Bamboo models with "touch" have a very independant ability : multi-point touch. In this case it's the tablet's surface that detects pressure caused by anything (like fingers)
I can't confirm, but the Wacom pen & touch flyers say it uses capacitive technology plus their traditional "EMR" technology. That means only fingers/penises/cat paws - things which generate "organic" electromechanical signals - can be used as input. (I think the Bamboo Stylus would work on a Bamboo Touch, but don't quote me on that.) The surface doesn't actually detect pressure, but electricity. That means if you try to draw with a fork or Intuos 4 stylus, it won't register anything. Wacom also provides drivers with finger detection, which mercifully disables touch while the pen is in use.
Note that touch under Linux or Windows is not anything close to touch on Mac OS X. Apple has a well defined interface for gestures, whereas on Windows (and especially Linux) it's much more add-hoc. Developers have to program in the functionality for each application, so there's much less uniformity in the experience.
One thing that does make me wonder is obviously there's different stroke pressures like hard and soft, when you select a colour dependant upon how hard or light you stroke does the colour change to a birghter and or darker version? Or am I honestly just hoping for a mircale haha.
As long as the program supports tablet input, yes, you can do all the things you are talking about. Photoshop and Corel Painter have supported pen pressure since the mid '90s, and any self respecting modern art program will have tablet support. Even crappy programs like GIMP have pen pressure (under Linux, at least).
Wacom has really screwed the pooch offering such a bewildering range of Bamboos, here's what I can make of their current tablet line:
- The Bamboo Pen & Touch, Bamboo Craft, and Bamboo Fun have been upgraded to the same resolution as the previous generation Intuos 3. That's 1024 levels. Previously they were half that.
- The Bamboo Pen still seems to be using the previous generation Bamboo specs, which makes it comparable to the old Graphire 3. That's 512 levels.
- Newer versions of the Bamboo tablets all have multitouch. Bamboo Fun seems to be the only tablet left that doesn't.
- The new Intuos 4s have 2048 levels, which is double the Intuos 3. They are way too expensive for casual users, but great for die hard professionals.
- The Cintique is a luxury tablet with a screen. Getting out of date due to the LCD display. They need to start shipping with LED displays.
Wacom has a summary of the Bamboo line here:
http://wacom.com/en/Products/BambooTablets/Compare.aspxI bought a Graphire 3 Small way back when, and years later I got an Intuos 3 Large. My Intuos 3 Large has turned out to actually be too large. I think I'm gonna sell it. Turns out the Graphire is more than enough for my needs.
I do most of my drawing here in the analog world, drawing on a tablet just doesn't have the same feel and comfort of good old pencil and paper. Resolution wise, it's a wash. The Intuos is more accurate, but that doesn't mean the Graphire is a dog. It's more than enough for professional grade illustration.
What mainly I use the Graphire for is painting and pixel work. It's infinitely more productive than a mouse. But I know many artists who have tablets but the still prefer to use the mouse for pixel stuff. I think I've turned into a bit of a tablet snob, I can't stand doing anything remotely artsy on a computer without a tablet.
If I were to buy a new tablet today, I would probably pick up either Bamboo Fun or a used Intuos 3 Medium. The small tablets really are
small. It's like drawing on a napkin. The Fun is basically an Intuos 3 Medium for 2/3 the price of an Intous 4 Medium. If I really wanted to spoil myself, I'd get an Intuos 4 Medium.