It’s been a very long time since I sat at a graphic design desk and I’m a bit behind on current tech. When I did this I used a wacom pen mouse with photoshop. It was about the size of a typical mouse pad and I looked at the monitor instead of where my penstrokes were.
I am looking at buying a good graphics tablet for my daughter for her birthday. I dont need a full graphics computer tablet, just screen and input for a desktop computer. She has been art minded since toddler age and is showing real promise now. My budget isn’t unlimited but money really isn’t the deciding factor here.
I can only assume there are members here who work in the industry using these types of things regularly. I know when I was doing graphics work wacom was the goto standard of quality. My question is are they still?
I read alot of reviews and looked at specs/features for several hours and the cintiq pro seemed to stand out as higher quality than the competition but at $1500 I want to be sure. I dont mind paying more if im getting the best but I dont want to spend extra just for a brand name either.
Are there other brands that can do what the cintiq does and do it as well. Some of the big selling points for me were the extremely high number of pressure levels, the pen not working through capacitive touch, etched glass screen and high quality color representation. It just seems like this is the best you can get currently but I want to hear from some of you before making such a large purchase.
I’m not an artist and I haven’t used a graphics tablet myself but sometime in the past year I was discussing them with some of my more artistically inclined friends and one of them pointed me in the direction of the Microsoft Surface Pro line and the at-the-time upcoming model that had reasonably good drawing specs while being far more mobile.
I have looked at these and mobility isnt a concern. I also looked at the wacom version. I plan to stick with a wired input device locked to a desk for several reasons including not wanting my teenage daughter running around carrying a couple thousand dollar piece of hardware. The ipad and surface pro both use capacitive touch for the stylus I believe which puts it at a lower quality standard for me. Im looking for the most accurate, feels like pen on paper experience I can find. Being able to use your stylus like an airbrush and the device knowing its near the screen but not touching is a bonus for me. Also reading pen strokes and touches through different means makes for being able to lay your palm down onscreen while drawing without leaving unwanted penstrokes as the device knows a touch from a hand is not the pen. Mobility and cost aren’t really my concerns, I want accuracy and quality above all. I just thought maybe others could do this with a similar feel and less known name brand. Im almost set on the cintiq just want to do my homework before pulling the trigger on such a large purchase.
Also, I’m 99% sure the Surface Pro Pen isn’t capacitive touch. It’s got way too much sensitivity for that.
If you’re looking for cheaper pads that compare to the Cintiq, they’re out there. Amazon has them, and so does Monoprice. Searching for information on them will get a lot of recommendations for good ones from art-based forums.
The surface pro and ipad pro both definitely use capacitive touch to read the active stylus. The accuracy of pressure and tilt is read by the pen tip and transmitted to the device. This means that not only does the pen need batteries but also that the screen dosent know where it is until it touches and a finger touch is easily mistaken for a pen touch leading to unwanted artifacts. It also means no cursor is displayed until you actually make contact.
I am not looking for a graphics computer only the pen display. I dont need the screen and pen to be anymore than a screen and pen, no processing power required. I have looked at the wacom companion and others but for me this isn’t the best option. It will be locked to a desk and not moved around. I also have more than enough computer power already in my desktop rig. All I need is pen display.
As far as a cheaper alternative thats nearly as good, thats not good enough. I have the cash to spend and I’m not too worried about cost. My real question is are there better pen displays? I would gladly spend more if told of a product with better capabilities.
Not sure what you mean by “locked to a desk”.
The Companion is a self contained computer that is mobile.
Screens like the Wacom Cintiq 13HD are screens that connect to a computer for $800.
Wacom sells both types of things.
Not sure what the difference is between
Cintiq Pro 13 and Cintiq 13HD
By locked to a desk I mean Im looking for something similar to the cintiq hd13 as opposed to the companion. Not really locked to the desk but intended to be used at a desk with my large desktop computer as opposed to the companion which is self contained and intended to be mobil. I am only looking for screen and pen not a full tablet computer.
The cintiq pro is a newer model with an etched glass screen and double the levels of pressure sensitivity. They come in a 13 inch for $999 and a 16 inch for $1499.
