Graphic-Tablet. But which?

[Lord_Doomhammer]

I am sure that there have been many threads like this before, but nevertheless I would ask you all for advises and tips.

I took a look at the available graphic-tablets from wacom and another company. As I don´t have much money, I need a priceable tablet (150€, 200 maximally), which is available in europe.

Use: in photoshop mostly for painting (so it should be exactly) and maybe for drawing/sketching either, but that´s only secondary.

My first guess was the wacom graphire 4 classic tablet (but the XL costs about 160€) But it´s my first tablet, so I don´t know if A5 is big enough for paintings in A4 or larger?

So...
Thanks for answers already now :rendered:

[ShulChi]

if money is an issue definitly try getting a cheaper wacom tablet from eBay. Maybe consider buying a previous version of graphire (3 or even 2). The functions are almost the same for the exception of the two buttons above the drawing area.

As for the size it mainly depends on your style and desk size :). Most people i know who bought an A5 size tablet rarely complained.

[Lord_Doomhammer]

I already tried, but there are hardly any cheaper than in store.
And i have never seen a graphire 2 or 3 :D

But thanks for the advice

[Sinaz]

The issue is going to be that no matter what, a tablet is an investment.

I did a lot of hunting for some inexpensive alternatives. Even refurbished Intuos2 tablets are stupid expensive, enough so that it's more economical to just buy a new Intuos3.

And that's going to be my advice. Just, ramen-noodle it for a couple pay checks and buy a 6x8 Intuos3. I found, personally, that larger tablets tend to require more training in adapting to the size difference between the tablet and the monitor, while working on a smaller tablet is a little more natural. Anything smaller than the 6x8 feels cramped and unreliable (to me.)

I wager that if you buy a graphire, you're going to feel like you wasted money in a couple months thinking "if I had just saved another hundred dollars, I could have gotten a much better Intuos3!"

In the US, I bought my Intuos3 from Amazon because they were offering the typical bare minimum retail price, plus their "super-saver" free shipping. The savings in shipping trumped all the buy-it-now offers on Ebay... and I didn't want to wait around sniping at auctions for a used one.

Just... save some money, and make the investment. It's worth it.

[Diphallia]

The graphire 4 XL Classic is definetivetly worth it, have one love i.
Know a bunch of guys who owns one to, they love it just as much.
The only thing it is missing is tilt (wich i don't think i need) and some more pressure levels. (but 512 of them is more than enough).
So go for a graphire 4 xl classic, if you have the software you need alredy.
It's my first and i do reccomend it. BUY! :D

[Lord_Doomhammer]

If I have which sofware already?
Do you mean Photoshop?

[Diphallia]

Yep, the graphire 4 XL classic is only bundled with drivers and corel painter essentials 2. But that's about what you need anyway, pay an extra 100$ and you'll get photoshop elements too. But i don't think it's worth it if you alredy have it.

[digitalkarma]

don´t worry about that,,
"it´s not the arrow is the indian"