Expert’s Rating
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Our Verdict
The Apple iPad ( ) may be this spring ’s most talked about touch - sensitive gadget , but for digital creative person , the Wacom Cintiq 21UX synergistic pen exhibit still holds the title of top pad . Thanks to a late redesign , the 22 - column inch Cintiq now offer twice the pressure sensitivity of its herald , two strategically dislodge Touch Strips , and 16 programmable ExpressKeys that enable you to customize the tablet to fit your oeuvre style .
Traditional graphics tablets require you to sketch on one surface and watch out as the result appear on the monitor lizard on the other side of your desk . This approach can be tricky to master . With the Cintiq , you line directly on the built - in monitoring gadget concealment . Even better , depending on the software brush you select , you may reach dissimilar esthetic effects . Push harder and your accident darkens . Tilt the pen for a broad line .
The newCintiq 21UXutilizes Wacom ’s second - multiplication sensor ( already incorporated into itsIntuos 4product line ) to offer an telling 2048 story of pressure sensitivity . Couple the Cintiq with a capable graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop ( ) or Corel Painter ( ) and you may achieve very nuanced , organic - look exemplification without giving up the flexibility of working in the digital realm .
The updated penitentiary is about the thickness of a Sharpie and features a soft arctic grip that makes it very comfortable to hold . Beneath your indicator finger is a programmable rocker switching that you’re able to use to decent - clack or double - click as you point with the pen ’s neb . There ’s even an eraser on the other conclusion of the pen for promptly cleaning up isolated scribbles .
One - time playpen calibration took less than 30 seconds . Once calibrated , the pen tracked remarkably accurately , even at the very edges of the working area where some tablets fail .
As with its previous avatar , the updated Cintiq incorporate two touch sensitive strips that admit you to quickly zoom , curlicue , exchange brush size , or splay the canvas just by dragging you fingertip . In the redesign , these Touch Strips are relocated to the back side of the unit to ward off accidental activating while sketching . The specific Touch Strip function is designated by using one of the two pear-shaped on/off switch button on the front of the unit . Also included are 16 programmable ExpressKeys – symmetrically located , of course , so that the unit can be used just as easily use by left-hander as righties .
The Cintiq boasts an admirable 1600 - by-1200 - pixel resolve , 21.3 - inch TFT display ( measured diagonally ) . For those accustom to the omnipresent widescreen monitor , the Cintiq ’s 4:3 aspect ratio may seem like a bit of a reversion , but it make the forcible geometry of splay the monitor from portrayal to landscape much easier . Apple Cinema Display exploiter might notice that the Cintiq is not quite as shiny ( 200 cd / m2 vs. Apple ’s 330 cd / m2 ) .
The admit display stand allows the tablet to be adjusted from a near - horizontal 10 - point incline to a maximum of 65 degrees . Removing the tablet from the stand is a cinch , but given the unit ’s size of it I found it better to entrust it be .
There ’s a intellect they do n’t call it “ Thintiq . ” At just under two inches thick and 19 punt ( without the stand ) , Steve Jobs would require to spend a lot of time in the gym so as to flourish this tab around onstage one - handed . And although the unit elegantly integrate its video , data , and mogul link into a unmarried six - foot line , the half - inch - thick cord is a turn unwieldy for base - free , daily operation . Current Cintiq proprietor looking to upgrade to a less cumbersome model will have to wait .
Macworld’s buying advice
Wacom ’s Cintiq 21UX synergistic penitentiary show is a pipe dream tool for electronic creative person looking to expound their digital palettes . But with a $ 2,000 cost shred and a exercising weight of nearly 23 pounds , many will find it too costly or too bulky to meet their needs .
[ Tim Haddock is a writer and embodied communications professional sustenance in Vermont . ]
