Customer Reviews

Wacom Techno Cintiq 21UX 21-Inch Interactive Pen Display PC Tablet With Pen and Software

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're expecting a perfect replacement for pencil and paper then you're bound to be disappointed. The technology is not perfect, but the Cintiq is more intuitive to use than a traditional graphics tablet. I still do most drawing/sketching on paper, but for painting and 3d sculpting, the hands-on approach on the Cintiq is quite welcome. I undo strokes far less and have a better connection with what I'm doing and how it's affecting the image.

If you're a hobbyist then it would be wise to investigate the Intuos or Bamboo line of tablets first. I use both a regular Intuos tablet and the Cintiq at work and home routinely and find they have their strengths for different tasks. Obviously, you can get amazing results with a regular graphics tablet alone and you shouldn't buy the Cintiq with it in mind that it will automagically make you a better artist. However, it helps my productivity and is a refreshing way to work. The benefit to more ably focus on what you're doing rather than how you're doing it is difficult to quantify, but that's what the Cintiq sets out to do and does it well.

A lot is made of the hefty price tag, but considering you get a very large monitor (which, by the way, in terms of visual quality is better than most regular LCD monitors) and built in capabilities of a large graphics tablet, it's not a bad deal. I use it as my primary monitor for general computer usage as well.

If you are in the graphics industry and do a lot of work in programs like Illustrator, Painter and Photoshop then the Cintiq tablets are a real time-saver. I have owned a 21UX for a year now, and have seen a real increase in speed as well as a chance to experiment with new techniques in a way that is far more intuitive than my Intuos 3 tablet (although that is a great product too.) It is important to calibrate the cursor to the pen nib but this is very easy to do and can be changed when you use the tablet in different positions.
If you have an existing Wacom tablet and an extra monitor you can set up a dual monitor system with the smaller tablet working with the second monitor which is very useful as well... you don't have to pick up a mouse in order to move your cursor onto the second screen, you just move your stylus to the tablet and it is very seamless.
This is by far my favorite tech purchase, but I advise anyone who does not use graphics programs as part of their daily work to consider one of the simpler products Wacom has produced that still allow for this sort of tablet functionality -- this is an expensive product but well worth it if you are an illustrator, animator, or Photoshop professional.
I would say my speed has increased about 25% due to fewer undo's and the more intuitive work environment.

This is by far THE BEST of it's kind and well thought out. I have one at work and at home and will never go back to the odd seperation of hand and eye again! I've even found myself trying to use my finger to smudge or erase it's so natural feeling. With the sliders and programable buttons I hardly ever use the keyboard now except to type emails. My Poor 23" cinema display is going to waste in the background as the Cintiq is the only screen I use.
I've found I have better posture, less eye strain, and less 'fear' about starting on the blank canvass. I'm left handed and this is great because it's fully programable for lefty's and I dont' smudge my sketches anymore. And even if you feel you "cant see behind your hand", you can even program an offset so the cursor is in a place where you're comfy with it. No excuses..
The one at work is mounted on an arm (iLift from Innovative, and you don't need the apple adapter for the Wacom) and it's great for moving it out of the way or getting it in your lap. The stand it comes with is great too, but I often find I have it hanging off the edge of the desk leaving the $2500 ready to hit the floor. So I recomend you get a good heavy-weight arm to mount it on. Also the arm allows you to take more advantage of the rotate feature. Being able to rotate the tablet like you would a piece of paper is the biggest problem with drawing on a regular tablet.
Get it, use it, and you'll love it!

I've had this for about a month now, very pleased with the product! Works Great, Very Comfortable!

My only complaint is that there was no warning at all about how fast the white nibs wear out
on the stylist - I found out the hard way today and scratched the surface of my Cintiq.

My official warning to all who buy this wonderful product....

WARNING: Buy the scratch protection film!

if you don't..... ALWAYS compare the condition of the tip of the WHITE stylist Nib to a new Nib before applying it to the surface of the tablet - CHECK IT EVERY TIME YOU SIT DOWN TO USE IT.
Over time they wear out and crisp edges form that will scratch the surface screen of your Cintiq.

There is no way to get the scratches out!!!!!!!

I'm not speaking of the normal pressure trails left on the surface after use - those wipe off with a little moisture on a soft towel.

I'm a person who takes care with things and still this happened to me.
I hope this information prevents someone else from the upsetting experience of scratching their screen.

I just got my Cintiq 21UX. It's an awesome piece of equipment, not backed by a good company. I have more than one dead subpixel, and their policy is up to 14 DEAD SUBPIXELS!

C'mon?! I'm a graphic designer, and this is what over $2000.00 gets me?

I'm past disappointed w/ their policies and service.

