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FyerFyer

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 14, 2015
366
84
Hi guys

I’ve been looking at buying IPads for writing and drawing, but cannot afford at the moment. Does anyone have any feedback on alternatives to use with IOS/ MACOS? I’ve been looking at Bamboo pads, just wondering what the consensus

Ideally, something that will work with a good few apps, and also transfer written text to type if needed.

Thanks guys
 

tobefirst ⚽️

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2005
4,612
2,335
St. Louis, MO
Wacom's tablets are the gold standard for drawing on computers. The Bamboo is their entry level one, I believe, but is just fine for basic usage. The written text to type is more likely handled by the software you're in, and not the hardware inputting it. So you'll need to find some software that makes that happen. I'm not sure offhand what that would be.
 
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estherau

macrumors member
May 4, 2005
58
0
australia
I bought a second hand cintiq from gumtree website and it works fine. The guy even brought it to my work and helped put it in my car.
 

FyerFyer

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 14, 2015
366
84
Wacom's tablets are the gold standard for drawing on computers. The Bamboo is their entry level one, I believe, but is just fine for basic usage. The written text to type is more likely handled by the software you're in, and not the hardware inputting it. So you'll need to find some software that makes that happen. I'm not sure offhand what that would be.
Thanks!

Im just thinking, some Apple softwares might do it, eg Notes. Maybe even word.
If not I’m sure I could copy/paste after finished.
Ideally some interaction with Adobe and Final Cut in some way would be awesome!
 

dwig

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2015
903
444
Key West FL
I've been using two Huion drawing tablets and find them quite good. I use an Inspiroy H580X on my personal Win11 system at home and a slightly larger H610X version on the iMac at the gallery where I work. My use is almost exclusively Photoshop and Affinity Photo image retouching on both machines. The Huion tablets are quite a bit less expensive than competing Wacoms.
 
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xincheng

macrumors newbie
Aug 10, 2020
2
1
france
A drawing tablet + Macbook Pro would be a good portable solution for writing and drawing.
If you're new to the field and the work, I'd recommend a cheap non-display pen tablet. You need to build up a little hand-eye co-ordination but that will take a few days of practice. The XPPen Deco line is a safe bet and the brand is well known. I have a XPPen Deco 01 V2 and love it. Was about 1/3 the price of a similar Wacom Intuos.
I recommend this as a starter tablet to let you see work effectively while you decide if the field is for you. If it's not, then you've not shelled out too much money for a tablet you might not use again. If you decide in a few years that you're in this for the long haul, then you can look at investing more money in a screen tablet such as Wacom Cintiq or XPPen Artist if you want to.
 
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FyerFyer

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 14, 2015
366
84
BUMP:

Sorry guys, I’m trying to do this all through my iPhone now. Any recos on software that would work with one of these writing pads? Ideally, I’d like to plug it into iPhone, handwrite on pad, convert to text, then into Word.

Is this possible?
 

T'hain Esh Kelch

macrumors 603
Aug 5, 2001
6,338
7,208
Denmark
BUMP:

Sorry guys, I’m trying to do this all through my iPhone now. Any recos on software that would work with one of these writing pads? Ideally, I’d like to plug it into iPhone, handwrite on pad, convert to text, then into Word.

Is this possible?
Why not go straight to an iPad? It will save a few steps, and be as good. And you now got an iPad on top, for about the same price.
 
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