Reddit reviews Wacom Intuos Pro Digital Graphic Drawing Tablet for Mac or PC, Small (PTH451)

Have worked as engineer but also a photographer, so I think I'm uniquely qualified to answer your question.

If you want an external stylus system, don't cheap out on the Wacom products. Get the Pro version, not the regular Intuos.

I have both (a friend gave me his old Pro. I had cheaped out and bought the regular version). The pro offers tilt sensitivity. This is HUGE. It makes it feel like a real pencil. This makes using a tablet worth it.

I used this for marking up documents but also extensive photoshop use.

I noticed you also are using Canadian Amazon links. I'm Canadian, too. I recommend checking out Shopbot to find best prices online.

FWIW, photo stores like Henry's often have their stylus-devices go on sale. Might be worth checking.

I think that directly marking up documents on a screen is superior in EVERY INSTANCE. For pure drawing, sketching, shading, and painting in Photoshop or another artboard-specific program you may find Tilt Sensitivity vs. using a touch-screen tablet is equal. But handwriting - it's just so much more natural when you directly edit.

For reading long PDF's (for example when i send friends/paper collaborators a recent article from Nature journal, etc), using my new Surface Pro 4 is great. Just got it last week. Can't really see myself using a Wacom any more.

I get you may not want to invest in a new Surface or touchscreen tablet. But then again, if you're only using the tablet as a PDF editor, I might recommend buying a used tablet with a good screen, anything over 1080p, and editing your PDFs with it instead of using a dedicated stylus-device. You can still operate your tablet and workstation PC/Mac next to each other.... just sync the editable document in a folder within aGoogle Drive/Onedrive/Box/Dropbox and then you have best of both worlds.

Did i mention the learning curve and useability factor on a tablet device? On a wacom you'll inevitably be writing over the edge of the input rectangle once a day or more, and that never happens with a touchscreen tablet.

TL;DR
If you're set on a stylus-input external accessory, one with a Tilt-sensitive input sensor is 110% worth the extra shekels over a basic model. But a basic/used touchscreen tablet device is going to be even better for simple PDF's.

You could get way crazy for sure (I know I'd sure love to!) but I'm rocking this badboy right now. I've had all of the sizes of the standard tablets (not the fancy monitor versions::drool::) and I'd recommend small for almost everyone. So that'll run you $250-$300. Also for Photoshop check this out. You can get away with the "Photography" bundle (Photoshop and lightroom) for $10/mo or 120/yr. I've seen other people post a preference for different drawing tablets but I've only used Wacom, it's an industry standard (or has been for a long time) if anyone else has a better suggestion I'm sure they'll drop in. In the meantime, check those out and I'll look for that other brand I saw the other day (I'm curious now too.) Good luck, and I meant to tell you in the last post, killer work!

just wondering would I be better off getting the older model small version while the last few are being sold before this new model fully replaces it ?

You'd need a considerable amount of room for your graphics tablet unless you disable your keyboard. Second year comp eng courses have a lot of people in them, so you might be stuck in DSQ, LIB 072 or ENG 103 for some courses.

As for graphics tablets, I prefer Wacom ones, since they have better pressure sensitivity and response. I mostly use my graphics tablet to do illustration, so you might not need all those levels of sensitivity. The Intuos and Intuos Pro are both great graphics tablets, but they're kinda pricey. If you can find their old Bamboo Splash/Capture ones, they're also pretty nice and cheaper than their Inutos line. This Huion one is pretty value since you get 12 macros you can program to do common commands (undo, redo, etc).

Most online retailers sell them, you could get stupidly overpriced ones over at the apple store or order a reasonably priced one off Amazon. Id say hold off on buying an adapter till you know exactly what you will need.

tablet wise....hmmmm.... if you add about 27 more bucks to what your looking to spend you could get https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00EN27SHY/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all This guy. If you cant afford the medium they do have a small option https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Touch-Tablet-PTH451/dp/B00EN27ULS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1505363765&sr=1-1&keywords=Wacom+Intuos+Pro+Pen+and+Touch+Tablet%2C+small that is 219$. These will just be drawing tablets and do not double as a screen that you can draw on

I'd suggest the Intuos Pro, even the small is bigger than Draw and Comic and I'm pretty sure it has more levels of pressure sensitivity, which benefits the quality of your lines. You should get the best tablet for your budget, since Wacom tablets last a good few years, you're likely to be using it for a long time.

The new intuos models aren't too expensive and they're still very good x x

Still, you don't really need a super fancy tablet to do good stuff, it does make it easier for some people but I have friends who have had no trouble just staying with their old bamboo for years or a regular intuos tablet

Is it this one? or is it the silver, black and blue one?

Looks like smallest Intuos Pro fits that bill.

I have an older version Intuos that I like a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Touch-Tablet-PTH451/dp/B00EN27ULS