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Tablets for Art (Surface, Yoga, iPad Pro etc.) Deals Thread [to be updated regularly]

B

Breads

Banned
Saraluna said:
I'm looking for advice on 1: buying an adjustable tablet stand large enough to accommodate a laptop of that size (the kind of pressure I put on the screen when I'm drawing would be too much for just folding the screen over and standing it up that way)
Click to expand...

Are you looking for something permanent or portable? A permanent solution I've been using is an ergotron desk mount. Because I spend so much time drawing on tablets I found myself needing to maximize flexibility to save my spine.


2: advice on the best way to make up for the loss of keyboard shortcuts when I have the laptop in tablet mode for drawing.
Click to expand...

I've been using a Nostromo macro pad for that. Thanks to Razer Synapse storing my preferences remotely it's something I use across several devices. Completely replaces the need for a keyboard for me. I've seen people use Razer's Orbweaver and it might have more buttons but it lacks a scroll wheel which I refuse to do without. Whichever 1 handed key pad you buy though you're going to have to develop a layout solution that works for you. Odds are it won't be the most intuitive thing to use so whatever you get (doesn't have to be razer, any macro pad will do!) expect to tweak both the pad's settings as well as in app hotkeys until you get something you like.
 
E

Earthanoid

Member
Saraluna said:
2: advice on the best way to make up for the loss of keyboard shortcuts when I have the laptop in tablet mode for drawing. I'm currently working in GIMP, which makes things more difficult, because I haven't had any success configuring pen buttons, but that's a separate issue...I've been using pen swipes but I can't say that I like that solution, as a quick drawing stroke could easily be misread.
Click to expand...

I was using a Logitech controller for that (K310 I think is the model) and it was mediocre due to the Logitech software not being great about certain keybindings. For some reason it didn't like it when you hold down a button which is needed for certain actions, also it sometimes got confused by macros. I recently decided to pair a DS4 using DS4Windows and it works great. It depends on how many buttons you need but if you can get by with 10 or less (which is fine for me) you can set commands all to one side of the controller (depending on whether you're left or right handed) so you can hold the controller with one hand while drawing with the other. If you really want to go crazy you can set commands to the touchpad and gyro as well. I set the most common commands on the face buttons so I can also leave it sitting beside me for a quick tap instead of holding it.

If you have a spare DS4 lying around you should give it a try.
 
S

Sera O

Banned
Fair warning for Canadians - I don't think it's possible to get that bamboo smart stylus CS320AK domestically right now. I eventually ordered it from amazon US from a Japanese vendor at a premium - Wacom's shop doesn't ship to Canada. I have no idea why it's so hard to find but maybe it's just too new and will eventually become more available.

I'm glad I found this thread - I was looking for something to use for browsing and drawing and impulse bought the 8gb Lenovo ideapad model that has been on sale lately. I can't wait to try it with a proper stylus.

I'll be looking through the thread for general advice. I haven't yet had a chance yet to use it for drawing, but if there is any specific advice for getting it working well specifically with Clip Studio Paint, let me know.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
I highly urge everyone to either do a fresh Windows install (more work) or at least do the system refresh where you don't keep any files when you get the Ideapad. There are some bloatware and such. My Miix 700 ran flawless after doing fresh install. Before, it had some small annoying issues.
 
S

Sera O

Banned
Shogmaster said:
I highly urge everyone to either do a fresh Windows install (more work) or at least do the system refresh where you don't keep any files when you get the Ideapad. There are some bloatware and such. My Miix 700 ran flawless after doing fresh install. Before, it had some small annoying issues.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there does seem to be quite a bit of junk in the factory install so I'll definitely do this.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-spec...lver/4563803.p?id=1219768916394&skuId=4563803

4563803_sd.jpg;maxHeight=550;maxWidth=642


This is HP's premium Surface Pro competitor that normally sells above $800. This is the base model that has Core M3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD. Also comes with the really sturdy keyboard cover. Screen is 1920x1280 3:2 IPS like Surface 3 but at 12". It uses USB-C so you will need adapters for thumb drive and such, but at least they give you 2 ports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7P94NF0VpI

Pen is optional purchase so you need to order one from HP. IIRC, the Wacom Bamboo Smart didn't work 100% with this unit. I would just order the HP pen in this case.

http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-active-pen-p-t5e12aa-abl--1

No idea when this sale is over. This is pretty fantastic price for any Wacom oen device with Core M CPU, so jump on it!
 
