* In my hand, I have an A6-format Wacom Bamboo PenTouch.
1. Tablet
It’s about a new line of tablets from Wacom Bamboo Multi-Touch. Tablets in this series are unique in that they not only offer the functions of a professional graphic tablet, but also have the multitouch function of touch input: they work from the simple touch of fingers. Honestly, Wacom never ceases to amaze. It would seem that the company produces the best tablets on the market, but the line continues to evolve, new functions are added, characteristics are improved.
Tablet ruler Bamboo multi-touchreplaces the old line Bamboo and what is remarkable, the difference in price is only some 10-20 dollars.
So, here are the main features that we offer:
– Two sizes: A5 Wide (Medium) and A6 Wide (Small).
– Grades of pressure sensitivity increased to 1024 levels
– Two sensors for pen and multi-touch input with support for scrolling, scaling, rotation, etc.
– Four ExpressKeys programmable keys for quick access to functions.
– Already familiar to the Wacom pen with an eraser, two programmable buttons and no batteries.
– The price is about 270 US dollars.
2. Packing and packaging
When choosing a tablet in this series, be careful: the tablet is available in several versions that have significant functional differences.
Bamboo touch: Black design, purple packaging. Available only in A6 Wide format, it has only multi-touch functions, without tablet functions with pressure sensitivity. Four programmable keys ExpressKeys.
Bamboo pen: Black design, green packaging. Available only in A6 Wide format, it has only tablet functions with a touch sensitivity of 512 levels, without multi-touch functions. The tablet has no function keys. The pen does not have an eraser.
Bamboo pen touch: Black design, blue packaging. Available only format A6 Wide, has the functions of a tablet with a sensitivity to pressing 1024 levels and multi-touch function. Four programmable keys ExpressKeys.
Bamboo Fun PenTouch: Silver design, orange packaging. Available in A6 Wide and A5 Wide format, it has tablet functions with a touch sensitivity of 1024 levels and multi-touch function. Four programmable keys ExpressKeys.
In other words, if you need a good drawing tool, then you should look first at Bamboo Fun PenTouchformat A5 with a sensitivity to pressing 1024 levels, which is not inferior to the former professional line of tablets Wacom Intuos 3.
If you want to save and you have enough sensitivity 512 levels and format A6, functions are not important multi–touch, function keys and eraser then you can select Bamboo pen. It will cost you much cheaper.
The standard package of delivery is as follows: tablet, pen, three spare tips and tweezers, CD with drivers and instructions.
The software is not supplied on a CD, but it can be downloaded for free by registering on the Wacom website. I must say this is important for those who like to use licensed software.
Available programs such as: Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter Essentials and ArtRage 2.
Also for Bamboo from Wacom free special applications available for download BambooDock, BambooMinis, BambooSpace etc. They are more focused on user entertainment, so I will not consider them carefully in this article. If interested, you can read more about this at this link.
3. Design and ergonomics
The tablet is made in two versions of design – black and silver. In addition to the difference in color, the differences are cosmetic, but still they are. The black version has a more angular and strict design. The buttons and the panel around the working surface have a varnished surface, which, although it looks beautiful, is very easy to snag with your fingers. The rest of the plastic tablet matte.
In the silver version, all corners are smoothed, the lacquered surface is smaller, and fingerprints are not visible to it. Despite this, I personally like the black version more.
Both tablets have a matte, rough, pleasant surface for drawing. From the side of the tablet there is a convenient holder for a pen made of hard synthetic fabric. The design of the tablet is completely symmetrical, due to which it can be used equally effectively for both right-handed and left-handed users – simply turn it 180 degrees. The tablet itself is very thin and light.
Bamboo feather completely consists of plastic, there are no additional rubber nozzles on hand. Pen Intuos In this regard, it seems more convenient. In the black version of the design, the eraser pen has sharper corners, in silver it is almost round.
4. Drivers and setup
New Wacom drivers are installed immediately for the entire line of tablets and allow you to work simultaneously on several types of tablets on your computer. Installation problems have arisen. Also worked without problems Bamboo pen touchand my old Cintiqat the same time.
Unlike the professional line Intous, in the drivers Bamboo You cannot set the key values for different programs individually. Drivers are configured as a whole and work the same for all programs.
