Wacom Intuos 4 Video Review

41 Replies to “Wacom Intuos 4 Video Review”

1. Thanks so much for the review Terry. I have been looking at the Intuos 4 for awhile. It really helps to a video of it. How is the small size to work with in Photoshop? If its a bit cramped I would rather spend the extra money up front to get the Medium. Size is my biggest concern.

   1. Steve,
      I don’t have a problem using either the Small or Medium in Photoshop. I don’t feel cramped with the small. However, the only reason I use the small is to take it with me. Otherwise, I would definitely go with a Medium if travel wasn’t a concern.
      Thanks!
      T

2. Terry,

   Thank you so much for the video! I have been using my Intuos 2 since they came out and have been considering upgrading to get the buttons & dial since Logitech no longer support the NuLooq which I loved so dearly.

   After seeing the video review you have made it really difficult for me to not want an Intuos 4 really badly 🙂 and the new love from Wacom for left handed users really makes a big difference.

   Peter.

3. Thanks for the review. Very neat piece of technology :D!

4. Love the video review. Please continue to do video reviews. A picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth a million.

5. Great review Terry. From what I could tell the buttons have a slight angle to them instead of being flat correct? Just wondering since I’m saving my money for the medium Intuos 4.

   Another question I have is regarding the scroll wheel and what you think about it’s responsiveness. I actually think it would be bad if it was too responsive or jumpy. Does it feel ok for zooming and changing brush sizes? Not “jittery”?

   Final question…do you actually use all those apps on your dock on a regular basis? Wow, I thought I had many items on my dock but yours is just full! I stopped adding stuff when I couldn’t identify things quickly. How about a quick video tour of your dock and the apps you use? I would love to see what you work with and maybe learn some new things.

   Thanks for the great content!

   Mau

   1. Hi Mau,
      yes the buttons have a slight angle to them. I believe this is to distinguish between them without looking.
      The scroll wheel is very fluid. Not jerky at all.
      Yep, I use all those apps in my dock on a regular basis. Crazy, I know 🙂 A review of them sounds interesting. Maybe I’ll do a “what’s in your dock?” kinda post.

      Thanks!

      T

6. How does this thing compare to the Bamboo? I’ve been working with that for a while and been thinking about upgrading. I’m not an artist by any means but the larger surface area would be nice to work with.

7. +1 for being a die hard pen user for everything. I use the trackpad when not at my desk but I don’t own a mouse or remember the last time I had to use one.

   Thanks for the video. Up until now I have been perfectly fine with the Intuos3 but now a bit closer to wanting the 4. I have never used the express keys because (a) I never remember what they do and (b) my left hand is already on a keyboard.

   Is the new pen a grip pen? I had to replace the Intuos3 pen with the traditional one to get rid of the rubber. And can the Intuos3 and 4 share the same pens?

   Last question. From photos on flickr, it appears that the Intuos4 is bigger? (comparing the 6×8 to the medium which from my understanding is basically the same size)

8. Thank you so much for the review! I’ve been kind of keeping an eye on the Intuos 4 for a while now. I’m currently using an Intuos 3 9×12 because I tend to use a lot of big sweeping arm movements when I’m drawing, but I constantly forget what I mapped all my buttons to! I always end up clicking about 5 of them before I get the one I want. I also tend to accidentally scroll around or zoom in and out since those touch strips are super sensitive.

   I think I’m going to have to trade up!

9. Awesome video Terry! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Intuos4, a product that should rake in every editor’s choice award out there—even product of the year, easy. [head slumps] Yes, I admit, I love the dang thang. I was sold at “lefties included” part! (:<

   @Jason Lynkins: The Bamboo is an entry-level product designed with a price point intended to be accessible to artists, so that they can see whether or not they’d be able to connect to their artwork in this way. Admittedly, painting in one area and viewing the results in another takes some getting used to (thus the supreme prowess of the Cintiq). Wacom really outdid themselves with the Intuos4, so if you can’t afford to get into the Cintiq line, run—don’t walk—and get one of these, even if it takes cutting your neighbors’ lawns to get the loot: you’ll feel 200% closer to your artwork (:

   Thanks again Terry!

   ~Issac

10. Great video! Have been thinking about getting a Wacam forever. Perhaps now is the time to take the plunge. Just one thing, did I hear you say that the “small” tablet does NOT come with the LCD buttons? Was hoping I could experience all of the upgrades, even with a small tablet. Would appreciate the clarification. Thanks again.

