Screen size: 15.6 inchScreen Resolution: 1920x1080 (full HD)Display: 422 x 285 x 24.5mm/16.6 x 11.2 x 1.0 inchesScreen Technology: a-Si Active Matrix TFT LCD (IPS)Colour Gamut: 72% NTSC (CIE1931) typicalPen: Wacom Pro Pen 2Pressure Levels: 8,192Weight: 1.9 kg without optional standPorts: HDMI/USB outIn years gone by, Wacom was the only real choice for artists wanting a or creative display – and the Cintiq range has alway dominated in that area. Fast forward to today and there are numerous options to consider in all price range, from the seldom heard of Artisul D13 across the spectrum to the Apple IPad Pro and Apple Pencil.Now the Wacom Cintiq 16 has arrived and it's going after a very specific market, with the headline feature being the price. A 1920x1080 display, a Pro Pen 2 and 72 per cent colour gamut are all fairly standard features, but the Wacom Cintiq 16 boasts 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, the ability to use the newer Pro Pen 3D and very minimal parallax, all at the lowest price we've ever seen for a Cintiq. Wacom Cintiq 16: Price and availabilitySitting between the Intuos Pro and Cintiq Pro 13, the new Cintiq 16 pen display costs $649.95 / £528.99 / €599.90. That’s significantly cheaper than the same-sized Cintiq Pro 16, which will set you back $1,499.96 / £1,399 / €1,599.It’s also cheaper than the iPad Pro, which costs from $799 / £769 and at the moment doesn’t run pro creative programs such as Photoshop , or come with the Apple Pencil.
The price of the basic one is very tempting. It's a 1000$ difference between that and the 16 pro. I saw a review comparing both and I wonder if that extra bump really is worth it. Actually, if I get the basic Cintiq 16 I could also get an iPad Pro 12.9 with 64GB for the price of the Cintiq Pro 16.
That'll cost you another $99 / £89; whereas the new Cintiq 16 comes bundled with the Wacom Pro Pen 2. Wacom's new Cintiq 16 is less than half the cost of the pro versionClearly, Wacom is looking to take on the growing market of cheaper Wacom alternatives that has developed over the last few years: Huion, XP-Pen and so on. These companies are producing excellent pen display and graphic tablets, and have found a loyal fan base thanks to their much cheaper price points.Wacom still doesn’t win on price with the Cintiq 16, but it’s dramatically closed the gap – and it has the excellent Pro Pen 2 stylus up its sleeve. Most competitor pens top out at 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity, compared to its 8,192. Wacom Cintiq 16: Display and drawing experienceThe display is 15.6-inches diagonally and has a screen resolution of 1920x1080 (full HD). It has a TFT (thin film transistor) liquid crystal display (LCD) and, rather than an etched glass screen, this one has an anti-glare textured overlay.
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The onscreen feel is a very personal choice and if you love that 'sliding on glass' feel that you get with Pro models and the iPad Pro, this model is not for you.It might not be as bright as the Cintiq Pro but it certainly didn’t feel like an issue in normal studio working conditions. It has a colour colour gamut of 72 per cent as opposed to 94 per cent (or higher) as stated for the Cintiq Pro and the Artisul D16 pen display. That's certainly going to put a certain group of user off, perhaps pro photographers or those working in the higher end of the design market.There are flip out legs on the rear of the Cintiq, which allow you to work at a 19-degree angle. As with the larger and Pro model, there is no stand, but Wacom has created one for this range.
There are no express keys on this model and Wacom doesn’t include the Express Key remote, but it is compatible. Wacom Cintiq 16: StylusThe Pro Pen 2 has always delivered in terms of sensitivity and build quality. As with most pens in the Wacom family, you don’t have to charge them and that can’t be said for close competitors like the Huion KAMVAS and, of course, any of the Apple Pencils.
Huion has started giving out two Pens with the latest models, which would help, but a chargeless pen will always be the gold standard.The Cintiq 16 works with the Pro Pen 3D (sold separately), which is worth purchasing if you do a lot of 3D modelling and find an extra button is needed. There is a slide-out pen holder on the right side of the Pro Pen 3D, which can store spare nibs and a tool to remove them from the Pro Pen. The 8,192 levels of sensitivity is the same as the Pro line.
The excellent Pro Pen 2 stylus has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivty Wacom Cintiq 16: Power and (lack of) buttonsThere is a single cord coming from the top of the Cintiq, which makes the whole experience feel tidier than products with side connections. That single cable splits into USB-A, a HDMI and power lead. If you have a newer laptop with USB-C or even a machine with a display port, you're going to need an adaptor for the HDMI connection. There's only a single power button on the top right of the screen, keeping it well out of the way of accidental button presses.The Wacom Desktop Center gives you access to control brightness, contrast and colour temperature. This means you can tweak the screen to your personal preference without on-device buttons, but you aren’t going to get the black levels of an etched glass machine. The single cord connection makes the Wacom Cintiq 16 a tidy affair Wacom Cintiq 16: TouchOne of the noticeable features that has been dropped for this model is touch. This may be a deal-breaker for photographers and artists coming from an iPad, but digital sculptors using programs like ZBrush aren’t going to be worried by the lack of touch.
Using Touch is great in Photoshop for zooming and rotating but it won’t be a problem for creatives new to the industry, especially when you consider the price leap to have that feature. Time will tell but it's doubtful the lack of touch functionality will affect the popularity of this new model. Wacom Cintiq 16: Should you buy it?Wacom has focused on creative professionals for over three decades. Before this release, if you wanted to experiment with a Wacom pen display, you needed to fork out at a pro-level price point. But the new Wacom Cintiq 16 changes that.This new model will appeal to artists about to upgrade from an Intuos, and possibly concept artists who aren’t too worried about the RBG Gamut. Photographers and higher end designers might still think that the extra features of the Cintiq Pro line are essential for them, but the price difference is huge.And it really isn’t a Cintiq Pro: you don’t get the UHD resolution, multitouch control or as many connectivity options.