Bamboo PenTouch settings are as follows:
Pen: Pen settings menu, where you can set the force of pressing the pen tip and eraser, assign different functions for the keys, change the size of the tablet’s working area and its proportions.
Pop–up menu: Drop-down menu, which may contain a variety of commands and functional elements. If desired, it can be turned into a set of function keys or a quick launch bar. The main thing is not to forget to hang up the call of this menu on one of the keys.
The tablet: Settings of the tablet keys at will, orientation of the tablet for right-handed or left-handed users, as well as disabling the touch input functions (multitouch).
Response time: Speed settings for various parameters and response time.
Touch functions: New multi-touch touch input features. Here you can see which of them are available, as well as enable or disable some of them.
All functions are animated, so it’s easy to understand how to properly implement them in practice.
And there are such opportunities:
– A finger touch corresponds to a simple click of the left mouse button.
– If your finger is already on the surface, an additional touch on the left will allow you to click with the left button without removing your finger.
– Touching with two fingers simultaneously triggers the right mouse click.
– If your finger is already on the surface, an additional touch on the right will allow you to right-click without removing your finger.
– Drag and drop an object.
– Two-finger scrolling (scrolling in a web browser, pan tool in Photoshop or Painter).
– Scaling with two fingers
– Rotate the image with two fingers (the canvas rotation in PhotoShop works only in hardware acceleration mode, and in Painter I could not make it work).
– With a short movement of two fingers, go back or forward to the web browser. Similarly, you can flip through pictures in the viewer.
five.Tablet at work
That came to the most important thing.
Namely, how such a tablet behaves during drawing. I will just say: Bamboo pen touch, as the tablet does not cause any claims. Drawing on it is easy and convenient – in fact, just like onIntuos3. Increased sensitivity to pressure plays an important role in this, but the resolution of the working surface remains the same.
There are features. The buttons are quite large, they are pressed easily, they are located next to the working area (at hand). On the one hand, it is convenient in work, on the other hand, it happened that I clicked on them randomly, in work and when the tablet was lying peacefully on the table. But this stuff, I already find fault.
On the buttons it is also worth saying that there are only four of them, they are not enough. And on one of them, most likely, it is necessary to hang a “switch of sensory functions”. Now understand why.
The multitouch function is designed to compensate for the lack of keys and introduce a new intuitive work style. But everything is not so clear with her … When you test a new ability, everything goes more or less smoothly. With two fingers – scrolling, pushing apart the fingers – zoom, left one finger and clicked the second – this is the menu for the right mouse button … Everything is logical, the commands are clear, they are easy to remember and play. Everything seems to be good …
However, in real work, these commands are not always and not entirely true.
The zoom works once in a while and its magnitude is not always predictable, the scroll is uneven, and a right-click menu call sometimes adds a click on the field.
When the tablet’s working area is hit by the pen, the multitouch functions are automatically turned off, but there may be cases when the pad of your hand rests on the tablet faster than the pen approaches it, and at these moments the cursor can erase something unpredictable.
I think this is the main reason why I want to turn off these functions when drawing.
Maybe you just need to learn how to use them. Hopefully, numerous comments from existing owners will convince me of their usefulness in practice.
But where multitouch capabilities are really convenient, it’s about walking on the Internet or viewing pictures. Generally, in spite of such a somewhat critical review, the possibilities of touch-control with my fingers seemed interesting to me, I just need to get used to them. It is impossible to say that they are vital, but the language does not turn out to be superfluous. I suspect that they will soon appear in a new series. Cintiq, where their potential will be revealed to the full.
6. Conclusions
New Bamboo pen touchgreat tablet. 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, plus a multitouch function, all this makes it quite attractive, and when you consider that the price is compared to the previous line Bamboo did not change much, it becomes even more interesting.
It is almost as good as the former professional line of tablet series. Intuos 3.
Moreover, despite the fact that the new line Intuos 4 increased touch sensitivity to 2048 levels, feel the difference compared to Intuos 3 almost impossible. Coming outWacom created a competitor to yourself?
Feel coming new controversies worth buying Intuos 4 and is it good Bamboo pen touch? But an independent device Bamboo touch, without the functions of the pen input, I’m afraid will be for many useless toy on the table. Still, the mouse in this regard, seemed to me much more efficient and convenient.
And good luck with your work!
Respectfully, Roman Guro.
