Art, Photo editing and playtime OH MY! WACOM Intuos 3 (PTZ630)
Written: Jul 08 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Easy to set up and use, flexibility, programmable buttons, software bundles
Cons: Eraser gets confused sometimes
The Bottom Line: Great product even at full price! Does what it promises, lots of flexibility and even inspires just by having it on your desk!
|
|
|
| ravynwolfe's Full Review: Wacom PTZ630 Graphic Tablet/Digitizer |
The WACOM Intuos3 6X8 tablet (ptz630) has stood up to its promise of power, ease of use and incredible accuracy. I couldn’t possibly be happier! I actually bought this as a total impulse-buy; I’m not really a digital artist and I’m only a hobby photographer so I have no real NEED for this product, but I saw what it was capable of creating in the right hands and I had to have it!
The first one I bought was an Intuos 2 Platinum 9 X 12 which I loved but it was way too big for me. I grew up using the typical artist supplies like 6 X 6 drawing paper and a myriad pencils, chalks and other goodies; so trying to get used to drawing and working on the huge workspace of the 9 X 12 was daunting and exhausting. Too many long and wide strokes with the pen and I was beat after an hour. When I saw the new Intuos 3 come out I knew right away I needed to upgrade to the new stuff and downgrade the size.
First Impressions: I was incredibly thrilled when this arrived at my house! I was like a child on X-mas tearing open this package and pulling my new tablet out. WACOM packs them well so be prepared to pull and pry a little to get them out (this is a good thing!) Easy to follow instructions for installing and plugging in will help the newbie computer user... those of us with some experience will figure it out quickly on our own. Sleek and shiny, that was my first impression of this beauty. I know, I know... not very technical of me... but it’s so shiny!
There is a tutorial to follow along with if you need a little boost and the instruction sheets that come with it are pretty helpful. You can also skip all the tutorials and just play around. I did need help with the button on the stylus (pen) and what each button on the Express Key pad did, but once you get the hang of it you’re really in for a treat!
The most impressive thing about the tablet is the versatility and sensitivity. I’m naturally a “sketcher” when I use traditional art supplies, so on my older tablet I had to learn to press a little harder than I was comfortable with. Intuos 3 has gone above and beyond the Intuos 2 in it’s sensitivity! I am now able to sketch easily with light strokes and quickly switch to a heavy broad stroke when needed.
The Eraser is great, just flip the stylus over to automatically engage the eraser! It remembers what size I want it to be and does a great job of carefully erasing ONLY what I want it too. In fact I think I have more control over the eraser on the stylus than I did with traditional art supplies! A downside to the eraser is occasionally it will forget to switch back to drawing mode when I flip it over, and instead of drawing again I end up erasing something I didn’t want too. Never fear, since you can always use the undo function on the programs (included) to fix your boo-boo, but it would be nice if WACOM could address this annoyance.
I’m impressed with the addition of the Finger-sensitive Touch Strip. True to it’s name you simply touch it with your finger and can control webpage scrolling, files, regular programs on your computer etc. I haven’t found a program yet that doesn’t respond to the Touch Strip. This is a godsend when I’m working on my webpages, constant use of the scroll wheel on my mouse causes my wrists to ache, the touch strip allows me to move quickly from page to page without the constant strain of clicking and dragging or scrolling.
Lasting Impressions: After the initial breaking in period I have found that I use the tablet more and more for everyday computer activities. I use it to move around my desktop, organize my computer files and of course the digital art and photo editing. It has become an everyday tool for me instead of just the fancy toy I thought it was going to be.
Even if you aren’t a professional photographer or a digital artist, this device can and will save you time, it will save your wrists, fingers and arms and it’s really a fun thing to have!
I’ve tested every element as far as the pressure sensitivity, the angles you can draw in and even positions on my desk or lap. No matter what I do with it, where I use it or how much “abuse” I give this thing it just keeps on doing what it promises! The nice long cord is a spiffy little detail, I can easily tip back in my computer chair and lean the tablet on my lap or against the edge of my desk. It’s size makes it very easy to move around my desk if I need the front space for doing bills or anything like that.
And now the BAD: The bad list is pretty small, but for the sake of a complete review I have to include these minor issues. As I mentioned earlier the eraser sometimes doesn’t flip back to pen mode so you may need to keep an eye on the toolbars at the top of your screen to make sure. The smooth sloped front where your arm rests can sometimes get “sticky” if you’ve left your arm in the same spot for too long (like when working with extra fine detail in one small area) while it’s not a HUGE problem I can see down the line this may eventually wear down that super slick and shiny appearance I love so much. While it hasn’t happened yet, I’m a bit of a pessimist. Some of my natural drawing angles are not supported, you’d think they would have covered it all with the fantastic technology in place, but I guess I normally draw at a funky angle. The rest of the device is fantastic, it’s just what I would expect from a product such as this and I have no major complaints! Well worth paying full price for, even better if you can get it on sale!
STATS: * Viewable Size: 6" x 8" * USB connection * 1024 Pressure Levels * Sloping, Contoured Palm Rest * Programmable ExpressKeys * Finger-sensitive Touch Strip (Really cool!) * Programmable buttons * Pressure sensitive Grip Pen with pressure sensitive eraser and nifty Duo-Switch * Several pen tips with different feels (Ballpoint pen, pencil and my fave Felt tip pen) * 5 button Mouse with scrolling wheel * Max Resolution: 5080 lpi
Min Operating System: PC: Windows® 98SE / 2000 / Me / XP, MAC: Mac OS 10.2.6 or higher
Software included: Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 3 * Corel® Painter™ Essentials 2 * nik Color Efex™ Pro 2 IE from nik multimedia® * Wacom® Brushes 2.0 * Drivers & Utilities
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
ravynwolfe
|
|
Member: Optycal
Location: Washington
Reviews written: 89
Trusted by: 28 members
About Me:
Mother of 3 homeschooled girls, author, dog breeder. http://www.almostnakedpups.com
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.