It isn’t as portable as a Surface Pro or iPad Pro eitherBut build quality appears similar, and for less than half the price of the 16-inch Pro version you get what looks to be a very capable pen display. Importantly, you also get access to Wacom’s industry standard drawing tools: these are the displays you find in most animation and special effects studios.
If you’re a cash-strapped creative pro, the Wacom Cintiq 16 is definitely an option worth considering.Also read.
Thoughts on the Wacom Cintiq 27QHDWhen I first saw the Wacom Cintiq 27QHD model a year ago, I was instantly smitten. Last week, I ordered one for myself.It’s been in the studio for a week now, and by all accounts, the Cintiq 27QHD everything I expected it to be. But, I’m getting ahead of myselfAs of this writing, there are numerous offerings in the tablet monitor space from Huion, Yiynova, Microsoft and even Apple’s own iPad Pro. Long time readers will note that I have been using a for nearly 4 years.
This post will attempt to address why I made the switch to the Cintiq 27QHD, and also why I picked this model over other competitive offerings (including Wacom’s recently announced Cintiq Pro and Cintiq Mobile Studio models).Let’s start at the top.Let me be clear: Yiynova makes a good product for its price point, but it has certain limitations that users need to be aware of. The first is the limited viewing angle, which makes more challenging. The second limitation is the 1440 x 900 screen size. This wasn’t so much of an issue for me, because I made use of a second display.
The third is the, especially on the Windows side. (Note: Yiynova released last month.) These limitations were not deal breakers for me, but given the volume of work that I’ve been doing over the past year, I was ready for an upgrade.Last month, Microsoft announced its Surface Studio device. While was very positive, I’ve tempered my attitude over the past few weeks as I’ve learned more about the device.
While the Surface Studio’s 4K screen is no doubt very impressive, the device has only 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity. Both the Yiynova and Cintiq offer double the amount.
Furthermore, the Surface Studio stylus requires a battery. Again, this wasn’t a deal breaker for me, because I’ve been using a battery operated stylus with my Yiynova with no issues whatsoever.For me, the biggest deal breakers in considering the Surface Studio was 1) the price ($3000) and 2) the expense in purchasing Windows equivalent versions of the Mac software I already own. In addition to the software, I would also have to reinvest time in rebuilding my automation tools from scratch on the Windows side. The time and inconvenience of finding and using programs that offer similar features to Automator and on the Windows side wasn’t worth it to me.Before I dropped coin on the Cintiq 27QHD, I was also considering the newly announced Cintiq Pro 16 model. It retails for $1500 and offers a 4K screen with 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity – with virtually no parallax between the stylus and the screen. While the extra screen resolution and increased pressure sensitivity are tempting, I wanted a bigger unit to work on. The 16″ screen would be similar to the size of my current Yiynova tablet.
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The Cintiq Pro 16 doesn’t ship until February 2017, and I needed to make a purchase before the end of the year, so I had to rule that model out. New models also tend to have bugs or problems. As of this writing, the Cintiq 27QHD has been around for almost two years, so any kinks should have hopefully been worked out by now.I believe I’ve made the best decision for me. The Cintiq 27QHD is a visually arresting piece of kit. It comes with a very useful and programmable remote that you can assign keys to and the color range is stunning. Drawing on its textured surface is very pleasant and smooth – in comparison, it’s head and shoulders above drawing on the Yiynova’s glass screen.Before installing the Cintiq, I first removed the Yiynova and its accompanying software drivers.Below are some photos of the unboxing.
Wacom, in this regard, does an exceptional job. The Cintiq 27QHD comes double-boxed and superbly packed.The screen is protected by no less than 4 layers of plastic covering.The bottom of the Cintiq 27QHD contains the ports to plug the device to both power and your computerwhile each side of the unit contains 2 conveniently located USB 3.0 ports.The included pen stylus and remote control both exude quality and craftsmanship. The remote has a magnetic backing that lets you keep it on the display while you are working.The Cintiq 27QHD is HUGE. Make sure you have a large enough desk to accommodate it.I’m using the Cintiq with an HDMI to DVI adapter cable, which gives a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. Computers equipped with DisplayPort cards or ports can get the native 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution. At some point, I’m going to upgrade my video card to take advantage of this. When I first powered on the Cintiq, I ran an online pixel checker to test the Cintiq for dead pixels.
Thankfully, my unit passed with flying colors (ahem!).To connect the Cintiq 27QHD to a mounting arm requires the additional purchase of a VESA plate adapter. I purchased an and it works beautifully with it. Using the adaptor plate, you can take a 100mm x 100mm VESA connection and mount it to devices with a 200mm x 200mm mounting surface. Even with the mounting plate, the AmazonBasics Single Monitor Display Mounting arm I’m currently using with my Cintiq 27QHD is not strong enough to fully elevate and support the unit. I’m hoping to address that problem soon, so I can comfortably position my Cintiq where I want while I’m working.Here’s the Cintiq integrated into my current desk setup.And here’s the first illustration I made with my new toy:In summary, I absolutely love drawing and working with the Wacom Cintiq 27QHD.
It’s a complete game-changer for me. I hope to get many, many useful years out of it. Share them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer.-Krishna Krishna November 27, 2016,.
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