which pen tablet ??

I've used Wacom tablets for years, and they are good, but expensive and haven't evolved much over the years.

An artist (Ray Frenden) has reviewed a range of graphics tablets available, and has a couple of newer, MUCH less expensive options that are competitive with Wacom.

I'd say the best starter tablet he's reviewed seem to be the $50 Monoprice 10"x6.25" or the $90 Monoprice 12"x9"

I haven't used these yet. I can't personally vouch for them, but Ray is very hardcore about this stuff... so I trust his opinion.

This biggest issue with these over the wacom tablets is that the Monoprice pens need batteries... but you save so much $, it may be a worthwhile hassle.

Yep , The Monoprice sure shines !

Here's the link of his review !

I didn't buy it , but it seems like the tablet you should buy ...

If You are not a concept artist then you don't need a live-screen tablet

I highly recommend checking it out !

The bamboo is no match for the Monoprice ! It's way more $$ for way < quality !

I have been really hapy with my intuos from wacom. Try applications like the free Sculpty or the Zbrush evaluation when you are testing, then you will see the really nice points about tilt sensors, and pressure.

Zbrush sculpting is as close as I have ever come to actually felling like I am touching an object that I am working on. The next closes thing would be to actually model something in clay with my hands.

I had the Cinitique for a few weeks before it blacked out on me and I was able to return it for a refund.

I was not really impressed with the lag, Another thing is the constant need to clean the screen. No matter how much you wash your hands the human body produces oil. There is no stopping it. So If I like working without surgical gloves on, I was washing the thing off at least once a day.

One last +1 for wacom... If you ever decide to try Linux the drivers are really good.

TL;DR : 3D sculpting is a great way to judge the usefulness of certain features.

you guys should all check out monoprice.. they're re-branded UC Logic tablets and for under 100$ (for the biggest size, mine was 50$). i like the feel of it better than my 200$ bamboo create tablet - i draw with it on my lap and it always felt a little to light for my taste.

the only thing i would recommend if you go with a monoprice is to buy their other pen, the bamboo create pen has a nice slim profile (used to drawing with a pencil here) and the stock pen for the monoprice is kind of huge for my small hands. and considering you can get a 48 pack of batteries from a bargain store for 6$ (less in the states?) it's worth it, my pen hasn't run out of battery yet.

also paint tool sai, amazing program (abandonware) but still with the 58$ you'll throw down for it. there are only a few things PS does that i wish SAI could do too, but it does lineart like a boss :P

well, I'm using bamboo and it's doing fine to me :)

IMO flashy tech and high prices are just luxuries, if you can do things well with the cheap one, why bother taking the big one?

For me, I will search for a pen tablet that easy to use, not really expensive, and can do the job fine. Bamboo is quite nice though

If you can find one, I highly recommend the motion computing LE1600 (or the le1700). I got my le1600 for around �200 gbp on ebay. Only 256 levels of pressure but it runs Windows 7 and photoshop, my paint, paint tool Sai. I love mine!

Apparently there's a graphics tablet out there with the same tech as the monoprice but even less expensive:

frenden.tumblr.com/post/44243131746/huion-10x6-tablet-unboxing-using-the-same

after using the bamboo for 2days i feel its great and easy to use ^^ the only thing is that i don't like that the tip or nip has no place to hold and i think its easy to be lost :P

I personally use a Cintiq (old large one) and it is fantastic. But it is large and expensive and immobile.

Penny-Arcade's artist just gave in impromptu review of using the new Microsoft Surface tablets, penny-arcade.com/2013/02/25 , and he seems to think it's pretty great, and better than a small cintiq.

I've been waiting for an affordable pressure-sensitive tablet, and I'm hoping to get my hands on one and try it out soon (not that I can afford a new gadget of any type, but fantasy and all that).

No personal experience but I have a friend who uses a 99 USD bamboo tablet that get's the job done fine. He uses paint tool sai

I have two wacoms, they last A LOT, great quality, I've had mine for about five or six years.