    ~Carrie

    1. Carrie,
       Thanks!
       That’s correct. The SMALL Intuos 4 does have the buttons, but does NOT have the LCD display that the medium and larger sizes have. However, you can configure one of the buttons on the SMALL to pop up the display on screen to quickly remind you what the other buttons are set to.

11. Very impressive video but is it as easy as it looks?

    I have a small Bamboo Fun tablet and pen and have not had much luck synchronizing it to even work. I’m a pastel artist and used to working with my hands and on paper in real life. I draw with charcoals and chalk and was hoping to be able to work in photoshop by feel but with what I have I can’t even line things up correctly.

    I was reading the ads on Intuos for a while and this one looks very impressive. I’ve seen other higher end Wacom products at seminars and they feel wonderful and they line up fine, but how will I know this one will? How easy to use is this? You made it look easy but I know from experience that when something has a lot of programmable features, it can get daunting.

    From this post you can see I’m a newbie and very untechnical. Can you make me feel comfortable about buying this product. I really need a good tablet and the Bamboo Fun isn’t.

    1. Hi Linda,
       I can tell you as a long time Intuos user that I’ve always had good luck with the line “just working”. As far as the programmable stuff goes, it can be daunting at first to figure out what you want each button to do in each application. The even bigger problem with all the previous models is that unless you used those features every day, you’d soon forget what they were set to do. Now with the LCD on the Intuos 4 that issue goes away. Wacom has also had a good history of keeping their drivers up to date. So if you’re thinking of stepping up to a professional tablet. This is the one you’ve been waiting for.

12. Hi Terry,

    Thanks very much for your video review! The key points (for me) is that the Intuos 4 provides a quantum leap forward in increased sensitivity of the pen, not just for the doubling of the levels, which you mentioned, but for the feather touch sensitivity of initial pen sensing which allows an *essential* expansion to the range of expression for those with a light touch. Artists will understand and appreciate what this means. The 4 series also solves the vexing problem of reminders for key assignments, provides a USB detachable cord (thank you Wacom), and the new pen holder is a marvel of function in itself. Quite elegant.

    I really got hooked on using the Intuos 3 extensively with both Photoshop and Painter. I had earlier models with a decided lack of sensitivity. In graduating to an Intuos 3, I foolishly thought that bigger was better. So, I bought a 9×12 and quickly found that I would have been happier (and portable) with a 4×6. I’ve found the most useful range of screen mapping on my 9×12 is confining it to the lower left quadrant, essentially wasting 3/4 of the available tablet space. If you map the entire tablet to your screen, you find yourself spending a LOT of effort having to move all over the tablet. It gets tedious and exhausting after a short while. Kind of like having to move a mouse a foot to move the cursor 100 pixels.

    Also, and it might just be me, but I’ve never been able to effectively use the tablet keys in any case, even if I can remember their function. The problem is that they can never be complete enough to cover the various keyboard commands I use constantly in Photoshop or Painter, and which require me to have my free hand on the computer keyboard at all times while using the pen. To access the keys on the tablet requires me to either do some contortion with the pen hand which is already busy with some pen function, or a reach-across contortion with my free hand, removing it from the keyboard. After doing this a untold number of times, and interrupting the concentration and creative flow, I simply quit using the tablet keypad.

    I’ll be the first to buy a Wacom bluetooth keypad that *detaches* from the tablet. Perhaps even a separate bluetooth product aside from the tablet; a much larger keypad that has default, but configurable, LCD templates for various touch sensitive applications, that would allow me to put the computer keyboard aside and just use the keypad with one hand and the pen/tablet with the other. Perfect. At least for me.

    I think the Intuos 4 is a quantum leap forward and congratulations to Wacom for its incredible industrial design, elegance, and functionality. The Intuos 4 technology is definitely more than just a cosmetic upgrade.

    Thanks again, Terry, for the great review. I agree with others that video reviews are the best, whenever possible.

13. I can’t get your Wacom review to play.

14. Got it.

15. Hi Terry.

    Thanks a lot for your review.

    I have the happy owner of an Intuos 4 Large model.
    Can you show us your configuration of your Express Keys and others items in your Photoshop usage ?

