Obviously the choice is down to the Wacom Intuos and Graphire series. Help please!
Even though i bought a really good (not to mention expensive) optical mouse earlier, it just doesn't feel natural drawing with a mouse >=(
So i'm going for the tablet. Apparantly the Graphire3 i think it was has some software issues, so if you are currently using a one of these Wacom tablets, please let me know of any problems you have encountered.

EDIT: Well, i just did some homework and found out that the Graphire3 is probably the best way to go for me, good price, good performance.
I would love to have the Intuos3 but that costs over twice as much as the Graphire3 and it's probably aimed more at the professionals.
But you can still go ahead and tell me about how much you love YOUR Graphire3 ^.^

I had an intuos once but as it aged certain portions of the drawing surface lost their proper sensativity and would make lines that I was drawing straight end up being wavey like a cartoon ocean on the screen. Now I'm using a cheap graphire, 4x6, and it works pretty well. I would like a tablet around 6x8 though for a little larger drawing surface. Anyways, I feel that graphire can do anything you need it to do very well, but intuos does give noticeable increase in precise control. Whether it's enough of an increase to justify a couple hundred extra dollars I can't really say, but it is there.

Would you say the Graphire3 is precise enough to do good drawings with?

I don't even know where to get a tablet. :((

I use a Graphire 3 and I've never had a problem with it..I'd say it's definitely precise enough.

Oh lol, thanks for the re-asurerance Dizzle, i can definitly believe that looking at you work lol.
Kilala, it IS quite difficult to fine places to get tablets. The way i found out was going on a forum local to your area and asking around, or pop on google and search for tablet retailers around your residence.

i have a 4x5 graphie2 and i love it. awesome. havent had any problems with it. i wouldnt spend money on an expensive tablet as the graphire is cheaper and does the job (pretty much) the same as the really expensive brands. but its up to you. as its been said, the more expensive models are more precise and whatnot, but i dont really think its THAT much of a big deal. i dont really use the pressure sensitivity often so i dont know.

I still haven't used the 3rd models, just the intuos2 and the graphire2. I have been wanting a new intuos tablet for awhile but I've been using this graphire for so long and it's worked so well that I'm reconsidering whether I even need to spend that much more money, which I probably don't. I could save the money and get the upgrade for painter 9 maybe, since it's suppose to have a lot more features than 8. I think it's just a matter of the difference in price being a lot more than the actual difference in quality.

I love my Graphire3 (the small one ^__^) kthx.

redpanda: you know intuos have lifetime warranty, you should get yours replaced.

I'd recommend intuos over wacom. definitely avoid 4x5 tablets, they're too small.

As for where to get them, buy off amazon.com, probably the easiest place to get a good price.

marcello: O_O!

i have a wacom graphire1 for about 3 years and recently a new graphire3 and both of them works amazingly well, .......and i think smaller is better,.... just me anyway, listen to cello he seems more sure about this

When considering which size tablet I was going to buy, I thought that perhaps 4x5 would be too small. But being that I just draw as a hobby, I chose that one (since it's $100 less). I find no problems with the size. It's just fine.

sure, I thought 4x5 was fine too, until I got a 6x8.

It does the job. Especially when you don't do this drawing stuff professionally. But hey, if you can dish an extra 100... then go for it.

yeah i dont think the extra size is worth it either :/ bigger models take up too much space and do basically the same thing. all depends on if you have money to waste. if youre buying them from a store you could try asking them if theres any way they'd let you take the tablets for a test run. or if you have any friends that have 'em you could try them out. personally im all for the 4x5.

normally the Apple store has a 4x5 graphire ready for test use on one of their computers. The one near me anyways.

I already decided to get a 6x8 when i first decided to buy a tablet. I've seen 4x5s, way too small for my liking.
Marcello: You mean you'd recommend an Intuos over the GRAPHIRE, yes? The Intuos is Wacom also, they make Intuos AND Graphire.

EDIT: Thanks for the help guys. I've made up my mind to get a Graphire3 6x8 ^.^, now let's just hope my parents aren't going to have any objections...

I use a Wacom.... Hasn't upsetted me yet.... Though I do need a new pen for it. I sqeezed too hard.....

I don't think I would want a tablet because a mouse teaches you to keep your hand steady. ^^

Hmmm... i disagree with that. I think you don't need to have a steady hand at all to use a mouse, all you have to do it push it around. A pen/pencil would require much more effort to keep steady since it's not resting on anything.
I can draw almost as good with the mouse as using a pencil with some effort, but it's just that it also takes almost twice as long to do the same thing.
EDIT: And ofcourse it doesn't at all feel NATURAL. It's like having used knife and fork all your life to eat and then suddenly being forced to use chopsticks.

Tablets mess your hand eye coordination up :D

o.0 I hope you're joking, mine is bad enough as it is.

Miss Maiko, do you mean mess as in train? >;D~
|XOD|

Intuos is a type of tablet designed/manufactured by Wacom :P Graphire tablets are their low-bargain ended tablets that I dont really recommend. They desync after a while, esp the tiny postcard-sized ones. I'd recommend the newest Intuos3 model. It's been fantastic to me thus far, smooth and reliable. It even comes with pen tip replacment nubs/ different size nubs for your pen and 10 PRESET BUTTONS! :) very cool.

The one thing I DON'T like about the new Intuos3 is the auto side scrolling/opacity changers they put on either side of the tablet. I have a 6x8 (the PERFECT size in my opinion. I have owned 9x12s and they seem a bit too large) and my hand keeps running over the opacity changer/scroll/zoom by accident :/ Does anyone know where to turn certain button preset sides off?