Entry Level Pen Tablets: Making the Artist's PC-Life Easier
by Laura Wilson on December 6, 2003 9:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
Free Hand Drawing
For PC designing, requirements include a steady hand and excellent hardware accuracy. The Graphire3 tools practically astounded me with comfort and precision that I haven't even seen in a normal mouse. Several aspects of the tablet mouse and pen contributed to this smoothness.First, there is a 5mm (0.2 in) height reaction zone above the tablet surface. This reaction zone allows you to position the pen before committing to any marks or lines, thereby reducing errors. The reaction zone was also perfect for working with the mouse due to its natural design. To maintain the typical drag and drop motion of maneuvering, the zone is low enough to only require a comfortable height when picking up the mouse. The height of the zone lets you keep your usual speed of production without making many alterations to how you already move your hand. The mouse, also, can stay relatively close to the tablet surface without moving on the screen, making repositioning the mouse much easier than if the zone were higher. This function won't make maneuvering much easier than it already is with a regular mouse, but it does make things easier compared to Aiptek's Hyperpen. Additionally, you can hold the pen over the pad just high enough to find the line from or to which you want to draw, and then drop from the reaction zone onto the tablet for pressure sensitive markings. Also, the sensitivity of the pen tip always seemed to reflect the expected line variations. The experience allows the user to feel overall very in control of his or her illustrating.
Next, the Graphire3 mouse rendered a very smooth path. Moving about the screen was not a hassle and felt almost the same as an optical mouse. There was a minor amount of friction between the cloth-like mouse bottom and the pad, but nothing too difficult to manage after a little practice. Tracing on this tablet was relatively simple and effective. The photo frame secured the drawing and the pen reacted uniformly to each hand motion and pressure.
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| To check drawing capabilities in the tablets, I used this quick doodle. |
As you can see, it's still a bit of a task to line up your hand movement to coincide with the expected drawing. However, if you've ever tried to free-hand draw in Paint or Photoshop with a regular mouse, you'd find this amount of control empowering. Maybe the more expensive tablets correct this issue even more, but hopefully, that can be addressed in a future review of high-end tablets.
In contrast, the Hyperpen 8000U had an uncomfortably high reaction zone, making arm flailing the only possible method of moving the mouse high enough off of the pad to travel about the workspace. The mouse was also a bit out of control in the area of precision. The tablet claims an accuracy of 0.42 mm overall for the pen's and mouse's markings, meaning the lines appearing on the screen should only fluctuate up to 0.42 mm from the positioning of the pen on the tablet, but it often felt far worse than that. When moving the mouse from one corner to the other, a dragging effect takes place, making the wake of the mouse look a bit like a mountain range when it should actually look like a straight line. This dragging effect requires mentioning because the sloppy motion of the mouse made it far worse than a regular mouse, and even practically unusable. The horizontal pull caused many problems when precision actions took place. Also, the pen tip seemed rickety. Controlling the line thickness was a little more difficult with Aiptek's, as you can see with the same illustration. It was quite difficult to elicit unvarying lines and pressures with this device.
Using the Hyperpen 8000U only adds annoyance to the Photoshop drawing experience.
The Hyperpen 12000U was a little smoother than the 8000U, though it shared some of the problems. The reaction zone seemed corrected to the intended 8mm (0.3 in.) measurements, but the dragging behavior of the mouse persisted. However, the mountain range appearance was much more subtle, and might not even be noticed unless you are looking for it. Illustrating on this tablet was far easier than it was on the 8000U, though it still didn't completely live up to the comfort and effortlessness of Wacom's Graphire3. The line thicknesses and positions were still distorted at times.
Research in the area of illustrating left one drawing tablet the victor. The Graphire3 seemed at times to be hands and feet above the functionality of Aiptek's tablets.
To be fair, Aiptek's problems might be caused by faulty hardware. We at first believed the Hyperpen 8000U's flaws might be the product of a broken or defective tablet. But after exchanging it for a second one and seeing the exact same problems, the likelihood of that being the case decreased. Then, we noticed that the 12000U seemed to be suffering from the same problems, though more subtly.
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holymaniac - Monday, December 15, 2003 - link
Does anyone know of any pen that does not hover or that you can adjust the hover so that it only works when touching the pad?I hate the hover feature on my wacom intuit2 tablet. It always seems like it is loose.
DXM - Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - link
#15, I suggest you look up the difference between "accuracy" (line placement) and "precision" (your dpi comparison). I'll give you a hint, they're not the same.But anyways, my question has been answered (thanks Doop) and I have no interest in continuing to hold a discussion with a man/boy who's only method of rebuttal is to insult and flame.
pcpimp - Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - link
17:>> it was about acuracy
use the extra room you are given on the larger tablets. otherwise it's a handicapped test. look at the friggin test images! they are different sizes
>>It also seems that the only time the author >>mentions using a mouse to do any photoshop work is
nope, read it, especially for the aiptek. it seems she 'only' tries the mouse before giving up? wtf?
>>would not understand that "multiple trips to the >>history menu" means going to the little bar that >>says history and undoing things.
My point was, any normal person would use alt-z, and probably not even have palettes on especially for this operation. Why is a photoshop newbie reviewing a graphics tablet? Does my grandma test drive race cars?
>>>And even simpler than hitting E is flipping over your pen
laughing my ass off. you just lost your cursor position and it is slower. speed matters when you have work to do. you switch to every other tool using keyboard in photoshop.
