Intuos4

[Sewie]

Have any of you used or tested the Intuos4 tablet by now ?
If so, how is it??
How does it work with (especially) TVP?

Most internet reviews are very positive but they are mostly written by users of 3D software, graphic applications, and Photoshop. Very valuable but I'm more interested in the opinions of you old fashioned draftsmen/women... Do those extra 1024 pen-pressure levels make enough of a difference ?

[Peter Wassink]

Hoi Michael,
Paul Fierlinger tested one with TVP in Annecy and wrote that he was sold.

maybe he can tell us some more about his experience with it. i'd be curious too.

[Sewie]

Yes Paul I saw your comments. Tell us, please.

[Paul Fierlinger]

I tried it at Annecy and want to get one for each of us. They had TVP installed at the Wacom booth and it was truly a huge difference. I like to draw miniature drawings -- or at least post-card size ones and this tablet makes it all possible -- it feels more like a real pen with ink and I never thought that would be possible because the Intuos III seems to already feel just like a pen. I also love the layout of the buttons -- just right for the way I like to draw!

I now see Peter's comment, so yes, here's my report.

[Paul Fierlinger]

I now remember another novelty feature of the IV; it can sense the weight of your first stroke and the line will adjust to it and remain that way, until you mechanically change it.

[Peter Wassink]

and what size best to choose?

the new modelrange has a different size, they no longer follow the ISO 216 paper size scale.
judging from your review Paul you could even step down in size a bit if your current wacom is big enough

[Paul Fierlinger]

They had only the A4 size -- I think they use that Old-Europe paper-world nomenclature. It felt adequate when I played around with it, standing at the booth but I'm going for the larger one just because it's what I'm used to and have the space for it on my desk. But something tells me that the smaller one, for people like me who just draw, should be fine. Sandra, for instance, likes to paint everything at its full size and must have a large tablet.

[Sewie]

I've always liked the A3 format. Especially working on layouts and paintings. Though not very portable it feels more natural to me. But it's quite an expensive upgrade... They've changed the active work area on the big ones a little bit; from 488 x 305 mm on Intuos3 to 462 x 304.8 mm on Intuos4.

[Paul Fierlinger]

The price difference between Europe and U.S. is huge. The one they had there cost something like 1000 eroes ($1.400) while here it cost under $ 400 I believe. You might as well come here for a visit to buy one and get an overseas trip out of the extra cost. Carry in some old, throw-away model and carry back the latest one.

[Sewie]

That's a huge difference. Are you sure you didn't mix up the different sizes ?
The cheapest XL I could find over here is Є665 while amazon.com lists it at $680.99.

Still cheaper at Amazon if you take the current exchange rates in account: at this moment Є488...

[Paul Fierlinger]

Well, it was a price the guys running the booth (a German company) quoted me. Maybe I have it confused with the cintique but I think we all agreed that in the U.S. it would come to one-third of the European price.

[Paul Fierlinger]

So I ordered the large tablet at $437 including delivery, from Amazon -- will have it within 5 days but the classic pen is available only from Wacom directly, which then claims that it is at this time sold out and unavailable. I don't believe them. I think they haven't made any yet. I'll have to try that one on my next client;

Client: Thanks for delivering on schedule, but why does the spot have no backgrounds?
Me: momentarily sold out and unavailable. Give me your full name and e-mail address and I will contact you when backgrounds become available.

[Sewie]

Welcome to cyberspace!
Congrats with you new Wacom, Paul. You will let us know how it works and what you think of it?

They will also make an artpen that will support rotation. Apparently at this time they can't deliver that as well.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Well, the tablet is here and after a couple of hours of play and tweak I have several things to report. Overall the W4-large is fantastic. But it comes with a different feel some will like better than others.

The surface is not an ice-skating rink anymore, which was at first a disappointment to me and I don't know how I never noticed this at MIFA Annecy. I could easily use the Intuos 3 overlay, and believe me, I tried that and it feels like my Intuos 3 again but I decided to adapt rather than fight because there's a lot to be said about the new surface too -- it seems to be designed in a way that it matches the properties of the W4 stylus in the best way. Drawing on this surface makes it easier to be very accurate. It feels more like a pencil now than a pen but drawing with a pencil line that looks like pen and ink lines is fine with me.

By accurate drawing I mean you can draw one nice stroke extremely close to another nice stroke while keeping the smallest amount of space between the two lines and it suddenly feels like there's nothing to it and I had to wonder why I couldn't do this before W4 -- there is so much more control one gets over the pen's behavior. When I tried drawing one of those lines that have only the slightest curves to them so that they come out looking like a flat tire in the middle I couldn't make it happen anymore.

To connect my pen tip to the end of a previously made stroke with the purpose of extending the line without the addition of a second stroke showing, is very natural now. It's just easy -- like doing it with a real pencil.

The sensitivity settings are more pronounced now; when I add pressure to my pen the thickening of the line appears with grace instead of force. It's elegant looking and feels very natural because I can sense that I have far more control over the pressure.

The software looks EXACTLY like the W3 software looks because it IS the same -- it just has the addition of another tablet showing and with it a new arrangement of tablet buttons. It makes sense that all the buttons are on one side because I don't run into the right side buttons by accident anymore when I draw close to the right edge. They feel a little stiffer but I'm sure I won't know about it tomorrow. Whatever commands you give the buttons now show up very elegantly on the tablet itself in back lit letters right next to the button. That is cool because I have the buttons programmed to Vegas and TVP and it's nice to be reassured at a glance that the commands have indeed changed.

The rotating button is no great shakes -- too cumbersome, just like the straight ones on the Intuos 3; a more or less useless gimmick like the oil brush in TVPaint. There are small niceties too, such as a better designed cup for the pen which doesn't fall over and holds inside the spare nibs. There are several kinds of nibs (four I think) which come in the package. One can mark each pen by screwing in one of the four different colors of rings instead of plastering the pen with sticky tapes.

The mouse has finally been improved. It works like a real mouse with four buttons and a scroll wheel which acts as the fifth button but before you faint away with joy listen to this: It still won't work with TVP. Can this ever be corrected TVP people?

So there we are; worth every penny for this animator. If you draw a lot I say it's worth saving money for. If you draw a lot for a living I say it's worth ordering on the spot because you can afford it -- $ 430 isn't all that much anymore -- except that each new pen costs 70 bucks -- now THAT's a show stopper!

[ZigOtto]

... The rotating button is no great shakes -- too cumbersome, just like the straight ones on the Intuos 3; a more or less useless gimmick like the oil brush in TVPaint.

oil brush ??? do you mean the eraser brush ?

... The mouse has finally been improved. It works like a real mouse with four buttons and a scroll wheel which acts as the fifth button but before you faint away with joy listen to this: It still won't work with TVP. Can this ever be corrected TVP people?

the wacom mouse used to work with tvpa, but you need to disable the tablet/subpixel option in the preference panel.