February 13, 2015 at 17:14Understanding Wacom's Art Chaos
That was good before: there is a brand, it has a line of devices, they are clearly defined. This is for professionals and those who earn our bread products. This is for enthusiasts who understand the topic and are able to correctly apply the acquired skills. Well, this is for those who are just starting to get acquainted with our products. And then marketers came, and all slender product lines were banned. Now we have all sorts of Product Pro, Product +, Product ±, Product S, Product Mini and Product Alpha - in this mess, the devil will break his leg.
Unfortunately, the Japanese company Wacom, which, in fact, is the only manufacturer of sane graphic tablets for digital creativity, did not escape this honor. If, say, a couple of years ago you could be sure that the Bamboo line is for home and advanced creativity, and Intuos and Cintiq are for professionals and those who know how to beat 10-20-30 ... 80-180 thousand rubles on buying such a toy, now ...
I think we will not discuss the issues of “why do we need a tablet” and “what he can do”. The possibilities, in principle, are understandable: we move the “pen” along a special surface, the computer cursor moves. The pen has a pressure-sensitive tip, due to which you can adjust both the stroke width (in fact, not only the width, but also many other characteristics, but the width is most understandable), and the saturation of the tool used in graphic packages.
Models that are no longer with us are, in fact, quite known. Take a look - maybe in this long list you will find familiar words: ArtZ, ArtZ II, ArtPad, ArtPad II, Digitizer, Digitizer II, Favo, UltraPad, Graphire (with numbers from 1 to 4 at the end), Intuos (also 1-4 ), 15-, 17- and 18-inch models Cintiq, Volito, PenPartner. Do you learn anything? Personally, I am familiar with the Volito and Graphire line: I had the first one (and now, I admit, it does, and it even works, but has not been used for a long time), the second one was something in between the model for completely new Volito and costing twice as much Intuos .
In the scary 2001, Graphire2 already had 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, a resolution of ~ 1000 dpi, a working area of 10 x 12.5 centimeters. And all this on a wireless pen that did not require any batteries.
My second acquaintance with Wacom products took place at a time when the company updated all production lines the next time. The first-generation Bamboo line has appeared in the primary-middle segment (not to be confused with Bamboo One, which, in fact, is the second / third generation): good characteristics, a “wide-screen” design and a reasonable price tag made it a very popular choice for the work of aspiring artists, photographers and designers. In addition, it supported multi-touch, which allowed not to be distracted by the mouse at all: nevertheless, working with the pen in the system is possible, but not as convenient as using a cool trackpad or mouse.
In the middle and professional segment, Wacom Intuos3 and Intuos4 reigned supreme: you could take either a model of the previous generation, but “one size bigger”, or a new one. Those who understood that the capabilities of the third generation of Intuos were enough for him could either save on the size of the tablet (and more doesn’t always mean better), or take “last year” Intuos3 instead of Intuos4 M-size, but L- ku.
Of course, there were eccentrics who bought Cintiq for 2–2.5 thousand dollars, but, to be honest, I know only one person who bought this expensive toy. She did not help him become a good designer.
And just recently, Wacom took, and turned the production line upside down. Tablets Bamboo One (second / third generation of "bamboos") - abolished. Instead, they introduce two lines - One by Wacom and Intuos. But the new Intuos is technically almost not related to the old tablets of the professional series (Intuos1-Intuos4), from them he got only software and some hardware. The professional line is now called Intuos Pro.
All budget models are “stuck” on the pen resolution of the Intuos2 model: 2540 dots (or rather, lines) per inch. The main difference in the behavior of the pen (both in the younger series and in the older ones) is not so much in the number of levels of pressure sensitivity: in the end, that there are 512 levels of pressure, which 1024 cannot be tracked by hand. The main feature that decides how smoothly the cursor will follow the pen: how many times per second the digitizer will track the position of the pen. Unfortunately, if for the first generation Bamboo the manufacturer was not shy about publishing specifications, then for the next models there is nothing on the official website - all that remains is to rely only on your own impressions, Google and real work results.
Key differences between One by Wacom, Inuos Small Pen & Touch, and the old Bamboo One,directly related to drawing , see the following plate:
* - No reliable information. Given the huge backlash and not the most accurate "head", you can not be sure that there are honest 1024 gradation levels.
** - Not announced anywhere. The only available source indicates that the new Intuos (2014) has a response speed of 197 lines per second (Intuos4 - 200).
