I have a friend who is in the 3D gaming and animation industry. She was nice enough to take some time to offer her Wacom Cintiq 21UX review for me.
Her thoughts:
She will never go back to the separation of hand and eye again. She hardly uses her keyboard anymore except to type. Even after using it for many months, she finds herself trying to use her fingers to erase or smudge because it feels so natural. “This is by far my favorite tech purchase. I would say my speed has increased about 25% due to fewer undo’s and a more intuitive work environment and creating 3-d models in Lightwave is a snap!”
Pros:
The calibration of the stylus was very good. I did notice that when I got to the extreme edges of the screen (to open and close palettes or windows) the calibration was off, but otherwise, everything in the area I drew was accurate. Pen motions were very accurate with light and heavy pressure with the variety of brushes. I could tell that there was a very thin glass layer between the pen and on-screen cursor at first, but acclimated to it quickly.
There is no screen distortion when the pen tip touches the LCD screen. Also, the Wacom Cintiq 21UX has 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. More than the Cintiq 12WX (1024).
I thought the tilt might not be enough, but it’s fine. It can recline 10 to 65 degrees. The screen also rotates 180 degrees in both directions.
The monitor was nice and bright. Some reviews mentioned that it is darker than a regular monitor, but that wasn’t the case for me.
I didn’t have enough time to adjust to using the Touch Strips, but I could definitely see how they would save me some time and improve my efficiency. I don’t know if I could get used to the buttons on the back of the screen, but I’ve read a lot of reviews where people say they like them and use them often.
Cons:
There are a few, but they seem irrelevant overall. They are important to mention though.
Aspect ratio – 4:3, Some feel this is old school.
Large and heavy
- Physical is 22.1″ W x 16.6″ H x 1.9″ D
- Display is 17″ W x 12.75 H”
- Weighs 22.4 lb with stand.
Price – It is on the high-end compared to the Cintiq 12 WX.
Lack of multi-touch support
Overall:
I believe the pros outweigh the cons. The Wacom Cintiq 21UX is by far the second greatest Wacom tablet. After using it for only a little while, I definitely wanted one. I can’t justify buying it though because I wouldn’t use it often enough. I believe it is perfect for any graphics professional.