Customer Reviews

Wacom Graphire3 4x5 USB Tablet (Graphite Gray, CTE430GR)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my first foray into the world of digital, pressure-sensitive tablets, so perhaps my expectations might have been too high. Ultimately, I thought that I could draw, trace and sketch "naturally" with ease, and that the Graphire would work seamlessly with Adobe Illustrator. Not exactly the case, here are my experiences so far after 3 mos of use:

PRO's:
--relatively easy installation, although mine did not come with very detailed instructions (questions like: do you plug and play first, then load the software? or vice versa?), so I had to wing it.
--the hardware interface is easy and intuitive enough -- just keep your pen within the allocated 4x5 space and you're set.
--comes with some pared down versions of software, so even if you don't have Photoshop or Painter, you can get the feel for how the tablet and software work.

CON's:
--no instructions for setting up with Illustrator (or any other software, except for a couple of tutorials for Painter), couldn't find any info on this on Wacom's website or elsewhere. Couldn't get Illustrator to recognize the pressure sensitivity. Thankfully, around this time I upgraded to CS, and the tablet/pen chose to work with the update. Although Illustrator for some reason only chooses to recognizes about 5-10 "pressures" instead of the 500+ it is supposed to (don't know if this is the fault of Adobe or Wacom) no matter what I choose the thickness/stroke of the line to be.
--forget about physically tracing anything...the plastic piece that you are meant to lift off and slip things under to hold it in place is flimsy and feels like it is breaking everytime you dare to wrangle with it.
--disconcerting size...the drawing area is only 4x5" but the actual tablet is about 8x8" so it leads to this disconnect when mentally mapping the tablet area to the screen area.
--it's very hard to get "unshaky" or straight/precise lines using the tablet. I find that I am actually better at getting things more precise with a mouse sometimes! I think part of the problem is that the "pen's" is too thick/fat.
--you have to hold the pen in a very "up and down" manner for it to work properly which is the opposite of how I naturally draw, which is holding the pencil at an angle.
--the buttons that are on the pen are located in a very inconvenient spot (for me anyway). I will often be gripping the pen and accidently hit the button (which either accesses the right-click menu or deletes the active path, according to my configuration).
--because of the nature of most graphics/illustration programs out there, the 4x5" space is actually cut in half by all the menu clutter...so effectively, you are drawing in a 2x5" space most of the time. You really have to zoom in to draw any kind of detail.

I feel that the tablet is very promising, but has so far failed me in being a "natural" way to draw. It is a fun as a toy, but somewhat difficult to use in a professional way. Perhaps a larger sized tablet would help me with this, but for now, I am still nostalgic for/relying on old-fashioned pencil/brush and paper. I have not used the mouse that comes with the tablet, as I prefer my other mouse.

I actually have 2 reviews, one for Windows XP, and one for Linux (Fedora Core 1)

Microsoft XP:
GOOD:
- **easy** to install
- software bundles are fabulous, in my opinion, and
also easy to install

BAD: small active space, no printed manuals for the software
applications. There are manuals on the disk, though.

UGLY: if you stink with pen and paper, you'll stink with this
gadget, too. In fact, you'll stink even more in the
beginning, because you'll have to get used to the
quirks of the pen.

LINUX (Fedora Core 1)

GOOD: EVERYTHING WORKS! Pressure sensitivity, the eraser,
the rocking switch. Worked with The Gimp like a champ.

BAD: You have to download the latest package from the Linux
Wacom Project http://linuxwacom.sourceforge.net/

UGLY: You're comfortable installing your own kernel drivers,
right? Getting this bad boy to work is Not For The
Squeemish, but neither is it Mission Impossible.

ON THE WHOLE: I really, really love this gizmo. The $100 price point made this something worth trying out (I draw for fun, not professionally). The bundled software is (dare I say this?) more powerful than the Open Source programs I usually use. Painter Classic was extremely nice, even if the pressure sensitivity is broken.

The best advice I can give you is pick an application and work with it. Like anything else in life, you'll get better with practice. A cheap scanner might be a good secondary purchase (sorry, no recomendations on this point).

