ZBrushCentral

older vs newer wacom tablet

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi,

I’ve got an older Wacom tablet, its a 6x8 that has the model name of “Digitizer II” on the back - I think its also known as an Artz II. I believe I got it new in the nineties.

It works fine, and it performs with pen pressure sensitivity with zbrush. The only downside is that the sensitivity is a bit “rough” feeling - e.g. I don’t believe I have quite the control that I would with a brand new model. It does have an XP driver that I use that I got from Wacom, so no problems there.

Here’s my question. Being that I have a Wacom, and it has the ability to detect levels of pressure sensitivity while I work, how much improvement do you think I would see by upgrading to something like the newer intuos3 tablets?

I mean, would it be a drastic improvement or would it be just a modest improvement in feel?

For that matter, if you do think it would be a drastic improvement with an Intuous3, would I get similar improvement by going with a slightly older model - like an intuos2 or the original intuos?

What do you think? Should I buy a newer one or just continue to work on my sculpting technique with this older one?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks, Ron

#2

I think the big thing really comes down to pressure sensitivity.

The pen can detect a certain range of pressure. Let’s say that { is the bottom limit and } is the upper limit.

An old pen with less sensitivity will have fewer steps within that range. For example:

{----------}

as compared to

{-------------------------------------------------}

This is why your current pen feels a bit “rough” as you put it.

Also, newer pens are likely to have more sophisticated drivers, which gives you more settings that you can make use of. Not that most people DO make use of most of them. But they are there.

#3

I like the visual example you provided, and it makes sense. Guess I better start saving my money. I’ll make do with my old wacom until I have enough to buy a new one.

Thank you,
Ron

#4

I have a further question about this so more help would be appreciated.

I have started to save up for a Wacom Intuos3 tablet and see they are about $250-350 new. They’re not much lower for used ones on ebay and the bidding is pretty competitive for them. Of course, since I have an old one that still works like New, I can understand why they sell like this.

What I have found though is there are a lot of Intuos2 and a lot of Intuos (the first version) tablets out there that I can get for substantially less. I could probably get an Intuos2 for about half the price of an Intuos3, and the the older plain Intuos for about a third of the price.

From what I have researched the main difference between the newer Intuos3 and the older versions were the addition of some extra buttons on the tablet.

So, if someone might offer their opinion, would an Intuos2 or an Intuos (1?) show the same substantial improvement in pressure sensitivity that was illustrated in the reply above?

Thank you,
Ron

#5

Try going for a bigger size. I have used 6x8 for long time. But I am on 9x12 and it is such a big pleasure for me. The whole experience changes with the size of work area at least it did for me. I would say that using your arm is whole alot of different world compared to using your wrist due to tablet size.