S

Sera O

Banned
So I finally got my bamboo smart stylus in the mail, but pressure sensitivity isn't working at all, and I'm not sure what I need to do to get it going.

I downloaded a driver from Lenovo website (Miix 700 touch firmware to enable Wacom AES pen). The pen works out of the box pretty smoothly but there is zero pressure variation.

I tried installing the Wacom ISD_Dualtouch_732-12 driver, but get "a supported tablet was not found on the system."

My googling for help is not yielding results, so if anyone has experience setting this up and can tell me what I'm missing, I'd appreciate it.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Sera O said:
So I finally got my bamboo smart stylus in the mail, but pressure sensitivity isn't working at all, and I'm not sure what I need to do to get it going.

I downloaded a driver from Lenovo website (Miix 700 touch firmware to enable Wacom AES pen). The pen works out of the box pretty smoothly but there is zero pressure variation.

I tried installing the Wacom ISD_Dualtouch_732-12 driver, but get "a supported tablet was not found on the system."

My googling for help is not yielding results, so if anyone has experience setting this up and can tell me what I'm missing, I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...

With the Miix 700, and HP Spectre X2 12, Wacom decided to not write Wintab driver for them because the touch panels are not one of theirs (they are provided by Elan). This means you need to use apps that are using Microsoft Tablet API (RealTimeStylus) to get pressure: Adobe CC suite, Sketchbook Pro, Clip Studio Paint (Manga Studio 5), Painter 2015, Art Rage, CorelDraw X7, Z Brush, Mudbox and others support RealTimeStylus. For some of these apps you might need to go into preferences and make sure it's set to use RealTimeStylus. Others like Photoshop CC will work automatically.

I highly recommend combination of Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop CC for Miix 700 for doing anything raster based. If you are using something like Paint Tool SAI that only used Wintab driver for pressure, you really should switch to Clip Studio Paint, since it's a much more up to date raster art app. Clip Studio Paint is $50 normally and sometime is on sale for $20. Photoshop CC sub is $10 per month.
 
S

Sera O

Banned
Shogmaster said:
With the Miix 700, and HP Spectre X2 12, Wacom decided to not write Wintab driver for them because the touch panels are not one of theirs (they are provided by Elan). This means you need to use apps that are using Microsoft Tablet API (RealTimeStylus) to get pressure: Adobe CC suite, Sketchbook Pro, Clip Studio Paint (Manga Studio 5), Painter 2015, Art Rage, CorelDraw X7, Z Brush, Mudbox and others support RealTimeStylus. For some of these apps you might need to go into preferences and make sure it's set to use RealTimeStylus. Others like Photoshop CC will work automatically.
Click to expand...

I'm using clip studio paint - thanks so much for the help! I missed that I needed to manually switch the 'tablet service' setting to 'tablet pc'. It's working now and it is awesome.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
OK, this is a bit complicated. These are at newegg.com but some are sold and shipped by other venders.

lenovo-tablet-ideapad-miix-700-laptop-mode-5.jpg


There is a unit with Core M5, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of eMMC instead of usual SATA III SDD for $500. I don't recommend this one unless you have a M.2 2280 SATA III SSD sitting around you can shove in this thing. That eMMC is going to be a huge performance bottleneck. Sold and shipped by newegg.

Another unit is Core M7, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD for $679. This one is pretty much decked out and is a great deal. Sold and shipped by Zake.com. If you want similar deal but sold and shipped by newegg instead for whatever reason, it's $700.

Yet another deal is Core M5, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD refurb unit for $530. If you don't have any hang ups about factory refrubs, this is a fantastic deal. Sold and shipped by COMMERCESTAR.
 