    Best regards.

    1. yffic,
       My express keys are set to the following tools in Photohsop:
       Help – Wacom displays the keys
       Radial Dial – Wacom
       Precision Mode – Wacom
       Patch Tool/Healing Brush
       Brush Tool
       Clone Stamp Tool
       Dodge/Burn Tool – in CS4 it’s actually usable
       Undo – Command-Option-Z to step back multiple times

16. Thanks Terry for your fast and precise answer.
    Regards.

17. Looks like a great product. I’m still using an old Graphire and would love to upgrade to what looks like a very neat tablet. Thank you for the walk-thru.

18. Dear Mr Terry White.

    Thanks to show the New excellent Product.
    Intous-4 is really Excellent, off course Intous-3 also grate.

    with regards
    Satheesan

19. Your review leaves me green with envy. The Intous 4 makes so much sense. It has an intuitively obvious way of interacting with the user that you demonstrated so well.

    Thanks for sharing this exciting tool with us.

    Sincerely,

    Michelle

20. I really love the layout and design of the intuos4s and how they worked the bamboo design into it [all black, dial instead of touch strip, removable usb cord, etc]. I’ve been using a bamboo for over a year now and I’m used to the layout of it, so adjusting to an intuos4 should be no problem. I think I’m going to upgrade to one since I need one for a class next semester anyway.

21. I have a question: I have bought a Cintiq 21 for some months ago, and it cost a lot of money. And I cannot find out to use this Cintiq, because I cannot get the big beam in Photoshop and Illustrator over to the Cintiq. So my question is, if this new Intous-4 is better than Cintiq 21 ? Thank you for your question.

    1. Drawing right on screen is better IMHO than the Intuos4. Stick with your Cintiq.

22. Does the Intuos work well with Photoshop cs3? economic conditions more or less prohibit6 me from upgrading to cs4 but I think I can swing an intuos 4 medium here in the next month or so. Will have to stick with cs3 for the time being, thanks for your help in advance.

    1. yes, it works fine with CS3.

23. Terry,

    Great review. I originally thought I had to hold out for the medium tablet because of the lack of LCD on the small. Good to see that you can display the key assignments on the screen with the small tablet. I work with CS3 and Lightroom, does the Intuos 4 work with Lightroom as well?

    Thanks for your response.

24. Hi Terry,

    Good review. I currently bring to work my personal Intuos3 11″x6″ to use on a dual monitor setup (the 2nd monitor sits to the right of my main screen and is mainly used for assets such as Adobe Bridge). My place of business is allowing me to purchase an Intuos4 so that I don’t have to keep bringing mine in. I am torn between the Medium and the Large. Do you have a recommendation? Personally, I do not need the whole drawing area on my current 11″x6″; however, I do not like to run my pen up against the edge of the drawing area (i like a 1/4″ gap). Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

25. Pingback: Brian Reyman Blog » Blog Archive » The Wacom Showdown

26. Hi Terry,

    Can I use the small tablet with new 17inch Macbook Pro? Can tablet be mapped for various screen sizes?

    Thanks for the video review.

    1. Vahan, yes you can use the small tablet with your 17″ MacBook Pro. All of the wacom tablets have the ability to map to whatever screen size/resolution you have. Thanks!

27. is the medium tablet really that hard to travel with?

    1. It all depends on what else you have to put in your bag and how much room you have. For me the Small works out better. Of course if you’ve got the room, go with the Medium.

28. Hi Terry!

    i am so impressed with your talent. I just wanna know if Intuos4 is compatible with Lightroom2 and CS3 and 4 before i buy my own Intuos4. I do have CS3 and Lightroom2 in my laptop….

    Take care

    1. thanks,
       Yes it’s compatible.

29. Is nib wear a concern on the intuos 4? If so, should a protective sheet be used as Wacom suggests? Thanks.

    1. Still on the first nib, but it does show signs of wear.

30. hi terry,
    ive been sticking to traditional hand drawing for a long while, but i was thinking about getting a tablet for faster working, and digital sculpting, now i have intous 4 SMALL as a gift for my graduation, so iam a virgin to graphic tablets, my question is intous 4 small a good place to start? or should i get the medium? i also heard that the medium size isnt necessery unless u have monitors with HD resolution, my monitor is 19′ max is 1440 x 900.
    thanks alot

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