Intuos 5 - Touch

[Star Eater]

I missed your original review Arshes, all I can say after reading this post is...holy shit.

Very happy with my I4. I use a projector sheet on the surface to conserve my nibs.

[ikken]

I think this is the first time I ever felt frustrated with a new intuos from the start. Usually, I get into them and find disappointing things later like the USB ports and nib wear. I know I can turn off touch and all, but wasn't Touch this intuos selling point? I think you would want to get that out right, not like this...

I really hope there'd be a 2nd revision coming sometime.
I hate them for not making L model without touch (and with a user-replaceable surface), and I'd buy this model asap if it didn't mean having to send it to wacom a year or so after
(I like to replace surfaces once they lose the tooth)
Looking how rushed the recent wacom stuff feels (usb soldering @ i4, flopling, and not exactly perfect intuos 5), I hope they will listen to users feedback.

[philofmars]

I have more than one Mac workstation, including a MacBook Air, and the Intuos 5 is working fine. I didn’t test it too much because I work more in Windows. Maybe I will make a video and a short review for Mac users too, telling the differences, if I can find some.

I was just curious as to if touch works fine on a mac with the newer OS or if it's just as buggy. I know we have windows problems til 8 comes out, but macs have been using touch for a couple OS versions already, and wondered if it worked better on macs at least. Thanks arshes, for left handed reviews! I need to know that too.

[Arshes Nei]

I'll add some photos. Oh, almost forgot to note, yes the pens from the 4 work on the 5. I had a 1st gen Art Pen and it works fine. Well rather it picks it up right now haven't done longer testing with it. Rotation works in CS4 and CS5 with gestures. The Touch ring seems to be settling down. I don't know why this seems to be a common theme where the drivers are rather unstable at first. It's like it needs some time to get adjusted or something?

I still am having issues with the gestures, but I'll be tweaking my settings when I have more time.

ignore the curious hammy she just wants a biscuit.
Intuos 5 box
http://i42.tinypic.com/23sj3et.jpg



This is the USB cable. The problem I have is that left hand orientation will cause the cable to be positioned towards you and causing a curve/kink in the cable due to the direction it will be positioned vs a right handed orientation.
http://i40.tinypic.com/mmrczk.jpg


USB port and where the wireless is positioned. Sorry for the grainy photo the lighting in my room isn't spectacular right now. Intuos 4 large is in the background
http://i41.tinypic.com/wr21w.jpg


I'll try to go for a better picture later, but here is the intuos3 compared to an intuos 5 medium. I will say the build is better than the 3. It's slimmer and the space is better utilized. The rubber surface though, is more "gunk" prone.
http://i43.tinypic.com/90yo40.jpg

[James Thornton]

^you can loop the cable and attach it to the usb plug to orient it the other direction

Thoughts on the large:

Personally, I think the surface feels nice. Doubt it will smooth out fast, only time will tell. The ring button hasn't bothered me. Express keys are great, leds are not missed. I turned off the hud. How hard is it to remember 8 keys? There's raised bumps, no need to look.

Wireless kit is ok. Not bluetooth, but i4 was slow to connect. This is instant-on, but it takes up a usb port. There's a storage spot on the tablet. On the large, battery lasted all day. It was nice to not worry about tripping over cords. I don't have your usual set up, I'm at a booth in a mall. Seemed to work just fine. Charging is weird though. Doesn't indicate charging while the macbook is asleep like the i4 wireless. However, when you wake up the computer in the morning, it will be a little charged, then hits 97% in less than an hour. Also hasn't gone past 97%….?

Haven't had many bugs on the touch. Maybe seems too quick to detect rotate. I have made a few stray marks from accidentally resting my hands on the surface while talking to customers. This is habitual, maybe my brain will figure it out. Between the multitouch, express keys, and radial menu, I just don't reach for the keyboard anymore though. It's a great addition.

Overall, first intuos I've actually loved. The i3 was great, but too plastic, too smooth, and a little squeaky after a while. The i4 wireless was too small, too plastic, and not as well built. The i4 xl is good for the big monitors in the print room, but it is way too thick and heavy, could have been made much slimmer. So for me -> best intuos yet.

[Arshes Nei]

^you can loop the cable and attach it to the usb plug to orient it the other direction

Looping it still causes the same problem. A kink in the USB cable.

[James Thornton]

Well that's the design lefty

[jhferry]

I posted it in the lounge but I'll repost.

