Graphical Tablets/Drawing Pads?

I am in the process of trying to find a decent but affordable graphic tablet to use with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I have looked at a variety of different brands and products, but I wanted any personal opinions on the effective use or any information that could help me make my decision with what I should choose, or even if I shouldn't buy one for certain reasons. I'm looking to use this for artwork as well as drawing up concepts of logos in Illustrator and/or Photoshop.

If there is anyone who could help out, please post here.

First, I was looking at this one made by Wacom...

Graphire4 4" x 5" USB Tablet

Second, I found this one, a little bigger and a lot better, with many features and a few more than the Graphire one, but it's equipped with a pretty hefty price.

Intuos3 4" x 6" USB Tablet

Any other suggestions would be very helpful.

It's greatly appreciated.
vX

Definitely good to go with the Wacom one, I have not used or read reviews on the Intuos one, but it looks really good.

For a tablet you should probably go with the Wacom, unless you are spending the bulk of your time doing high end illustration.

I'm expecting to only be doing a minority of my time such as vector logos and artwork for personal exploration. I went to Best Buy today and all they had was the Wacom Graphite Tablet (4" x 5") on display, but they don't carry them anymore. But I've seen them all on their web site, so more than likely that's what I'm going to try to do. I think I'm going to go with the Intuos.

Thanks for the advice Julian. I appreciate it.

~ vX

I have the Graphire4 Classic XL - and I love the thing. Even if its just to doodle or sign things. Wacom are awesome - plus, the price ranges for the Graphire4 aren't too bad at all:]

I have the wacom bamboo, no difference to when I used an intuos 2. Great value

I compared the Graphire to the Intuos and the Bamboo and for some reason the Intuos has a lot more features and a bigger price, but I keep hearing that there's really no difference.

I think I might look into the Graphire4 or the Bamboo then.

Thanks Jaysgirl & Anthony!

The Bamboo is a newer model than the Graphire4, has a nicer stylus and in all fairness looks a hell of a lot cleaner. I use mine on a daily basis

Nice, thanks for the update Anthony. I seen the Graphire at BestBuy and it was so small and it seems outdated. I am definitely going to look into the Bamboo a little more in depth (feature-wise) and that's what I'll probably end up getting since I do trust that Anthony is being honest.

*200th Post - Ohhh baby!!!*

Thanks again.

Thanks vX,

The reason I like the Bamboo is it's not too expensive, it's a nice solid product, it looks stylish, the sensitivity levels are perfect and it hasn't got a small surface area.

Yep, from what I have seen so far, I completely agree with you. By the way, what's the current size of your digital canvas or is there only one standard size?