S

Saraluna

Neo Member
Shogmaster said:
Pen buttons are easily configured by installing the Tablet PC Wintab driver:
http://cdn.wacom.com/u/drivers/TabletPC/ISD_DualTouch_732-12.exe

Also, I highly suggest you investing some money on an app that takes advantage of your Dell properly. Gimp is waste of your Dell. Get Clip Studio Paint:
http://www.clipstudio.net/en

As for angling the Dell, maybe you can get something like this?
http://www.keyboardco.com/laptop-stand/irizer-adjustable-laptop-stand-data-sheet.asp

I'm not advocating exactly that model, since I never seen it of used it, but something like that should do the job.
Click to expand...

I have been using the wintab driver, but the button configuration input there doesn't seem to work in GIMP, unfortunately.

What would you say is the main reason to switch to something like Clip Studio Paint over GIMP? I used to work in an old version of Photoshop, and GIMP is now that only thing I have any familiarity with. As a traditional artist without much digital experience, using a program with which I have at least a little familiarity is important to me since I'm already acclimating to an entirely alien workflow.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Saraluna said:
I have been using the wintab driver, but the button configuration input there doesn't seem to work in GIMP, unfortunately.

What would you say is the main reason to switch to something like Clip Studio Paint over GIMP? I used to work in an old version of Photoshop, and GIMP is now that only thing I have any familiarity with. As a traditional artist without much digital experience, using a program with which I have at least a little familiarity is important to me since I'm already acclimating to an entirely alien workflow.
Click to expand...

I haven't touched GIMP in literally ages, so I can't do point by point comparison. But Clip Studio Paint is in all likelihood far better suited for touch operations and has much more sophisticated brush engine and features.

Familiarity is something you just have to spend time with the app to gain. Nothing else you can do about that. But IMO $50 for CSP is a far better investment than $0 on GIMP, especially for penabled touch devices.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Loxley said:
Alright Shog, what are your thoughts on Lenovo's newly announced Yoga Book?
Click to expand...

I already pooped on it on the other thread, but let me say it again in a more collected terms.

- You write on the bottom screen blind according to the Verge video. That's beyond stupid. If I wanted to write or draw blind, I would just attach a $80 Intuos tablet to any decent laptop.
- To compensate for writing blind, they give you that paper mirroring thing that Wacom couldn't get traction on for the last 10 years.
- Atom CPU means terrible performance. Not even X7. It's X5.
- 10.1" screen is too small. And you are stuck with Atom because of the tiny form factor.
- Probably stuck with eMMC. I don't ever want to be stuck with eMMC on a Windows device ever again. Cheap phone is the limit.
- The only way to use in Book orientation is using the paper mirror function so far. Even Courier prototype allowed for dual screen functionality. This thing looks like the only thing the bottom part can display is the keyboard. They should have gone with dual 10.1" IPS instead of cheaping out and doing whatever this nonsense is.

So with the YogaBook, you get the worst of both worlds: typing experience of a tablet and drawing experience on a laptop with USB tablet. Let's party like it's 1999.
 
C

Caddywompus

Member
Sera O said:
So I finally got my bamboo smart stylus in the mail, but pressure sensitivity isn't working at all, and I'm not sure what I need to do to get it going.

I downloaded a driver from Lenovo website (Miix 700 touch firmware to enable Wacom AES pen). The pen works out of the box pretty smoothly but there is zero pressure variation.

I tried installing the Wacom ISD_Dualtouch_732-12 driver, but get "a supported tablet was not found on the system."

My googling for help is not yielding results, so if anyone has experience setting this up and can tell me what I'm missing, I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Shogmaster said:
With the Miix 700, and HP Spectre X2 12, Wacom decided to not write Wintab driver for them because the touch panels are not one of theirs (they are provided by Elan). This means you need to use apps that are using Microsoft Tablet API (RealTimeStylus) to get pressure: Adobe CC suite, Sketchbook Pro, Clip Studio Paint (Manga Studio 5), Painter 2015, Art Rage, CorelDraw X7, Z Brush, Mudbox and others support RealTimeStylus. For some of these apps you might need to go into preferences and make sure it's set to use RealTimeStylus. Others like Photoshop CC will work automatically.