Okay i don't know what was going on with some of the other people's computers... but i have tested one of these slick devices on several computers. After installing the simple drivers from the wacom website, i opened photoshop 7 and immediately it worked! I've tested it on mac os 10.1.5, fedora core 3 linux, and windows xp home. Each time, the same thing...
Install drivers, plug in, draw!

I'm not very good with pencil and paper for drawing, but i used to to colorize some artwrk for a school yearbook, and i've watched as a high school art teacher without much computer expeprience, be able to create masterpeices within minutes. You can set it to feel like any art tool immagineable. The pressure sensetivity works like a charm, producing barely visible lines that become heavy ink blots without picking up the pen. Which gets me to my next point.

The pen and mouse both amaze me, you can "hover them" within about an inch above the tablet to move the curser around. Pushing the pen on the pad works like clicking your mouse, and the buttons can be programmed to e whatever you want, such as an undo button. The nice thing about the pen and mouse is that there are NO batteries and they are extremely light. The pen is about the thickness of a semi-thick pen, like those large pencils kindergardeners use, and the erase on the end actually works (it is also pressure sensitive).

Tracing things by placing them under the pad works okay but not very well due to the small drawing area and thick plastic. But what i like to do is print out a screenshot of my desktop to know where my icons and start menu are, and for personalication. If you want to trace something, you'd be better off putting it on top of the tablet and drawing directly on it.

Okay now onto another subject: learning to use the tablet. After a few hours of practice you will get used to looking at the screen and not the tablet, much like you'd memorize your keyboard's layout. If your computer is not near your tablet, you might consider purchasing a usb extension cable, because of its relatively short cord (about 3 feet).

Pros:
Extremely good for the price
Easy Learning
Pressure sensetivity
Good compatability
Bundled Software
Durable
Many uses

Cons:
Most cons are a result of being a low-end model
Smaller active drawing area
Pen and pad need more buttons, which can be found on Intuos models
short cable

Bottom Line:
This is a great entry-level drawing tablet, from the company that makes the most-used tablets in the world. It's small, and lower end than some fo the other models, but don't let that fool you, it is extremely powerful. You probably won't notice the pressure-senitively difference in higher priced models. It works great for drawing, editing photos with pressure-sensitive precision, some gaming such as mmorpgs and strategy games, and almost any other application you can immagine.
So for easy, cool, and fun ways to do things for under $100, just go get one now and try it out!

I have been using my Graphire -- not Graphire 3 Tablet for over 3 years. First with Paint Shop Pro 8 and now with PSP 9. Using a regular mouse now would be like holding a block of wood in my hands.

I work on the computer painting and writing for about 10 hours or more per day. I used to have really bad pains in my right wrist and near my elbow from a mouse. With the Wacom Tablet and pen, I don't have this at all.

I can do everything with the Wacom Graphire Tablet and pen, except type (LOL).

I love painting in the 4 X 5 area and make huge paintings with my little Graphire. As far as the pen behaving differently -- it won't if you take the time to set it up how you want it. Mine is set up to touch my pad once so programs or windows from my desktop flip up immediately. Never did like to double click on anything:-)

Also I am hard handed (I was even this way using regular artist brushes) so I love that my tablet is not touchy because I set it up this way. Plus I can right click on the pen as I diabled the left click mechanism on it.

I used my Graphire so much, I wore a rough spot in the middle of the drawing area so I fixed it by using a sheet of Highland Brand Transparency Film for Laser Printers (#701), cut it to size and then scotch taped it to the tablet. It worked and the reason I have not updated to the Graphire 3.

This is also a good alternative to the plastic sheet Wacom sells on it's site for $9.60 each.

So you ask "why am I putting up a review?" Because I want people to know this little 4X5 tablet will do as much as the more expensive Wacom Tablets.

Whether you are an Artist or someone suffering the pain of using a mouse full time, this little tablet is well worth the money if you are on the computer as much as I AM.