I got the intuos5 touch and while I knew the gestures and touch were buggy, I have to say the center button for the touch ring is utter garbage right now. It's extremely hard to get it to switch. Wacom please fix this.

The other thing is that I personally feel this surface is more abrasive than the intuos4 I had. The friction was just right, and this one reminds me of cheap paper that makes you feel frustrated to draw on. IT just feels scratchy. I grit my teeth on how it feels...it's that kind of feeling when you hear nails on a chalkboard....

I hate the USB cable. Well I hate the way it's turned and moreso because I'm left handed. You don't get the ports for hand orientation anymore. However, it's really a minor annoyance.

I miss the LEDs but the current design is ok. But right now it's so buggy, it makes me feel frustrated. So when have more time I'll try to tweak the settings.

I do not have the wireless accessory kit so I can't get into it.

But man fix that touch ring button....wtf. To expand on the touch ring. I'm thinking it may be a conflict with the hands and being able to press the buttons. It's one thing to reject input from the hands if the pen is about, however, it seems to reject buttons presses when my palm is on the tablet. At least that's what I can gather, or it's just damn looloo. Either way, this behavior is not acceptable because it's affecting how I work.

The rotate gesture kinda works in Painter...doesn't work at all in Sai...and I haven't tried PS yet.

I think this is the first time I ever felt frustrated with a new intuos from the start. Usually, I get into them and find disappointing things later like the USB ports and nib wear. I know I can turn off touch and all, but wasn't Touch this intuos selling point? I think you would want to get that out right, not like this...

Not exactly a glowing review... So your saying that the surface is even more gritty that the first gen intuos4? Would love to see it compared with the second gen but I think we know the second gen I4 was more smooth.

I was also worried that the rotate gesture would be app specific. I have Manga Studio and just know it wont work. Also, I wouldnt be as pissed about the gesture stuff if they were including the mouse like they used to. I had my I4 setup with just a keyboard on the side and the I4 mouse for navigation.

[Arshes Nei]

Not exactly a glowing review... So your saying that the surface is even more gritty that the first gen intuos4? Would love to see it compared with the second gen but I think we know the second gen I4 was more smooth.

I was also worried that the rotate gesture would be app specific. I have Manga Studio and just know it wont work. Also, I wouldnt be as pissed about the gesture stuff if they were including the mouse like they used to. I had my I4 setup with just a keyboard on the side and the I4 mouse for navigation.

Well here's the thing. The first gen intuos4 surface wasn't really rough feeling. It just wore the nibs down faster. I think people assume "revamped = smoother"
It felt grittier than my intuos 4 1st gen tablet. It felt irritating because when I was moving the pen it felt like it was skipping over the surface. That's why I associated it to "nails on a chalkboard"

I'll be honest with you - this is the first tablet I actually considered returning. The lag on the buttons is a bit ridiculous considering I just tried this on multiple systems. The first one had 8gb of ram and was an icore3.

[riccohaddad]

I posted it in the lounge but I'll repost.

I got the intuos5 touch and while I knew the gestures and touch were buggy, I have to say the center button for the touch ring is utter garbage right now. It's extremely hard to get it to switch. Wacom please fix this.

The other thing is that I personally feel this surface is more abrasive than the intuos4 I had. The friction was just right, and this one reminds me of cheap paper that makes you feel frustrated to draw on. IT just feels scratchy. I grit my teeth on how it feels...it's that kind of feeling when you hear nails on a chalkboard....

I hate the USB cable. Well I hate the way it's turned and moreso because I'm left handed. You don't get the ports for hand orientation anymore. However, it's really a minor annoyance.

I miss the LEDs but the current design is ok. But right now it's so buggy, it makes me feel frustrated. So when have more time I'll try to tweak the settings.

I do not have the wireless accessory kit so I can't get into it.

But man fix that touch ring button....wtf. To expand on the touch ring. I'm thinking it may be a conflict with the hands and being able to press the buttons. It's one thing to reject input from the hands if the pen is about, however, it seems to reject buttons presses when my palm is on the tablet. At least that's what I can gather, or it's just damn looloo. Either way, this behavior is not acceptable because it's affecting how I work.

The rotate gesture kinda works in Painter...doesn't work at all in Sai...and I haven't tried PS yet.

I think this is the first time I ever felt frustrated with a new intuos from the start. Usually, I get into them and find disappointing things later like the USB ports and nib wear. I know I can turn off touch and all, but wasn't Touch this intuos selling point? I think you would want to get that out right, not like this...