I have used the 21UX for a couple of years now and have to say it's the best investment we've ever made. Retouching in Photoshop (actually anything)has never been easier and creating 3-d models in Lightwave is now a snap. I've yet to find a program that doesn't benefit from the Cintiq. I love the express buttons and use them in several different programs. Drawing and painting using the 21UX is completely natural. Took me about 1 minute to get used to it. Connections to the computer are challenging but not difficult and I had trouble loading the drivers, but after a call to Wacom's excellent customer service I was up and running in no time. Due to the size and weight, I wouldn't recommend trying to move it from one computer to another. Tracking was good but not great. As you move from side to side the pen doesn't seem to track accurately.
The only downside I see is (at least on my older model) is how much glare there is on the screen. I had to take out my florescent lights over my desktop in order to eliminate the glare. I feel like a mole in the cube but there's no other choice if you want to see what on screen.
I recently saw new models of the 21UX and the glare is reduced but not as much as I thought. So if you're planning on getting a 21UX watch your overhead lights.

The CINTIQ 21UX works great for drawing and painting in Photoshop and Illustrator. Using the pen instead of my mouse has really increased my productivity. When I am not drawing on it, I use it as my main monitor on a dual monitor setup.

I have it mounted on an lcd arm (7500-1000HY model from Innovative - lcdarmsdotcom). I wasn't sure which model to choose so I gave them a call for advice. The "HY" stands for hydraulic which was not listed on the website at the time. Since I will be resting my arms and applying some pressure on the monitor, I was recommended the hydraulic cylinder which will be more steady/stable than the gas cylinder(identical in appearance to HY) that is listed on the website as SKU:7500.

I received the lcd arm yesterday(Tuesday - ordered last Tuesday)and assembled it easily using the Grommet Hole FLEXmount method and followed instructions on page 57 of the CINTIQ 21UX manual and I was good to go.

I now have a nice, ergonomic setup for my work/play station--No more neck/shoulder/back strain!

The cintiq is a cool piece of technology, but it has one very noticeable flaw that I was not able to accept. When I would draw, the lines would all have a wave to them. I'm not talking about the standard digital jitter. I can draw smoothly on my intuos tablet, but the cintiq seems to have some shielding problems that will not allow for smooth drawing. People have argued that, that's just the price of digital drawing, but in my opinion something that costs $2,000 should work better than that. If it was half the price, I probably would've kept it and been happy with it, but that's a lot of money for it not to work as I expect it to. If you google cintiq jitter, or wavy lines you may be able to find others with similar problems. I ended up returning it after spending a week trying to get wacom to help me.

By the way, wacom tech support is nice up to the point where they don't have an answer for you. Then they just ignore you. That's when I realized my problem is a limitation of the technology or it's a defect they don't want to admit is occurring.

There was also a delay in my actions and what occurred on screen. Once you get drawing, you don't really notice it though.

On the plus side, beautiful screen, big drawing area, really fun to draw on, and I loved being able to rotate the screen. Like I said, if it was half the cost, I would've kept it.

For the money, I'd recommend getting a tablet pc instead of a cintiq. From what I've read tablet pc's have less jitter problems, are half the cost, and you get an entire computer instead of just a monitor.

I am a college student going into my Senior year and I am studying Graphic Design. My main focus is illustration and cartoons. To get down to it this is one of the greatest investments I have made thus far. I knew I wanted a tablet, and knew that I was eventually going to get a Cintiq. I decided to go straight for the big one. I was hesitant at first because of the price. It is a bit pricy but I figured that the ends justified the means and that I will pay it off someday with the work that I do.
You shouldn't expect a perfect representation of pen and paper. It is close but not perfect. And that is totally fine with me. It works amazingly! It makes drawing on the computer so much easier and faster. I can't tell you how much I like it. Wacom has put a lot of deep thought into all of the features and the structure of this thing that you shouldn't have to question it.
I see my self in the future using this for a very long time and am 110% satisfied with my purchase. If you are deciding whether this is right for you go and look at videos on the web. There are plenty of people to tell you that this is a good investment. And to clear up what a previous review said, it is compatible with an imac if you have the DVI adapter for it (which is like $15-$20 at Best Buy or an apple store).
So I encourage all of you who are into graphic design and illustration to save up the money and get the Cintiq. I would defiantly get the bigger of the two. As many of us college student like to put it, "Go Big or Go Home!"

My entire career has been spent with traditional mediums, and until recently working digitally didn't interest me. I had a conversation over 15 years ago on the subject of the disconnect between screen and hand, and said: "Yeah, but if you could draw directly onto the screen, now THAT would be something!" It seemed the stuff of science fiction back then.

I knew nothing about the Cintiq until a few months ago. I was hesitant about the seemingly hefty price tag, but thought: "Have they really done it? Does this thing actually work?". I read a lot of conflicting information online, then I had the opportunity to draw on both models at a Wacom booth. It was a demo model, so I didn't feel too bad about drooling all over the screen. Believe none of the technobabble about holding the stylus at one rigid angle, or the "parallax" between the pen tip and the cursor causing problems, or having to practice your brush strokes in order to get used to working on a screen. The learning curve on a Cintiq is roughly 16 seconds (give or take a couple seconds). Draw as you normally would, it translates intuitively and directly to the screen. Simple as that.

The Cintiq 21ux is the finest digital drawing tool available today, and one of the best investments I've ever made (plus, it's remarkably drool resistant). The only improvement I can think of would be a neural interface, so we can go to a virtual studio inside the screen! I hope to be writing a similar review on the Wacom 2024ux 15 years from now.