Review about the Wacom Bamboo Capture CTH-470

 by Ido Nassimi
23/12/2012
Last Updated: 7/4/2014

1. Introduction

I used to spend hours looking for a graphic tablet back in 2004. It was very cool gadget… and expensive…
A month ago, I decided to buy the Wacom Bamboo tablet. I did some research on it and I watched a lot of reviews on YouTube. After a little search on eBay, I Bought the Wacom Bamboo Capture CTH-470. Now, I have to say that using Photoshop with graphic tablet is totally different experience.

I mainly use it for retouching and photo editing so I’m going to review it from this aspect of use. I never used the previous models of Wacom or other manufactures so I can’t compare it to other graphic tablet.

2. Specifications

Accuracy:………………. +/- .02 in (+/- 0.5 mm)
Active Area:…………… 5.8″ x 3.6″ (14.7 x 9.1 cm)
Color:……………………. Black and Silver
Compatibility:……….. Windows 7, Vista SP2, XP SP3, Mac OS X.10.5 or higher, Intel Processor
Connection:…………… USB Type A (PC) , USB Micro (tablet)
Max Data Rate:……… 133 pps
Orientation:………….. Reversible for right- or left-handed users
Physical Size:………… 10.9″ x 6.9″ x .4″ (27.6 x 17.5 x 1 cm)
Pressure Levels:……. 1024
Resolution:…………… 2540 lpi (Lines Per Inch)

3. External and Design

The design of the Wacom Bamboo is very impressive. Very light and easy to carry.
The corners are nicely rounded and it made from fine material.
Near the micro usb port, you can find the door for the Wireless Kit which enables you to use the tablet wirelessly. The 4 buttons are well designed and looks like a crumpled paper. On the other side there is a loop to carry the pen. The pen is a little bit thick for my opinion but I got used to it. The pen has two programmable buttons and “eraser” which I found very useful sometimes.

4. Using Touch and Pen on Photoshop

After short installation of drivers and softwares (on Windows 7) I decided to use it first with Photoshop. On the first use it was hard to use it because I got used to use the mouse to cut and retouch. I got to say that  I can’t use the mouse anymore for cutting or masking in Photoshop. It’s really hard after I’ve experienced the tablet smooth and easy use. I think that the best thing about graphic tablets is the pressure, you can paint and retouch with soft pressure and get the right amount of color and thickness. The Wacom Bamboo offer 1024 pressure levels, for me that’s enough. This model of Wacom Bamboo includes the Touch feature which enables you to zoom / rotate / scroll and more. I found the touch not that sensitive (my phone is better :)) and when I tried to zoom (Pinch and Zoom) it went to the rotation mode. So I had to cancel the option to rotate in the settings (useless feature for me) and now the zoom works great.
The driver making problems sometimes, and If I want to use the Bamboo I’ve to restart my computer. It might be my computer problem because I’ve too much USB things plugged in 🙂

5. Conclusion

Pros:

1. Easy to use, one time configuration.

2. Well designed and light.

3. 1024 Pressure levels.

Cons:

1. The wire is too short but you can change it.

I’ll give it 4 of 5 stars

In the end, and after more than a year of using I can say that I’m very satisfied from this tablet. If you’re a pro photographer you might consider buying another one, probably bigger and fits your needs.

Have fun!

 

Photos to come…