*** - In the first generation of Bamboo, the response speed was a modest 133 lines per second.
In front of me on the table is the Intuos M (model CTH-620) Pen & Touch (price ~ 17,200 rubles in the Yulmart store). The tablet belongs to the “inexpensive” ones: even despite the crisis and sometimes crazy prices, you can buy a similar drawing (a little less surface area without multi-touch) for a modest ~ 6 100rubles. I had the pleasure of talking with all generations of Bamboo tablets, working with the third and fourth generation of Intuos, which are now listed as Intuos Pro, so there is nothing to compare.
To be honest, Intuos in 2014 is work on the mistakes of the “bamboo” series: if you don’t draw on the tablet regularly or use it for retouching for at least a month or two, then it's hard to understand what is the difference from Bamboo One. Firstly, software is different. Most of all, it resembles a hybrid of the “old” application from Intuos4 ( Boomburum wrote about itin 2011), trimmed to the capabilities of the younger line. There are no pen tilt settings, various tools (like a pen with a wheel or just working with several “identical” pens with different settings, but there is support for a “circular menu” and “application profiles.”
Unfortunately, there were some jambs: multi-touch and trackpad They don’t turn off. There’s simply no such setting:
Secondly, the case materials and the design itself differ. It has become more convenient and practical, unused space, cracks and other dirt-scratch-collectors has become smaller. The front panel is single-level. The buttons and two status LEDs are placed in the inactive "black" zone: you can put a pen on it without causing interruptions in the cursor. The left LED (white) is responsible for the power of the tablet. The right (blue) shows the operation of the trackpad and the registration of the pen in the active zone.
The back panel is “collapsible”, there is a connector for the wireless module and a place for storing the “whistle”, a battery compartment ... and just indecent sizes, a cover for the small reset button of the wireless module, which, moreover, cannot be pressed with your hands - just with a pen or a pen.
A wireless module is supported (you have to buy it separately, ~ for 40 bucks).
Thirdly, the trackpad is improved. Yes, it only detects 4 fingers, but it works no worse than the magic trackpad for apple books. Zoom, scroll, three-finger drag - everything works just fine. With such a medium-sized panel and a pen for the mouse, the place remains only in games.
Not without flaws, of course. The USB cable is attached foolishly, looking "left." If you have a sistemnik / usb ports on the right, it will bend. The cable in the kit is short and thin, and if careless, it will not last long. Fortunately, at the end is a standard MiniUSB connector.
Rubber “paws” have become smaller than the previous line, because of this, the tablet is quite easy to move around the table. Not to say what prevents use, but "sediment remained." However, they are glued better: the Bamboo line they generally had the habit of falling off after a couple of months.
As for the work: the cursor behavior, the accuracy of movement and the “beauty” of long and fast strokes (the scourge of cheap Wacom models) came close to the previous generation of “professional” Intuos4. It’s a pleasure to work.
My personal opinion is this: the upgrade of the budget line itself was a success. Spending $ 100 you will get a small, but well-organized tablet: no frills, but with a full set of all the necessary features. Unfortunately, the dollar exchange rate cannot please us with the availability of older versions: for an upgrade to babout the working surface, multitouch (the dubious need for a bun if you don’t like trackpads) you’ll have to pay the price of one and a half more copies of the “younger” model or the price of one inexpensive but quite decent IPS / PLS monitor .
The line of "budget" Intuos'ov can not but rejoice in the quality of the behavior of the tablet. The name Intuos was given to her for good reason. One feels the influence of the older line, albeit significantly “cut off” to fall within the strict price limits of budgets. Fortunately for us, bells and whistles, and not the main performance characteristics, fell under the feature.
Pros and cons? Easy!
+ Perfectly moves the cursor, does not tupit with quick strokes, there is no "ladder";
+ The new design is really successful: it does not collect dirt, fingerprints, dust and scratches;
+ Drivers with an expanded set of features and separate profiles for different applications;
+ Price for the younger version of the tablet;
+ Excellent trackpad for touch versions;
- Price for older models (hello to the dollar at 65);
- Drivers are damp, sometimes they fall, the touchpad DOES NOT TURN OFF;
- The pen loop has difficulty accommodating what it was intended for;
- The USB is flimsy, the cable is short, it only looks “left”.
