Graphics tablets

[Josquius]

I'm looking into getting one.
Has anyone had any experience with them before?
Just where do the cheaper models and more expensive ones differ?
I'd obviously be looking to the well below £100 mark if I do get one, Wacom Bamboo's seem alright price wise...any good  though?

[Alatriste]

What for? My own - and very limited - experience is that

- Used instead of a mouse they allow a much finer control... but I didn't need such a thing, while I did find being restricted to the tablet space somewhat uncomfortable.

- Used for art they must need some time for adaptation. With pen and paper you look at the pen and see the result. With a graphic tablet you look at the screen, not at the pen!   

[Iormlund]

I've been after one of those gorgeous Intuos for quite a while. Can't really justify the expense, though I would have one already if I could have ordered from the UK with the low Pound.

[Josquius]

What for? My own - and very limited - experience is that

- Used instead of a mouse they allow a much finer control... but I didn't need such a thing, while I did find being restricted to the tablet space somewhat uncomfortable.

- Used for art they must need some time for adaptation. With pen and paper you look at the pen and see the result. With a graphic tablet you look at the screen, not at the pen!   

For art.
Some people actually use them in place of a mouse?
Thats rather....blimey. I know you can use them for that but didn't know people did.

[Alatriste]

Supposedly it's good for your wrist, specially if you don't leave the tablet on the table but hold it with the other hand, like a note book (a paper note book) and use the pen like you were really writing on the tablet.

[Pedrito]

I own a Wacom Bamboo and have nothing to say about the quality of th product or the software. I use it for retouching photos.

The drawback of the Bamboo is the small size of the sensitive space, after a while it becomes uncomfortable. So I usually leave my photos unretouched 

L.

Edited 'cause the post was unfinished: 

[DontSayBanana]

For art.
Some people actually use them in place of a mouse?
Thats rather....blimey. I know you can use them for that but didn't know people did.

Most common use of external tablets is fine control of brushes in Photoshop or Illustrator or a limited number of clone programs that have support for features like pressure sensitivity.

S uses an Intuos 6x8 tablet for her digital illustration work and swears by it.  Not too familiar with the Bamboos; I've been trying to get my mitts on a Wacom for my own use since back when the Graphire was the only one in the "affordable and small" range.

[Josquius]

The Wacoms seem it. Tossing up between the £20 dearer one or the £50 one, unsure whether its worth it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wacom-Bamboo-Pen-and-Touch/dp/B002Q4U4AY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1262181656&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wacom-WACCTL460EN-Bamboo-Pen/dp/B002Q4U4AE/ref=pd_cp_ce_1

buying is nigh

[DontSayBanana]

As far as whether the expense is worth it, what are you planning to do with it?  As just another pointing device, it may not be, but if you're into cranking out digital art, it smooths the workflow no end.

As far as alatriste's comment, BTW, they do take a little bit of getting used to for art, but it helps to just remember that it's the dimensions of the screen and run any graphics apps fullscreen while you're using a tablet- then it's pretty close to being WYSIWYG.

Of note, looking at the Bamboos myself- does anybody know if the multi-touch capabilities extend to the Win7 APIs?  I'm thinking about a tablet myself to speed up my workflow in making Flash animation...