I never had the intuos4 so I guess my reviews and comments on the Intuos5 won't be so much as a comparison.

And just to clear things up before I say anything else, this is not a counter post nor is it in any way trying to rubbish anything you said. Just my thoughts.

You mentioned a few times that the touch ring button annoyed you and was hard to press. Perhaps you're comparing to the Intuos4? I found it simple. I just tried pressing it and went around all four options 3 times. That's 12 presses and had no lag. So, maybe it's a comparison thing?

As far as the left-hand and right-handed feature, I know you didn't comment much on that but I will do so just to add on my own comments, I have to give it to the Intuos4. Yep, I never used it, I know; but, from the videos and all I saw that the Intuos4 really was made for a switch between left-handed to right-handed and vice versa. That's gone in the Intuos5. I suggest putting your computer tower, or usb hub [if you're not connecting straight to the tower] on the side your right with. If you're left handed, put the tower on the left of the tablet. Lol. Not practical, I know.

With regards to how the Intuos5 does with PS, it's brilliant. Again, I'm not comparing with the Intuos4 as I never used that so don't think I'm saying the Intuos5 is a massive improvement. I wouldn't know. I'm simply giving a neutral review of a product.

I wrote a full review on my blog if you wanted to check it out. Don't worry, you don't need to sign up or follow or any of the kind.
http://reeveyous.tumblr.com/post/189...dium-pen-touch

I wrote that review a week ago when I had been using the Intuos5 for just one day. I will write another soon since I've had it and used to for quite some time.

[Arshes Nei]

I never had the intuos4 so I guess my reviews and comments on the Intuos5 won't be so much as a comparison.

And just to clear things up before I say anything else, this is not a counter post nor is it in any way trying to rubbish anything you said. Just my thoughts.

You mentioned a few times that the touch ring button annoyed you and was hard to press. Perhaps you're comparing to the Intuos4? I found it simple. I just tried pressing it and went around all four options 3 times. That's 12 presses and had no lag. So, maybe it's a comparison thing?


I wrote that review a week ago when I had been using the Intuos5 for just one day. I will write another soon since I've had it and used to for quite some time.

Just trimming to respond to the relevant part.

It will sometimes respond great, I can do a number of presses and it cycles through correctly. There were other times the tablet would lag. I noticed lag even when bringing up the on screen menu.

Even if you want to say it's a "comparison" thing that would mean the intuos4 is better at responding. That means it's a step down for the intuos 5

So there's definitely a problem with the drivers and the response time to work with the tablet. As I said earlier, I don't know if it has to do with perhaps palm rejection that is causing the delay or just an issue, but I remember a few times not resting my hands anywhere near the surface and still getting lag.

I don't think it's a hardware issue, it feels like it's a driver/software issue.
I tested this on Windows 7 64 bit and Windows XP so far.

[jhferry]

Funny part for me is I sold my I4 on Ebay this week and the guy screwed me an never paid. I really had an interest in the wireless feature because its hard for me to sit. Anyway, I still have the I4 large so not sure what Im doing between this thread and Amazon review. Seems like the people coming from the I4 are the more negative ones. I know its stupid but I really like the look of the I4. I think the oled's and black gloss look nicer.

[Arshes Nei]

Funny part for me is I sold my I4 on Ebay this week and the guy screwed me an never paid. I really had an interest in the wireless feature because its hard for me to sit. Anyway, I still have the I4 large so not sure what Im doing between this thread and Amazon review. Seems like the people coming from the I4 are the more negative ones. I know its stupid but I really like the look of the I4. I think the oled's and black gloss look nicer.

I know what you mean. I will say the express keys I believe are laid out better on the 5 than the 4. The overall construction is better than the 4. Tho, I hope the slight wiggle of the port doesn't mean an outage. Still I am with you on the glossy look and OLED of the 4.

I got the medium because besides beta testing, I want something easier to use when traveling. This tablet has a very slim profile which is very nice.

The intuos 3 medium is quite heavy in comparison. The pen pressure and regular intuos stuff (sans express key lag) works fine. I just don't like the surface feel compared to my intuos 4 - but I'll get used to it. Plus what I though were scratches, was apparently nail filings. The tablet appears to be filing my fingernails a bit o_O

If they fix the drivers/software - I'll be happier. But I feel this is something they should have fixed before release. It makes the tablet look weak. I know I'm not alone by the look of the Amazon reviews.

[philofmars]

what is the OLED you guys keep talking about? surely it's not the lights is it? If it is, why do you miss them? what purpose do they serve? My intuous 2 didn't have them that I remember.

