Several people have mentioned using Wacom tablets. I just saw this deal pop up, so I figured I would let people know about it.
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For anyone interested in experimenting with 3D sculpting, one of the new Wacom models comes bundled with ZBrush Core:
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I love my Wacom Cintique for 3D sculpting ā great way to work!
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I havenāt played with the new style Intuos tablets, but my (now semi-retired) 10-year-old IntuosPro still works like a champ, and I am totally in love with my new Cintiq.
I have not used the iPadPro/pencil combo, or the Adobe Ink/Slide setup, so I cannot compare to those. I have used a few tablets with a stylus, as well as SurfacePro 3 and Surface 4 pens, and coming from the wacom, I was not impressed. Wacom have done a very good job with the feel of the pen nib on the tablet/screen surface; it feels closest to āpencil on paperā (IMHO), while the others have generally felt more like I was using a felt-tipped marker on glass: no tooth to the screen, so not as much control.
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I just want to highly recommend use of drawing tablets to anyone who is not currently using one but may be considering it.
I do still prefer using a mouse while drawing in vector programs, ie: while editing bezier curves, but for anything freehand such as GIMP, Photoshop or more freehanded type tools in vector programs, the drawing tablet is the way to go.
If youāre thinking about venturing into 3D sculpting with ZBrush, a drawing tablet is an absolute MUST. You will drive yourself to the brink of insanity trying to use the sculpting brush tools with a mouse and no fine detail control. Plus I like to keep the pen in my left hand for sculpting tasks and mouse with the right hand for navigation/zoom/pan tasks.
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Yes
If youāre thinking about venturing into 3D sculpting with ZBrush, a drawing tablet is an absolute MUST. You will drive yourself to the brink of insanity trying to use the sculpting brush tools with a mouse and no fine detail control.
So very true. Iāve done it with a mouse but the pen on tablet so upped my game ā closest thing in the digital world to sculpting with clay 
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If you donāt mind my asking, what model of the Cintiq do you have?
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almost. I have a haptic stylus, the āTouchā from 3D Systems. However it does not work with ZBrush, instead you have to use 3D Systems software. I do prefer ZBrush with the Wacom simply because its just so flexible, all those tools in ZBrush just open the doors. The haptic stylus is cool though because it does vary force feedback depending on the hardness you assign to the digital clay, and it can apply quite a bit of force. If you inadvertently carve out a channel with an undercut that traps the tool in the digital world, it will actually put up a pretty good fight with you when you try to pull the tool out. LOL.
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I know it probably doesnāt apply to a refurb model, but to anyone considering one, wacoms customer service and warranty coverage has been excellent, in my experience. I broke my pen while my cintiq was still under warranty - Totally my fault and by ābrokeā I mean I exploded pen bits all over my office. No idea what I did, but I do know that stuffing all the bits back in the shell (un)surprisingly doesnāt fix anything. Just on the off chance they might cover customer stupidity, I emailed them about it. They had me mail whatever bits I could find to somewhere in the US, at cost to them, and they sent me a new one along with a bunch of extra nibs before they had even received it.
And since, like, 2013, thatās the only issue Iāve ever had with mine, and itās been not-so-carefully moved around a bunch of times. Theyāre good stuff.
Before I bought one, I was annoyed there wasnāt any viable competition. At the time, there was a Mac pro hacked thing that was like $3k and not a whole lot else, especially if you wanted pressure sensitivity and didnāt want batteries in the pen. I thought they were overpriced and competition would drive the price down. But now, if mine broke, Iād probably just buy a new one without looking at what else is out there.
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The first version ā Cintique Companion. The power supply/battery was a problem, but they have dealt with it without question, and as a tablet for my work ā amazing!
Thanks for sharing!! Iāve been looking into upgrading my drawing tabletā¦as much as I love my old Wacom Bamboo, the features of the new tablets are just amazing. I was wondering if I could ask for some advice, though. Could someone explain the difference between the Intuos Pro line and the Intuos Art/Draw/Comic line? Iām guessing the Pros offer higher levels of pressure/tilt sensitivity?
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Here is a basic comparison:
Intuos Art/Draw/Comic:
Precision Level: 1024
Resolution: 2540 lpi
Tilt recognition: Nope
Intuos Pro: (includes wireless dongle)
Precision Level: 2048
Resolution; 5080 lpi
Tilt recognition: Ā± 60 levels
So basically, better 
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Awesomeā¦
Oh man, you had me at tilt recognition! Thatās pretty much the main reason Iām looking to replace my current tablet. Thanks a lot!!
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Wacom introduced tilt recognition in 2001 with the Intuos 2 tablets, itās good stuff. 
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Anyone familiar with Wacom DTU-2231 Pen Display? It looks similar to a Cintiq and uses the same drivers (which means it will work with Windows 10). It came out around 2012. Someone said it was marketed as the ābusiness versionā of the Cintiq but works similar. I can get it for less than half the price of a new 21" Cintiq. Any thoughts? Thanks!
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Looks like it has less pressure sensitivity than the current graphics tablets, but not having used one of these specifically, I canāt say how well they worked. Itās probably fine though.
Wacom also has 13" and 16" Cintiq models that cost less, if you can live with the smaller screens.
Hereās a link to the DTU-2231 display specs: http://www.wacom.com/en-de/enterprise/business-solutions/hardware/pen-displays/dtu-2231
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It has 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, the cintiq has 2048.
I donāt know if the dtu has pen-tilt recognition.
The DTU screen is TFT LCD technology, the cintiq is H-IPS LCD.
This guy seems happy with it for the price.
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Yeah, thatās the first review I looked at. Iāll probably hold out for a current Cintiq eventually. But, at $600, itās tempting.
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Have been seeing this add for one, looks like there is no stand with it.