Hi, I’m new to krita and after about an hour my wrist started to hurt. i only want to dip my toe into drawing so iwas wondering if the cheapest 2nd hand tablet might be a good idea
like this one
Would an older tablet like this be a good idea or should ibe looking to spend more like £40 on a budget new tablet
Hi, do you have the specs for this model? If only you can afford it, go for a new model (can be second hand, just released recently). It will perform much better.
I would recommend Huion Inspiroy 2M as an entry level tablet. It’s a bit more expensive $69 or so, but it is a modern device with good quality surface and pen. Later you can even upgrade to a better pen with felt nibs.
thanks, that is more expensive than I wish to pay but an interesting suggestion nonetheless
The problem with old tablets is getting a modern Windows version driver for them.
Which operating system are you using?
Personally, I’d get a used Wacom over a new different brand. I have an old Wacom Bamboo, but I think one generation newer than the one you linked. Mine is perfectly fine. Had to switch to a new Huion recently because I falsely thought my Wacom was dying, and the higher Initial Activation Force was driving me up the wall. Though it’s probably also what you are used to, but personally, I’ll stick with Wacom should my Bamboo die for real.
EDIT: Oh yeah, good point on drivers. I’m on Linux, so old hardware is fine (even better than too new).
Can your budget stretch to this one:
Wacom Intuos Photo Graphic Design Tablet and Pen - boxed In Excellent Condition | eBay
I have this and it works on Linux and Windows 10/11
I’m using windows and linux. I’m hoping to be paying under £30. I don’t even know if i’ll like digital art so cheap used seems like a good idea
Bid on this: 
Wacom Intuos Graphics Tablet | eBay
Do small tablets have a significant diadvantage?
A small tablet can be less stressful on your hand and arm if you’re not used to using tablets while a large tablet can force you to make large hand movements that can be stressful.
I use the tablet I gave links for with two 20 inch monitors side by side as an extended desktop and have no problem doing detailed work with it.
You can put the main window into Canvas Only mode (Tab to toggle) and have the canvas filling an entire monitor if you like working on a large area.
Fair enough. My experience with Wacom was a very long time ago (2009?) with Bamboo Pen and Touch, and it was not a great device. However, it’s been so many years that today’s low-end is probably miles ahead anyway.
I’m just not sure if Wacom’s 2K levels of pressure will be as good as off-brand’s 8K levels, but again, I have no recent first hand experience, and it’s outside the desired budget anyway
Forgot to add, @ollie_d
Yes and no. Small tablet will feel “faster”, because you move your hand less for the same effect, but may force you to zoom excessively to achieve better precision. Some artists even prefer a smaller tablet (usually medium, not the smallest), so it should be a matter of getting accustomed to it.
On the other hand, a large tablet lets you draw large strokes with your arm, which may or may not be useful, depending on your style and preference. It’s worth keeping in mind that you can still configure your large tablet to use a smaller active area, which will give you exactly the same experience as the small device. But naturally, a large tablet will be a bit more cumbersome and possibly expensive.
Hm it’s tedious to find information on those old Wacoms, but from what I could find, that “Bamboo One” seems to be model CTF-430, that only has 512 pressure levels, and “Intuos Photo Graphic Design Tablet” (CTH-490) has 1024 pressure levels.
Those older Wacoms also have a rather low report rate of only ~133Hz, which is actually the bigger downside IMHO. Fast strokes will show line segments without brush smoothing enabled.
Even the cheap XP-Pen and Huion models beat that by miles today.
That said, the pen of my XP-Pen Deco 01V2 still uses mechanical spring, it is just not that precise as Wacom, the nib wiggles a fraction of a mm, and I’m afraid it also shows some wear, max pressure seems lower than when it was new, something that Wacom doesn’t suffer from (or much less at leasat) in my experience.
Haven’t had a chance to test the newest ones like Deco M/L with “X3 Smart Chip” Pen (or equivalen Huion model) that seem more similar in design to Wacom now, but that also costs ~50% more…
Anyway, for like £20, you don’t risk much with a used Wacom, and since it’s already used, the value wouldn’t change much if you don’t like it after a few months.
About size, ~150mm x 95mm sure is on the small side, but may not be that bad, depending your monitor size/resolution.
On a larger tablet you can always map a smaller area to your screen if you feel it’s too big, but obviously not the other way round.
Too large on the other hand wastes a lot of desk space, though that is also a matter of design. I don’t like the ones with lots of useless plastic around the active area, just pushes my keyboard and mouse far away…
thanks this is useful information. Browsing ebay it looks like eve nthe more expensive display tablets sometimes go for low prices
This person got a steal!
I’ll keep browsing for a model from the last few years…
@ollie_d I am not sure if the one linked is Bluetooth, but I use the bluetooth version of this one just fine for over 2 years. Fits nicely beside a keyboard/ laptop or a keypad like I use.
Actually an old Intous 3 is really good choose even for a pro. A4 (PTZ-930) version is really cheap today comparing with L size of last Intuos generations. So A5 version is even cheaper version and has a 16:9 version proportions tablet (PTZ-631W).
Intous 3 was build with really bold and hight quality. And there is no driver problems with Linux or WIndows.
I have a super old Intuos (before they had additional numbers) A4, but seems the Intuos 3 still has the same design.
For me it’s definitely too clunky, I hardly used it (also got it used back then). It’s basically why I said that too large is not good either 
PTZ-631W sounds good though, has roughly the same active area as my Deco 01 (so 10x6 inch), for me that’s more than sufficient for a 27" QHD screen.
The manual says “Maximum report rate 200 points per second”, so that’s already the faster sensor too.
There’s indeed plenty listed at low prices, but some look quite battered, others only show catalog images rather than photos of the one for sale…
I always recommend those new to graphics tablet to look for medium size up . so 6inx9in, 6inx10in, 6inx11in above and don’t try small one 6x4 [unless its for a small child] .
The small one will hurt your wrist because the drawing area is small. So more wrist flick and less arm movement, more zoom in. Specially if you have large hand. My hand is pretty small for a person and those small tablet is a pain to use.
If not sure about the drawing area size. You can cut paper of that size and see how your hand move in it ^-^. That’s about my opinion with it.
i got an Inuos3 ptz-631w off of craigslist for $20 a couple years ago, and i absolutely love it, but i don’t have anything else to compare it to. i would definitely recommend it, it works perfect with linux and maps exactly to my screen. i have had a hard time finding a good solution to mapping the express keys and pen buttons though (on linux mint 20, i’d love some suggestions!)
@globset I would make your own topic on the express keys and pen buttons subject. The more eyes that see that topic, the more help you could receive.
wow the older inuos 3 is getting a lot of love here. there are lots of cheap older tablets on ebay and they appear to be still working