[Arshes Nei]

what is the OLED you guys keep talking about? surely it's not the lights is it? If it is, why do you miss them? what purpose do they serve? My intuous 2 didn't have them that I remember.

The OLEDs were by the express keys which allowed you to have the shortcuts described next to the buttons. They were customizable. I know you can also get it on screen which is why they were eliminated in future models, but I liked them on the tablet. Personal preference. I didn't like the on screen popup that much before. When I was using the a cintiq it wasn't bad (on screen pop up). It also meant I didn't have to map a key to pop up the on screen pop up to figure out which buttons were programmed for what shortcut because the OLED had it.

http://blog.creationengine.com/wp-co...presskeys8.jpg

[philofmars]

The OLEDs were by the express keys which allowed you to have the shortcuts next to the buttons. They were customizable. I know you can also get it on screen which is why they were eliminated in future models, but I liked them on the tablet. Personal preference. I didn't like the on screen popup that much before. When I was using the a cintiq it wasn't bad (on screen pop up). It also meant I didn't have to map a key to pop up the on screen pop up to figure out which buttons were programmed for what shortcut because the OLED had it.

http://blog.creationengine.com/wp-co...presskeys8.jpg

So they are an additional 8 buttons? Now I'm mad they're gone...

[jhferry]

So they are an additional 8 buttons? Now I'm mad they're gone...

They arent extra button, they display what the button does. Since its driver based you can have it say anything you assign the button too. Its totally customized.

[Tanuki]

OLED display's aren't cheap, and since I'm looking at my screen not my intuos I'm glad they're gone. (even if they do look cool
the tablets can only be cheaper from removing them...

[Arshes Nei]

OLED display's aren't cheap, and since I'm looking at my screen not my intuos I'm glad they're gone. (even if they do look cool
the tablets can only be cheaper from removing them...

More or less the same in price to me?

http://amzn.com/B001TUYTZW

http://amzn.com/B0076HMDSC

Medium only has a slight difference and the price has been about the same as the last one. I know it only dropped slightly due to competitive sellers.

FYI I bought the Intuos 4 Large for about 10 dollars cheaper than the new one out now. Good theory though.

[philofmars]

OLED display's aren't cheap, and since I'm looking at my screen not my intuos I'm glad they're gone. (even if they do look cool
the tablets can only be cheaper from removing them...

yeah that happened.
They most likely said, "hey if we do away with this, we pocket the difference."

[jhferry]

yeah that happened.
They most likely said, "hey if we do away with this, we pocket the difference."

They even stopped giving the mouse with the large and XL. This especially hurts if the gesture stuff is crap.

[commonmind]

I was surprised because I don’t know any other source that wrote that the Intuos 5 is an “updated” version of the Intuos 4. If possible I’d like you to link me your source, thanks!

Apologies Vita. I don't check these forums often enough. Unfortunately I can't find the original article I referenced, but it was posted on the day of the announcement and included a video of hands on impressions, with a Wacom rep standing by to answer questions (I believe this article is the one that made commentary on the surface).

Now that we're a ways into the launch, it's likely that initial article has been pushed quite a bit down the search results page, as I haven't been able to locate it. ( Egg on my face )

I'm still awaiting my backordered I5 Large, and am starting to feel quite a bit anxious about getting it in my hands, and hesitant as well, because of some of the issues being described here.

[James Thornton]

Granted, they removed the leds, but added multitouch tech and wireless kit ports. Probably a fair trade.

However, I got the large and there was an empty spot in the packaging perfectly cutout for a mouse haha….but I've never had interest in using the intuos for a mouse pad. The two that came with previous tablets actually were wasted money by wacom.

Wonder what the percentage of buyers who use the mouse is? They have the one with lens for CAD, but I don't see the attraction to a mouse that only works on the tablet surface.

[Arshes Nei]

I remember posing that question before of "who uses the mouse" and I actually was surprised that quite a few members of CA responded that they do. In fact a lot of them were in Europe and were actually upset that the US got an included mouse, but their countries didn't.

I don't use the mouse either but, since the intuos5 is compatible with the 4 it's something that people can use.

Now apparently there is a non touch version of this tablet offered. I think people in Europe/Asia may have this offering. I don't know if that includes the mouse. It's a difference in about 50 in that country's currency.

I will say the intuos5 is better than the 3 in terms of construction quality and usefulness. I do hope that the keys get sorted out. Like I said, I tried this on two different systems and I'm getting lag at times.