Our previous reviews:
» ASUS ZenFone 5, LG L90, HTC Desire 601 - dual-sim consumer war, part 1
» ASUS Transformer Pad
» Razer Kraken headsets
» Midland GXT-1050 radios
» NVIDIA SHIELD game console
" Testing AA-size Ni-MH batteries
" Sony Smartwatch 3
» Transformer Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro
Unfortunately, the Japanese company Wacom, which, in fact, is the only manufacturer of sane graphic tablets for digital creativity, did not escape this honor. If, say, a couple of years ago you could be sure that the Bamboo line is for home and advanced creativity, and Intuos and Cintiq are for professionals and those who know how to beat 10-20-30 ... 80-180 thousand rubles on buying such a toy, now ...
I think we will not discuss the issues of “why do we need a tablet” and “what he can do”. The possibilities, in principle, are understandable: we move the “pen” along a special surface, the computer cursor moves. The pen has a pressure-sensitive tip, due to which you can adjust both the stroke width (in fact, not only the width, but also many other characteristics, but the width is most understandable), and the saturation of the tool used in graphic packages.
Models that are no longer with us are, in fact, quite known. Take a look - maybe in this long list you will find familiar words: ArtZ, ArtZ II, ArtPad, ArtPad II, Digitizer, Digitizer II, Favo, UltraPad, Graphire (with numbers from 1 to 4 at the end), Intuos (also 1-4 ), 15-, 17- and 18-inch models Cintiq, Volito, PenPartner. Do you learn anything? Personally, I am familiar with the Volito and Graphire line: I had the first one (and now, I admit, it does, and it even works, but has not been used for a long time), the second one was something in between the model for completely new Volito and costing twice as much Intuos .
In the scary 2001, Graphire2 already had 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, a resolution of ~ 1000 dpi, a working area of 10 x 12.5 centimeters. And all this on a wireless pen that did not require any batteries.
My second acquaintance with Wacom products took place at a time when the company updated all production lines the next time. The first-generation Bamboo line has appeared in the primary-middle segment (not to be confused with Bamboo One, which, in fact, is the second / third generation): good characteristics, a “wide-screen” design and a reasonable price tag made it a very popular choice for the work of aspiring artists, photographers and designers. In addition, it supported multi-touch, which allowed not to be distracted by the mouse at all: nevertheless, working with the pen in the system is possible, but not as convenient as using a cool trackpad or mouse.
In the middle and professional segment, Wacom Intuos3 and Intuos4 reigned supreme: you could take either a model of the previous generation, but “one size bigger”, or a new one. Those who understood that the capabilities of the third generation of Intuos were enough for him could either save on the size of the tablet (and more doesn’t always mean better), or take “last year” Intuos3 instead of Intuos4 M-size, but L- ku.
Of course, there were eccentrics who bought Cintiq for 2–2.5 thousand dollars, but, to be honest, I know only one person who bought this expensive toy. She did not help him become a good designer.
And just recently, Wacom took, and turned the production line upside down. Tablets Bamboo One (second / third generation of "bamboos") - abolished. Instead, they introduce two lines - One by Wacom and Intuos. But the new Intuos is technically almost not related to the old tablets of the professional series (Intuos1-Intuos4), from them he got only software and some hardware. The professional line is now called Intuos Pro.
All budget models are “stuck” on the pen resolution of the Intuos2 model: 2540 dots (or rather, lines) per inch. The main difference in the behavior of the pen (both in the younger series and in the older ones) is not so much in the number of levels of pressure sensitivity: in the end, that there are 512 levels of pressure, which 1024 cannot be tracked by hand. The main feature that decides how smoothly the cursor will follow the pen: how many times per second the digitizer will track the position of the pen. Unfortunately, if for the first generation Bamboo the manufacturer was not shy about publishing specifications, then for the next models there is nothing on the official website - all that remains is to rely only on your own impressions, Google and real work results.
Key differences between One by Wacom, Inuos Small Pen & Touch, and the old Bamboo One,directly related to drawing , see the following plate:
| Bamboo One (2012) | One by Wacom (2014) | Intuos S Pen & Touch (2014) | |
| Work Area (mm) | 147 x 92 | 152 x 95 | 152 x 95 |
| Tablet Resolution, (LPI) lines per inch | 2540 | 2540 | 2540 |
| Pen sensitivity to pressure (number of levels) | 1024 | 1024 | 1024 |
| Eraser at the other end of the pen (number of levels) | available, 512 * | is absent | available, 512 * |
| Pen response speed (lines per second) | ~ 150-200 **, *** | ~ 150-200 ** | ~ 150-200 ** |
** - Not announced anywhere. The only available source indicates that the new Intuos (2014) has a response speed of 197 lines per second (Intuos4 - 200).