As to the man saying you have to hold your pen straight up and down, I don't -- I hold it the same as any pen I use and it behaves the same way.

Judith [...]
Sharing is the key to all our $uccess!

You can play with a wacom tablet at an Apple store and you'll be impressed. If you're new, start small then decide what you need. I use this to draw diagrams and write on my powerpoint slides during the lectures. It makes teaching with technology seemless.

This is my first tablet and I think its good for the price relative to other tablets on the market. Wacom is a well-known company for tablets so reliablity and quality is good. The mouse is pretty useless for me since it only works on top of the tablet. The pen takes a lot to while to get used to. Its difficult to be precise because the tablet works through a little space that represents the entire monitor. The sensitivity is difficult to calibrate and also takes time to learn to use. My tablet is so far collecting dust, because I gave up trying to learn it. Ill pick it back up when Im in the mood to draw again.

The Graphire3 is quite good as a Tablet, it's only downer is the small 4x5 drawing space, tought you get used to it after a while, it's still a limitation, you actually forget the mouse, must be on the tablet to work.

As a begginer on digital painting, this is a God send to me. I can paint as I always wanted, and at an affordable price.

Unfortunately Amazon has positioned the Graphire as a drawing tool, and as such it's disappointing some folks who should be getting one of Wacom's higher end tablets.

What the Graphire is fabulous for is reducing pain caused by traditional mice. I had recurring tendonitis and cysts with both mice and trackballs, but no problems since switching to my first Graphire about 5 years ago. The Wacom requires no shoulder motion, and very little hand or wrist. Clicking is done with an ultra-light stylus, and the thumb is used for a right/double click rocker switch on the side of the stylus. I use it with a 1280x1024 screen at home, and travel with another in my laptop case. Win2K and XP. Works for gaming too.

This is a fantastic pen mouse. It works just as well as any other Wacom tablet that I've had. I really like the way the pen can be stored away when you're on the go. BUT, I do miss the way the old tablet I had had a built-in upright holder for the pen and that holder didn't move around and about. This new one's plastic holder isn't actually attached to the tablet, so whenever I go to lift the pen out of it, or put the pen in it, the holder moves around, which is a bit of an annoyance.

I have three friends who already own Wacom Tablets, so I'd gotten a chance previously to try out the item. Personally, I found it a little bizarre, but I figured it was because I hadn't actually had enough practice to get used to the format and disconnect between pen and where your actual drawing ends up.

But I bought this with a specific purpose in mind. A had high resolution scans that I was trying to clean up. My mouse was fine, but I wanted something that could be a little more specific to quicken the process. Also, I planned on using the tablet for coloring in the future. Well, in regards to my original intentions, it was very helpful! The pen does give you a lot more accuracy and control as to where your brush/eraser marks end up and gives a far steadier line than I could ever make with a mouse. So it was very helpful in that regard.

I've been told that this particular tablet isn't aimed toward the "professional artist" but honestly, I wasn't looking for a lot of "extras" that might have been included with the others. I really wasn't even all that impressed with the whole pressure sensitivity since that wasn't important to my current project. Also, I have no clue what other perks are included in the pro artist-aimed tablets.

I have to admit the tablet is a little small, although this wouldn't even be that big of a deal if that tablet wasn't mapped directly to your computer screen (for example, the top right corner of your tablet is the top right corner of your computer screen). While you can adjust the size of this mapping, you really can't take it off... And that can be a little irritating since I generally find it awkward to work along the edges of the tablet as my hand rests in uncomfortable positions. With a mouse, you can just lift your hand, replace it, and continue on where you left off your work/line/whatever. With the tablet, your cursor will instantly reappear to whatever position is correlated to your tablet position onscreen. I have to say this is my biggest gripe because instead of adjusting my hand, I had to readjust where the window is if I end up getting toward an edge on my tablet. I really wish they didn't lock it in place, and if there's some way to take this off, I haven't found it.

But still, it's fun to use and it actually didn't take me too long to get over my mental disconnect of drawing and hand and pen as I thought.