>>The aiptek and the wacom cost EXACTLY the same price
really laughing now. the 8x6 aiptek is 1/2 the 8x6 graphire. who didn't read?
>>And for the final blow, you call the author a he even though Laura is a female name
I dont care what she is why is why are photoshop newbs doing anandtech tablet reviews?
bobolicious - Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - link
#15/16I think you're the idot here man ... you might have read the article before making yourself look like an ass.
First off, the trace test wasn't about DPI, it was about acuracy. From the test, any one can see that the wacom draws draws lines on the screen that are more acurate to the lines drawn on the pad. I also think using a fixed sized image for tracing gives a very good indication of how different sized tablets map to real world mechanics: moving a short distance on a small tablet covers the same area as moving a long distance on a large one. I think the images make it easier to really grok what that means.
It also seems that the only time the author mentions using a mouse to do any photoshop work is when the Aiptek 8000 tablet fails to be able to do the simple task of cutting and pasting a couple images. Obviously the tests done on these tablets were to test the functionality of the pen, and the reason for talking about the mice included with the tablets was to indicate that they could or do not do exactly the same thing as a normal ps/2 mouse (to which the answer is an astounding 'no' for the aiptek 8000u tablet). Even you admit to not using the tablets supplied mouse.
I don't understand how anyone who's ever touched photoshop would not understand that "multiple trips to the history menu" means going to the little bar that says history and undoing things. And even simpler than hitting E is flipping over your pen and using it like an pencil eraser (which the aiptek cannot do). The fewer the keyboard shortcuts and on screen buttons I need to press, the more productive I'll be in any application.
And for the clencher of your retardation, may I submit this for your approval:
"I dont think anyone thinks an aiptek is technically superior to a wacom just like a duron compared to a p4ee but for a value buyers guide I expect a lot better discussion!"
Ummm ... its a value buyers guide -> The aiptek and the wacom cost EXACTLY the same price -> The review shows that you can have a "technically superior" tablet (your words AND what the review implies) instead of a pile of dog excrement. I think that in that sense, you couldn't get a better review: even the defensive aiptek fanboi (how embarrassing is it to be /that guy/) is admitting his product is inferior to a product that costs exactly the same ammount of money. While still saying the review is bad. Beautiful.
And for the final blow, you call the author a he even though Laura is a female name in every culture I know.
Try reading before you stick your foot in your mouth next time.
pcpimp - Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - link
in all seriousness...since drawing on screen without looking on your hand takes a decent amount of time to get used to, although still you should show an on screen trace test as well, maybe after a few runs with each tablet to get used to it, for the physical trace test at least make proper sized printouts of your sheet (that corresponds to the active area of each pad). you need to take in consideration the larger sizes of the tablets which mean your hand doesnt have to be held as precise all the time. and on your trace test, as in your other test, it seems like you are testing the mouse more than the stylus. wtf! the mouse is just there when you arent using gfx apps.finally, I seriously am shaking my head at the photoshop page. I have no idea why you are even using the mice on any tablet at all in this test. you use stylus (And keyboard with your other hand) in photoshop period. there are so many things here that make no sense to a photoshop user, like "multiple trips to the history menu"
and "Wacom's Graphire3 didn't even require using the eraser tool from the side bar" (tried pressing E? it's a lot faster!) I see no mention of what monitor size you have. the larger monitor you have you want a larger pad or it feels really wierd.
anyway nice idea anandtech I think tablets are must have for serious photoshop users, they save a ton of time. however, next time get a reviewer with some experience with the topic. I dont think anyone thinks an aiptek is technically superior to a wacom just like a duron compared to a p4ee but for a value buyers guide I expect a lot better discussion! by the way, aiptek doesnt work well on linux at the moment, I Think wacoms are better supported in Xfree86. If you like to run photoshop under linux or something :)
pcpimp - Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - link
13, you are an idiot. did you notice the images were different sizes? duh! of course the smallest tablet is going to have the highest dpi. that test only works when the tablets are the same size you dolt! on different sized pads, trace the image on screen, in a second layer in photoshop! duh! but reading the laughable photoshop adventures of the reviewer I doubt he would even be able to figure that out!Doop - Monday, December 8, 2003 - link
I think the Intuos 2 has twice the resolution and twice the pressure sensitivity...DXM - Monday, December 8, 2003 - link
The Wacom Graphire3 looks pretty good according to the review. Does anyone know what the absolute differences between the Intuos2 and Graphire3?#12, get a clue. The reviewer traced a drawing for a reproducible image so you could compare the accuracy of the tablets.
pcpimp - Monday, December 8, 2003 - link
by the way, do I need to mention how silly it is to do a fixed size tracing test on different sized tablets? hello! try doing ON SCREEN drawing like you would if you were DRAWING.pcpimp - Monday, December 8, 2003 - link
Uh, this so called 'artist' reviewer needs a clue...if I'm coughing up money for a wacom I'd better see a lot better review than this....I've had a hyperpen 8000 for over two years (was $99 at the time as well) and I clean up my scans and color them in photoshop and it works great...can not STAND using mice in photoshop again...you know you work zoomed in on that stuff (no need to strain your eyes looking for single pixels) and you move fast as hell so if you're talking hairline resolution differences who cares...pressure sensitivity is a different matter although again, the aiptek works ok for me there. btw on my second AAA battery for the stylus, and dont use the mouse, I just plop my ball ps/2 mouse on top of it when not doing gfx stuff and works fine.