What I really want to know is if this is really better than any competition. If I am told of something of equal quality for less I will buy that. If I am told of something better that costs more I will buy that instead.
I have the funds and a good excuse to spend it so I really aim to purchase the best I can find.
I’m not aware of any company that makes a better product than Wacom.
There aren’t many industries that are so totally dominated by one company.
I would never even consider buying something other than a Wacom.
I own 2 regular style Wacom tablets, no screens.
Im not either but I was hoping a lifelong artist would know something I didnt. Since fine quality is my desire I’m leaning heavily towards wacom unless someone speaks out with something better in mind.
Only because I wont buy one. No offense intended but I’m looking for top of the line money is no option hardware and your recommendation has 1/4 the levels of pressure sensitivity no multitouch no tilt sensitivity and a preapplied matte screen protector instead of etched glass compared to the wacom cintiq pro line.
My mistake, I thought you were looking for a budget replacement where you weren’t dumping that much money. If “money is no option” then go with the industry standard.
Yes this is the goal. Its been nearly 20 years since I sat a a desk doing this type work and I thought wacom may have some challengers come along in the meantime. From what I’m seeing though they are still a good deal ahead of anyone else.
I’ve almost completely decided to go with my original thought at this point. It will be a month or slightly longer untill the purchase though so there’s still time to change my mind.
I know it won’t mean a great deal coming from a non professional artist but I will update this thread with my thoughts once it gets bought. I told my daughter I would get it for her but she had to let me use it on occasion. It’s my real hope to just put her to work making my game graphics but we will see how that goes.
There are challengers on the market but none of them seem to be interested in trying to push the technology in the same way as Wacom. Give them a year or two and there likely will be a competitor to this line of tablets, but by that point Wacom will just come out with another new series.
By the way there are larger editions (24- and 32-inch) for this tablet coming out in the beginning of next year, but they’re also considerably more expensive ($1,999 and $3,299). Resolution seems to still be 4K.
@Ryiah Thank you, I was not aware of larger models. I will discuss this option with my daughter and see of she is willing to wait but somehow I doubt she will. Her birthday is late November and we usually find her something she wants then and call it Christmas as well. Thats one reason I dont mind spending $1500 to $2000. She may decide a couple months isn’t too long but as a young teenager I doubt she has the willpower to wait.
I can’t say what tech is behind it, but the above does not at all apply to my Surface Pro 4. I’m pretty sure that the pen and finger touch use different tech, though.
The cursor appears when the pen tip is about a centimeter above the screen, and you can easily move the cursor around without touching the screen at all. I don’t know if there’s tilt support, I’ve never used it. I did look for it in Photoshop once to play around, but had no idea what I was doing. I’ve never knowingly had a pen or finger touch mistaken for the other.
That all aside, if art is the prime focus here I don’t know if a Surface is what you want. As neat as the pen is, it’s meant as a general purpose, natural feeling input tool. I don’t know that it competes with art-focused tools like Wacom tablets. That being said, I heard a few months ago that there’s a different pen on the way that’s compatible with the Surface with features more like a Wacom.
The reviews I looked at were likely for the previous model surface pro. I was watching videos and the artist was showing points left when he put his palm down onscreen. The surface 4 im sure made an upgrade.
One of the factors driving me away from surface and ipad pro is the fact that they are full computers with an operating system as opposed to just an input and display device. I considered both options and decided that since I already have a pretty good computer and desk space mobil wasn’t a big selling point. I also like that I can use a display/input with any computer and upgrade my desktop system without replacing the pen display.
After a bit of quick research I found the surface pen 4 does work off of electromagnetic induction rather than touch. It does support 4 thousand levels of pressure and some degree of tilt. I cant seem to find specs on levels of tilt so I’m unsure how it compares there. I cant find any mention of rotational control like you would need for painting with fan shaped brushes either.
I bought the Ugee hk1560 15.6" for $549 on Amazon and am quite happy with it for the price.
You do have to uninstall ‘everything’ Wacom driver related including their wintab drivers… Once that’s done it’s smooth sailing.
I would love to have a genuine Wacom but until their prices come down to mere mortal levels, alternatives will get my $$.
