Cheap Wacom Graphire2 4x5 Graphics Tablet (Ruby) (Electronics) Price

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Customer Reviews of Wacom Graphire2 4x5 Graphics Tablet (Ruby)

good smooth tablet
My sole purpose of owning a graphic tablet has been in order to make some of my own graphics for the small web firm I run. I'll normally hire a graphics person because, ultimately they can do a better job than myself. But for the quick drawing of a neat, unique little control button or to make a sketch from an existing gif or jpeg, this is it. I tried the AIPTEK HyperPen pad thinking that it would be the same quality for a cheaper price. It seems though to be a cheaper quality pad as well. I've looked for reviews that compare Wacom with AIPTEK but have found none. Here's my 2 cents worth. Where the Wacom was smooth in drawing the lines that I wanted, the AIPTEK was jittery and would absolutly not produce a good smooth line. Although the Graphire2 doesn't offer pressure sensitivity I've found it to be quite versitile. The 4x5 size is comfortable on my desk and certainly useable for modest projects. I succumbed to the temptation of buying the AIPTEK 8000 which has a larger area of 8x6 and prices similarly to the Wacom Graphire2(4x5). Don't go that direction, the extra size does not make up for the loss of quality and control found with the cheaper version. The pro's seem to go with Wacom now I see why.
Only downside with Wacom and it's not that bad: Wacom claims that the cover sheet on its pad allows you to trace photos right on the pad and onto your screen. This doesn't work. Their support staff even told me to avoid this and just scan the pictures in and then use a new layer as a tracing paper(ie, as in photoshop)

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Great for beginners and pros alike!
This is one of the best graphics tablets around. It has loads of FREE software costing over [$$$]! You can't beat the price on this one either. They supply a mouse, but most people say the pen's easier anyway. (I agree.) If you're thinking about buying it, buy it! Great for beginners, great for pros, great for the price!

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Software Works With XP
I had an old serial Wacom Pen Partners table, and decided to get this tablet primarily because it had a USB connector. The tablet itself is same as the Pen Partners table, and also includes the plastic overlay so you can trace small paper drawings.

The pen holder is detachable if you don't care to have it attached to the tablet. The included mouse is a basic cordless mouse, but you can use your "normal" mouse without disconnecting/reconnecting anything. The Wacom "control panel" allows you to change both mouse and pen settings such as mapping speed, tablet positioning, finger wheel properties, eraser feel, double-click and pop-up menu settings.

The tablet comes with two CD's. One CD is for the tablet drivers and the "control panel". Included drivers are Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP drivers and OS 8.5, 9 drivers. I installed the tablet on XP which was truly pain free. The other CD includes Photoshop LE and Painter Classic.

The only thing I did not like about the package is that it does not come with any additional nibs (the plastic piece that makes contact with the drawing pad). ...Other than that the tablet is excellent.