Genius EasyPen M610XA drawing tablet reviewed

primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
edited August 2012 in Science & Tech

Comments

  • Is it support android 4.0 system in the future? And Google Nexus 7 VS Genius EasyPen M610XA?
  • JBoogalooJBoogaloo This too shall pass... Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    This is a great write up and the tablet seems like it would be fitting for someone (unsure student, beginning art student, hobbyist, etc...)who is looking to jump into the digital art world (art focused students can usually get a great deal on Bamboo's or Intuos' through schools for about the same price as this...maybe a bit higher, but worth it). The size is great for those trying to make the transition from paper to computer (personally, I'm a fan of the smaller size tablets). My first one was a POS for 99 bucks (12x12) and I wish this had been around when I got into animation school a few years ago.
    My only gripe is with the pen. The very basic design is a bit of a bummer and it seems to only come with two pen tips (standard tips from what I read). At the $169.99 price tag I would have hoped to see maybe a few more nibs offered, especially if Corel is being offered as a SW download. Either that, a bit more software offered OR a higher sensitivy level. My Intuos was only $200 and it came with 2048 sensitivity level (a world of difference), a cafe press premium 5yr membership (free), Corel, Sketchbook, Painter, Elements and a couple others that I really dont use, lol.
    I would certainly agree, compared to other junk tablets our there, this is a great deal for a pretty good tablet to cut your teeth on and develop a bit as a digital artist.
  • mertesnmertesn I am Bobby Miller Yukon, OK Icrontian
    I purchased a Wacom Bamboo Pen + Touch a few years ago and it's been a really good, inexpensive tablet. It can be found rather cheaply now - Amazon has it for $55.99.
  • JBoogalooJBoogaloo This too shall pass... Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    THAT is an excellent deal!
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    I've got one of those Bamboo Pen + Touches too, @mertesn. I've hardly used it, but I've been satisfied with the performance (as a non-artist).

    A few things to compare between it and this Genius tablet:
    • The Bamboo Pen + Touch also has a permanently attached USB cable. I'm guessing that's common at this price point.
    • The Bamboo Pen + Touch does have a two-sided pen, so those can be had at cheaper than professional grade.
    • Both tablets have the same 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity.
    • The Genius has a much higher resolution at 4000lpi vs. the Bamboo's 2540dpi.
    • The Bamboo Pen + Touch does not have a built-in tracing sheet.
    • I LOL'd as soon as I saw those Web and Media buttons on the Genius tablet, but I guess they can be remapped to something useful.
    Finally, the smaller physical size of the Bamboo Pen + Touch makes it trickier to use if you have a large screen. It confuses the hell out of me in Eyefinity, given that the aspect ratio it's mapped to doesn't match its physical dimensions. I don't know if any other tablet's software can compensate for that, though.
  • JBoogalooJBoogaloo This too shall pass... Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    I've got one of those Bamboo Pen + Touches too, @mertesn. I've hardly used it, but I've been satisfied with the performance (as a non-artist).

    A few things to compare between it and this Genius tablet:
    • The Bamboo Pen + Touch does have a two-sided pen, so those can be had at cheaper than professional grade.
    • The Bamboo Pen + Touch does not have a built-in tracing sheet.
    Finally, the smaller physical size of the Bamboo Pen + Touch makes it trickier to use if you have a large screen. It confuses the hell out of me in Eyefinity, given that the aspect ratio it's mapped to doesn't match its physical dimensions. I don't know if any other tablet's software can compensate for that, though.
    Good points Gargoyle. Here's my personal take on some of these, if you don't mind.

    Two-sided pens are alright, but honestly I can take it or leave it. It's just easier to shortcut options in PS (or any other art program) and use those.

    The tracing sheet really doesn't provide anything more than a thin plastic cover so when you're tracing you don't smudge your pencil (or other medium) work. With 1024 sensitivity one doesn't need to push hard on the tablet (think tracing pictures of some other cherished piece of art) so no worries there. Other than that I've found them to be completely useless and prefer to be without them. Besides, when rotating paper to be traced with a tablet the tracing sheet gets in the way.

    As far as the size goes I wouldn't say the small size of the tablets make things trickier it just takes a little getting used to through a bit of slight frustration and practice :) My experience has run me into many artists (traditional and digital), like myself, who prefer the small size to the bigger ones (insert crude joke). There are a few that like a bigger size, but because of other features and work specific art. I'll have to find it, but Bamboo has a setting where the tablet will map to your screen area if you would prefer that. I personally don't like this because it leaves drawing in any application to a limited portion on your tablet and then you're busy zooming in, panning, etc...yeah, ef that. I would prefer to create the whole picture first utilizing the whole size of the tablet and refine later.

    :)
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    I own the Genius F610 which I got for $70, it is big and works great under Windows, it seems to share a lot of the same specs as the one in this article.... I managed to get it to work under certain linux distro's but it wasn't easy nor did it work well with only certain applications actually.

    What I liked about the driver software was how well it works with dual screen and gives you the ability to select which screen the tablet should work for, if not both. I don't have the software or tablet with me but I also want to say it also gives you the ability to create screen margins so that you can fine tune the area you want to draw in but I might be wrong. These really are great bang for your buck.
    primesuspect
  • midgamidga "There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi (> ^.(> O_o)> Icrontian
    Nice write-up! Many times I've considered jumping into the world of owning a tablet. This sounds like it'd be a good one to do it with.
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