I highly recommend combination of Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop CC for Miix 700 for doing anything raster based. If you are using something like Paint Tool SAI that only used Wintab driver for pressure, you really should switch to Clip Studio Paint, since it's a much more up to date raster art app. Clip Studio Paint is $50 normally and sometime is on sale for $20. Photoshop CC sub is $10 per month.
Click to expand...
So the screen on my Samsung Slate crapped out on me recently so I went with the Miix 700. It's been such a headache to give up something that's been customized to your personal preferences for years and start from scratch.

My brain is fried I need some direction. I tried to glean from these two post but I can't get my Axiontron Studio Pen to work on this Miix 700 at all. TabletPCReview was always a good source for troubleshooting with the Slate but I'm having issues finding the info to even begin the task.

Hopefully I can figure it before anyone responds but if not I'll have a plan B to fall back on.

Thanks guys
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
Damn how long is Shog banned?

Anyway: is the HP Pro tablet 608 the best small windows tablet? I'm looking for the highest resolution 7"/8" tablet with a pen. Can't find any announced this year
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
Seriously when is Shog coming back? I need my tablet news.

Anyway, I bit the bullet and ordered the maxed out Miix 700 from Blinq It's open box but should otherwise be good as new, for $584-ish. The price has gone up a little since though. Code "BLINQFIRST916" (which expires today) should take off $20 bucks.

I've never used Blinq before though so I went through paypal and such, just in case anything goes wrong with the order. Also went ahead at got the active pen. In short, I'm excited. I hope it runs visual novels and ppsspp okay as well, but apparently those kinds of things will run on toasters so I should be good.

Guess I'll see how I feel about it when it gets here, but I'm not digging the gold color. Does anyone use any cases on their Miix 700 that they could recommend?
 
DrDamn

DrDamn

Member
After considering the MS surface line for so long I'm now on the Lenovo train. Can't get anything like the US deals in the UK though. Fully loaded Miix 700 is £810 with a student discount. That's over $1000 even after Brexit :-(. Waiting on official availability of the Miix 710 which hasn't been officially launched but there is a HK Lenovo shop page for it and videos. Looks very similar to a 700 but with KabyLake processors and an updated keyboard?

http://shopap.lenovo.com/hk/en/tablets/lenovo/miix-series/miix-710/
 
DrDamn

DrDamn

Member
Now the Shogmaster is back any ideas when the Miix 710 is likely to get a global release? (See link in my post above).
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
So I love the Miix 700, although I haven't been able to use it as much as I would like lately. However just noticed today that the top of the screen seems to be coming up a little? Doesn't seem to be effecting the screen itself and I don't think that's where the battery is located, but still worrying. Guess I'll email blinq and see if they'll do anything for me, I don't want this to lead to problems down the road.

But man this thing is snappy enough for my needs. Having fun playing around in CSP.
 
I

itwasTuesday

He wasn't alone.
I think I want to get the microsoft surface Dial even without the surface studio. It appears to work native in windows 10 without the surface touchscreen, the dial just shows up in a chosen position. Seems cool enough to to play with for $99 if it works well without the studio.

Connects as any blutooth jog wheel.
ulfG2ov.png



That miix 710 is looking pretty.
 
R

Robobandit

Member
I bought a Dial to play with.. its functions in windows on a regular PC are pretty limited at the moment.

It can raise/lower volume, mute/unmute, scroll in apps, zoom in and out, and undo / redo (doesn't work in every app) and that's pretty much it.

Long pressing on it will bring up a radial menu in the middle of your screen and you can change what mode it is in.

It seems to remember what mode it was in on a per-app basis.

So if I set it to "volume" in Foobar 2000, it will stay in volume there, even if I set it to 'scroll' in Chrome.

It's pretty neat.. I don't know if it's worth $99, but I'm having fun messing with it at any rate.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Im attending CES in January as always but this year, there is a fair chance that I'll be able to attend as member of press. That means access to Lenovo and other restricted booths and maybe some interviews as well. Stay tuned.
 
Ryzaki009

Ryzaki009

Member
I saw a surface pro i5 4gb ram for 699 . I could get that or a surface pro 3 with 8gb of ram and a 256gb hdd. Not sure which one I should get. The pro 3 is 650 and comes with a 50 dollar gift card tho..
 