[commonmind]

I'm concerned about the lag as well.

As a professional designer and illustrator, I spend a lot of time at my tablet, anything that is a qualitative loss in the operational experience is going to be a hit to workflow, and possibly a detractor for my using this iteration of the Intuos longterm. That is, on the assumption that my experiences will be similar to your own Arshes.

It took me ages to acclimate myself to using the keys and relying less on the keyboard -- especially during illustration sessions, where moving to the keyboard always felt less natural and took me out of the experience of drawing. After finally training my ADHD brain to stop reaching for the keyboard to quickly use the eyedropper tool, or two switch between my brush and eraser (yes, it will probably take me another aeon to learn to flip the pen upside down for this functionality), I will be saddened to go back.

[Arshes Nei]

I've been plugging in my intuos 4 and 5 to see which touch ring functions faster.

Intuos4 for me hands down.

What I'm thinking or figuring (but I still seem to get some lag) is that the touch ring on the intuos5 may be extra touchy. It seems to be registering a tiny bit of my thumb on the wheel when I'm pressing the center button - this cancels out the cycle/switch command. I don't have big thumbs, but I do have fingernails so I have my finger shifted a bit.

Intuos 4 is ok with this from what it appears, but the intuos 5 is not. So I guess +1 for the intuos4 wheel. I get less lag from the other keys but I'll have to see.

Guess the intuos5 doesn't like people with fingernails Because I'm not about to shift my finger where the nail is digging into the center button.

I'd attribute this to the size of the wheel and center button, but both seem to be the same size as near as I can tell. Even the distance between the wheel and center button is about the same. Difference is the intuos 4 was something like 2 separate pieces and the 5 is kind of a mass with indentations (if I'm making sense).

Also I took out one of my Amazon Basic cables and switched it for the default USB cable for the 5. Much snugger/better fit. So I'm happier with that. I'll put the OEM cable in back in the box

[commonmind]

I'm actually excited about the angled cable connection, but I'm also a right-hander, and could see the "loop back" being an issue when the orientation is changed for lefties. I used the bases for my Grip Pen and Art Pen as a sort of conduit for the I4 cable; otherwise the curve of the cable took up far too much desk space. It may be a subtle change, but the fact that the cable now runs back at 90 degrees is a huge plus for me. Of course, depending on the wireless functionality, I may only bring the cable out for charging sessions (as long as it's marginally better than the I4WL, which was, for me, the first Intuos tablet I ever returned, as the latency was simply out of control).

(if I'm making sense)

You are :p

[dsc45]

Hi, Right now I'm trying to decide between buying a Intuos 4 wireless and a Intuos 5 medium.

One thing I had herd about the Intuos 5 was that its active area is only the area inside white border lines that appear and not the entire indented area leaving a large amount of dead space. Is this true?

Also I'm not sure if anyone viewing this has used the Intuos 4 wireless but I had herd that it has some noticeable input lag.

Arshes, You said the Intuos 5 was apparently filing your fingernails, Have you noticed any scratches on the tablet from this?

Sorry for the rambling, but this being my first Graphics tablet purchase I kinda want to get it right.

[Arshes Nei]

Hi, Right now I'm trying to decide between buying a Intuos 4 wireless and a Intuos 5 medium.

One thing I had herd about the Intuos 5 was that its active area is only the area inside white border lines that appear and not the entire indented area leaving a large amount of dead space. Is this true?

Also I'm not sure if anyone viewing this has used the Intuos 4 wireless but I had herd that it has some noticeable input lag.

Arshes, You said the Intuos 5 was apparently filing your fingernails, Have you noticed any scratches on the tablet from this?

Sorry for the rambling, but this being my first Graphics tablet purchase I kinda want to get it right.

Well, when I have it on force proportions it does this.
Areas outside the top and bottom marks will immediately go to the top and bottom of the screen. I haven't seen any reaction from the side

It's not so much dead space since the active area is about the same as an intuos 6x8 medium. It's an area that will keep you from crashing your pen into the corners. I think it's weird however, it's not centered, it's shifted to the side

The intuos 5 uses different technology, ie a USB receiver so there really shouldn't be as much lag as the wireless of the intuos4.

There are no scratches on my tablet thus far. What I thought were scratches were my fingernails being filed.

[dsc45]

Alright then. Thanks for the reply, I think I'll grab the medium 5 then.
Its a shame tho, really would have liked the look of the OLED screens.