same opacity. Everything was the same.

Lastly which I think will be EXTREMELY helpful, is the tilt sensitivity. This is something that lacks from my Bamboo which has been some what frustrating since I’m so use to holding my pencils this way when drawing traditionally. I’m quite expressive with my strokes and like to play about with a range of methods. Again, me writing this may be meaningless so I’ve taken a print screen to illustrate this. Pay attention to the brush image at the top left corner.

This was done with my Bamboo tablet. Regardless of how I hold my pen the brush in the left hand corner shows that it’s always upright. The only movement it does is by pressing downwards which is the only sensitivity that the Bamboo is capable of.

This is the Intuos4 and straight away you can see the brush in the top left corner is tilted. This is what I mean by tilt sensitive. Comparing both brush strokes from the Bamboo and the Intuos4 you can again see there’s more variation. The thickness is determined yet again by how hard you press your pen.

I’ve seen some people upgrade from the same Bamboo tablet as mine to the Intuos4 and I thought this might help people make a decision.

Operating System: Windows 7, Software: Photoshop CS5, Tablets: Wacom Bamboo and Wacom Intuos4 Large

I think some of my watchers might like to see this, idk? There’s lots of differences in quality between bamboo and intuos, and this shows how.

Sorry about the text post, but I have the same Wacom bamboo as the one above and I’ve really been considering switching. Reblogged for consideration and help for the future.