R

Ran rp

Member
Just ordered this M5/8/256 Miix 700 for $540. Should be here by Saturday.

I can finally work away from from my desk!
 
M

malfcn

Member
My wife just got an art kick and has been researching tablet stuff. She has a Wacom bamboo but wants to draw on something and see it.

She was attracted to the apple pen and 12" pro iPad but doesn't want to spend $900. Especially because age heard new model is just around the corner.

Would that Miix product be worth showing her?
 
M

my name is ed

Banned
PSY・S;225642874 said:
Just ordered this M5/8/256 Miix 700 for $540. Should be here by Saturday.

I can finally work away from from my desk!
Click to expand...
Damn thats cheap. How'd you get it at that price
malfcn said:
My wife just got an art kick and has been researching tablet stuff. She has a Wacom bamboo but wants to draw on something and see it.

She was attracted to the apple pen and 12" pro iPad but doesn't want to spend $900. Especially because age heard new model is just around the corner.

Would that Miix product be worth showing her?
Click to expand...
Yeah the miix is great. Nowhere near as expensive and can actually use photoshop
 
R

Ran rp

Member
well poop. i could've sworn i read in here that the miix 700 got wacom drivers. seems like that isn't the case. if i can't program these pen buttons idk what i'm going to do.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Yeah, it was my fault to assume that Wacom was to provide their drivers to all devices that uses their pen. It's now known that only devices using Wacom's touch panels will be allowed Feel driver. Miix 700 uses Elan panel even though it works with Wacom pens and uses Wacom's own firmware.

Miix 510 that just came out in EU uses Wacom panel and uses Feel driver. Miix 510 uses Core U instead of Core M thus has much worse battery life than Miix 700, even though it uses low resolution LCD. Miix 510 is slotted below Miix 700 so when it comes to US, I'm hoping for deals even cheaper than Miix 700. But with that battery life, I'm not so interested.

It's not exactly the same as mapping pen buttons, but you can buy the Wacom Expresskey remote (as in packed in remote with Cintiq 27QHD) with the Miix 700 since there is no Feel driver to have conflicts with the required pro driver. $100 but worth it IMO if you want to make Miix 700 your main art machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xhLMslMVmk

tumblr_nhtk5cQZWt1si61mlo1_1280.jpg
 
R

Ran rp

Member
Oh, that looks nice. Thanks.

Yeah, I definitely want this to be my main machine. Other than the button situation working on it is feels great. I ported over my Clip Studio setup as is and it seems to be handling everything well. I normally work on a ~4000x3000 canvas with brushes up to ~400px and a ridiculous amount of layers. Still perfectly responsive.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
I have a slower version than yours (1.1GHz and up Core M5) with 8GB RAM and my default canvas size is 5000x3000. I can do most of my freelance work on the machine no problem. I only notice the brushes slowing down when It draw with brushes100 pixels wide and above.
 
R

Ran rp

Member
The only real issue left is the glossy screen makes color work a little more tricky than my matte monitor. Would some sort of matte protector work or would it make drawing more difficult and colors less accurate?
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
It wouldn't improve color. Just make the screen feel like shit IMO. Miix 700 screen is only like 70 ish % of Adobe RGB anyways. You need to color correct on another monitor.
 
F

Firebrand

Member
More of a Cintiq than tablet question, but asking here anyway since you people seem knowledgeable!

I got my Cintiq 13HD a while back and researching it they were touting etched glass surfaces, which is also on the new Cintiq Pro. Well, turns out they actually went back to using film (same as the Cintiq 24HD) instead of the etched glass, and looking at the manufacturing date I'm guessing I have the one with film. What are the differences between the two, and should I be worried about wearing it out? I really like the surface texture, would suck if it's gonna get smooth over time.
 
R

Ran rp

Member
Yeah I figured. Ah well.


One feature I didn't think I'd appreciate as much as I do is the fanless design. My old laptop was a dust devil compared to others' so it needed to be cleaned constantly or else the fans would take off.
 
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