Intuos vs. Intuos 2?

[AnarchyAo2]

Well, my birthday is coming up in a few months(May). I'm thinking about getting a tablet. I know that I won't be able to afford the intuos 2, but I could get a intuos off ebay. It would be my first tablet and would be used for sketching and hobby art. I know that many of you guys have used both, so my questions are: Would a Intuos be good for a beginner? Would it be worth the money (a 6x8 intuos on ebay is around 150 bucks)? Or should I just save the money, get a job over the summer and buy a intuos 2? Maybe you guys have other suggestions for me? Any comments would be helpful.

Keep in mind, that my PC is kind of a monster too (not in a good way). Its 400mhz, geforce 4 64mb, 128mb ram. So I wouldn't be able to run top notch programs anyway. (I don't think). Though, my brother did something to it, and it can run games fairly well. It runs Everquest with about 4 or 5 luclin models, and he double logs accounts (meaning he has 2 everquest clients up at once). Which requires tons of memory. Maybe that will give you guys a vague idea of what my PC is able to do.

[Jin]

Hi,

Your best bet is to contact Wacom and ask them about their refurbished tablets. If the one you want is in stock, I think you'll find a good price and, I believe, Wacom provides a warranty as well.

With something as important as a Wacom tablet, personally, I'd prefer to either buy it directly from Wacom or from a retail store where I can take it back if something's wrong. E-bay can be risky at times.

When you talk to the folks at Wacom, you can also ask about the difference between an Intuos and an Intuos2.

Ask them about the less expensive (lower resolution and half the pressure sensitivity) Graphire tablets too. I used the older equivalent, ArtZ II for about 8 years and it was just fine, and still works, though I'm now using an Intuos2.

Wacom Contact Information:

http://www.wacom.com/companyinfo/contact.cfm

Good luck, :)

[jhferry]

I called Wacom about this once. I have that special edition see though intuos that came out a few years ago. Wacom told me that the only difference is the shape of the pen. Its has the same amount of pressure points.

You cannot mix and match the pens though. BTW, I bought mine on ebay. Just read ALL the feedback for the seller.

[tsgilbert]

I bought an Intuos of ebay and have been very happy with it. While the functional performance is the same an as the Intuos2, the pen is smaller diameter. So, I just took the rubber grip off of an oversized ball point pen (Pilot Dr. Grip), cut a hole for button access, and slipped it on. Works great - relieved the cramping I was getting after long periods of Intuos pen use.