*** - In the first generation of Bamboo, the response speed was a modest 133 lines per second.
In front of me on the table is the Intuos M (model CTH-620) Pen & Touch (price ~ 17,200 rubles in the Yulmart store). The tablet belongs to the “inexpensive” ones: even despite the crisis and sometimes crazy prices, you can buy a similar drawing (a little less surface area without multi-touch) for a modest ~ 6 100rubles. I had the pleasure of talking with all generations of Bamboo tablets, working with the third and fourth generation of Intuos, which are now listed as Intuos Pro, so there is nothing to compare.
To be honest, Intuos in 2014 is work on the mistakes of the “bamboo” series: if you don’t draw on the tablet regularly or use it for retouching for at least a month or two, then it's hard to understand what is the difference from Bamboo One. Firstly, software is different. Most of all, it resembles a hybrid of the “old” application from Intuos4 ( Boomburum wrote about itin 2011), trimmed to the capabilities of the younger line. There are no pen tilt settings, various tools (like a pen with a wheel or just working with several “identical” pens with different settings, but there is support for a “circular menu” and “application profiles.”
Unfortunately, there were some jambs: multi-touch and trackpad They don’t turn off. There’s simply no such setting:
Secondly, the case materials and the design itself differ. It has become more convenient and practical, unused space, cracks and other dirt-scratch-collectors has become smaller. The front panel is single-level. The buttons and two status LEDs are placed in the inactive "black" zone: you can put a pen on it without causing interruptions in the cursor. The left LED (white) is responsible for the power of the tablet. The right (blue) shows the operation of the trackpad and the registration of the pen in the active zone.
The back panel is “collapsible”, there is a connector for the wireless module and a place for storing the “whistle”, a battery compartment ... and just indecent sizes, a cover for the small reset button of the wireless module, which, moreover, cannot be pressed with your hands - just with a pen or a pen.
A wireless module is supported (you have to buy it separately, ~ for 40 bucks).
Thirdly, the trackpad is improved. Yes, it only detects 4 fingers, but it works no worse than the magic trackpad for apple books. Zoom, scroll, three-finger drag - everything works just fine. With such a medium-sized panel and a pen for the mouse, the place remains only in games.
Not without flaws, of course. The USB cable is attached foolishly, looking "left." If you have a sistemnik / usb ports on the right, it will bend. The cable in the kit is short and thin, and if careless, it will not last long. Fortunately, at the end is a standard MiniUSB connector.
Rubber “paws” have become smaller than the previous line, because of this, the tablet is quite easy to move around the table. Not to say what prevents use, but "sediment remained." However, they are glued better: the Bamboo line they generally had the habit of falling off after a couple of months.
As for the work: the cursor behavior, the accuracy of movement and the “beauty” of long and fast strokes (the scourge of cheap Wacom models) came close to the previous generation of “professional” Intuos4. It’s a pleasure to work.
My personal opinion is this: the upgrade of the budget line itself was a success. Spending $ 100 you will get a small, but well-organized tablet: no frills, but with a full set of all the necessary features. Unfortunately, the dollar exchange rate cannot please us with the availability of older versions: for an upgrade to babout the working surface, multitouch (the dubious need for a bun if you don’t like trackpads) you’ll have to pay the price of one and a half more copies of the “younger” model or the price of one inexpensive but quite decent IPS / PLS monitor .
The line of "budget" Intuos'ov can not but rejoice in the quality of the behavior of the tablet. The name Intuos was given to her for good reason. One feels the influence of the older line, albeit significantly “cut off” to fall within the strict price limits of budgets. Fortunately for us, bells and whistles, and not the main performance characteristics, fell under the feature.
Pros and cons? Easy!
+ Perfectly moves the cursor, does not tupit with quick strokes, there is no "ladder";
+ The new design is really successful: it does not collect dirt, fingerprints, dust and scratches;
+ Drivers with an expanded set of features and separate profiles for different applications;
+ Price for the younger version of the tablet;
+ Excellent trackpad for touch versions;
- Price for older models (hello to the dollar at 65);
- Drivers are damp, sometimes they fall, the touchpad DOES NOT TURN OFF;
- The pen loop has difficulty accommodating what it was intended for;
- The USB is flimsy, the cable is short, it only looks “left”.
Our previous reviews:
» ASUS ZenFone 5, LG L90, HTC Desire 601 - dual-sim consumer war, part 1
» ASUS Transformer Pad
» Razer Kraken headsets
» Midland GXT-1050 radios
» NVIDIA SHIELD game console
" Testing AA-size Ni-MH batteries
" Sony Smartwatch 3
» Transformer Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro