26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very pleased with Cybertablet Z12, August 15, 2008
This review is from: Adesso CYBERTABLET Z12 10 x 6.25-inch Widescreen Graphics USB Tablet PC (Personal Computers)
This is my first graphics tablet. Being a mechanical engineer that started out on a drafting board, I come from a different mind set than a graphics artist. I spent over a week researching every manufacturer of graphics tablets I could find, reading the reviews, etc. The overwhelming number of reviews were of Wacom tablets. Frankly, I almost went with a Wacom Bamboo but, the price just seemed way out of proportion for the features. But, it seemed like everyone kept chanting the Wacom mantra.
One thing that should be stressed is software. There are basically two kinds, Pixel Image Editors and Vector Illustration Software. Editors are like Photoshop, PhotoImpact, etc. and vector based are like Adobe Illustrator ($$$), CorelDraw ($$), or InkScape(free). Image editors have lots different brush types (pen, crayon, airbrush, etc.) that produce a more painted, artistic image. Vector software is really more for those who are more serious about making images as accurate and realistic as possible.
The Cybertablet z12 came with Ulead's PhotoImpact 12se and I downloaded Adobe Photoshop Elements (trial version). Personally, the PhotoImpact software is easier to use.
The cheapest Wacom that had the same size table, Intuos3 6x11 goes for $330. That's nearly 3 times the cost of a Adesso. Is the quality there, maybe not, but at this point, I can't tell.
Long story short, give the Cybertablet a shot. :)
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
OK for casual use, not for serious users, March 13, 2010
This review is from: Adesso CYBERTABLET Z12 10 x 6.25-inch Widescreen Graphics USB Tablet PC (Personal Computers)
I use my tablet to animate in 3D package, so it needs to be rather accurate, and I use it 8-10 hrs every day. This tablet, though very promising on paper, was a serious let down.
The tablet itself is really nice, very thin, looks spiffy, the pen is just a pen, it did the job which is all that's needed. But:
- As for the '1024 levels of sensitivity': to get anything going, you need to perform quite a bit of pressure with the pen on the tablet. So I don't know where the extra sensitivity comes in. If we measure the pressure needed on a scale from 0 to 10, on a Wacom the first level would be 0.5 (hovering over the tablet), on this tablet, to get a response at all: 5 (after 2 days the muscles in my arm started to hurt).
- the software seems inadequate. I use the tip of the pen as LMB, the lower button as RMB, the top button as MMB. Whether in 'mouse' or in 'pen' mode (mouse=relative=no limits or pen=absolute=the sensitive area of the tablet conforms to your screen, important when you use 2 screens), it doesn't matter, there's always one of the 2 buttons on the pen that doesn't do what it's supposed to, no matter what you set the button to in the software, but it's a different button depending on the 'mode' the tablet is set to.
- whenever you release the RMB or the MMB, there is an additional 'click', meaning that when animating, whatever is selected and is being manipulated, is deselected. When manipulating the view, every zoom/rotation/pan of the view gets an extra, random jerk. Very tiresome and irritating.
- and man, the "help desk" of Adesso leaves something to be desired: I emailed, I left 'requests' on the web site, I basically begged for help for over 2 weeks, without a single response. Sick of it I finally wrote them I wanted a refund, and they got back to me within hours (hey, imagine that) telling me to address my claim to Amazon, because within 30 days of the sale it's the seller's responsibility, not theirs... I sent back the tablet, Amazon refunded everything.
It's not even that the help desk is understaffed or nonexistent, they actively ignore you, and that's just bad business, especially if your product doesn't perform as advertised.
Bottom line, reading all those reviews about 'the daughter who loves it', they could be real: it's probably OK for kids to draw with, or to point and click, but I wouldn't recommend the Z12 if you want to use it for more than that.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
addesso z12, June 16, 2010
This review is from: Adesso CYBERTABLET Z12 10 x 6.25-inch Widescreen Graphics USB Tablet PC (Personal Computers)
i borrowed a friend's wacom tablet before i bought this. the rate of reaction between pen and pad is noticably slower and skips more on the adesso. but it is also remarkably cheaper. for the patient artist the adesso is good for a cheap starter. but if you plan to use it professionally and need it to be quick and efficient, i would suggest investing in a wacom, which are top of the line, and very expensive in comparison
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