Wacom's Intuos4 tablet gets a thorough review

Pen tablets aren’t just for commercial artists anymore. For proof, look no further than the just-released Wacom Intuos4 ($230 and up, street, depending on size), a worthy addition to the toolkits of professionals, casual artists, and photography enthusiasts alike. Used with Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Corel Painter 11, the Intuos4’s impressive pressure sensitivity lets you lighten or darken areas of an image with precision. Putting the tablet to work with Photoshop’s dodge, burn, blur, and sharpen tools gives you the kind of personal expression that’s associated with a photographic darkroom. And if you’re used to drawing with traditional art materials, such as chalk or watercolors, you’ll find that the combination of Intuos4 and Painter comes remarkably close to that experience. Wacom is pretty much the only game in town when it comes to pen tablets, but the impressive Intuos4 proves that the lack of competition hasn’t made the company lazy.

For this review, Wacom provided me with the medium version of the Intuos4. Think of this midsized, midpriced pen tablet as the Goldilocks model—not too large, not too expensive. The active area of the 10-by-14.6-inch (HW) pad, at 5.5 by 8.8 inches, is not as high but a bit wider than the 6-by-8-inch active area of the Intuos3 6x8. With the Intuos4, the company has switched from the active-area designations associated with its now-discontinued predecessor to the generic small, medium, large, and extra large.

For the complete review, hit the source link below.

source[pcmag]

Update on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 11:38AM by Jon Arnason

Macworld has just posted a review as well. Here is the conclusion and link to complete report.

New version features increased pressure sensitivity; iPod Classic-like touch wheel interface; programmable buttons featuring customizable LED display labels; ambidextrous design.

source:macworld