Wacom Cintiq 24HD Review
Introduction
Back in September 2011 Wacom unveiled the Cintiq 24HD which was to be the flagship tablet for the company and to run alongside the 12wx and 21ux. 4 years have passed since the release of the previous top dog, the Wacom Cintiq 21ux, so how have Wacom invested their time into this new unit?
The 24HD incorporates a 24” widescreen IPS panel with a full HD resolution of 1920×1200. The colour gamut has been increased to 92% supporting adobeRGB, the screen can also be calibrated by devices enabled to do so, unlike the older 21ux.
The tablet technologies remain the same as the 21ux DTK refresh from 2 years ago. What this includes is full Intuos 4 support with 5080 lines per inch, 2048 levels of sensitivity and tilt functionality. You get the Intuos 4 pen with 7 default nibs, 4 felt nibs and a larger barrel which can cover the 2 stylus buttons if you prefer. 10 express keys surround the screen with 2 scroll wheels (similar to those on the Intuos 4) which have 3 separate modes. Along the top screen you have 3 touch sensitive areas, these show what your express keys are mapped to (which changes depending on the program used), another brings up an on-screen keyboard and the last will present the Wacom software enabling you to change setting whilst you work. The last set of buttons are located on top of the unit which enable all the common settings such as brightness/contrast to be changed.
The stand has undergone a huge transformation to accommodate the new screen; rotating a 24” widescreen would have been quite cumbersome so Wacom have had to redesign it. The base houses a counterweight for the monitor itself which can be stood up like a regular screen, then by gripping the 2 release pads (one on either side of the monitor) you can adjust the tilt of the screen. At the base there is a release switch, once activated the monitor will swing up or down, so when used in conjunction with the release pads, the unit can be manoeuvred into many ergonomic positions. It can be solidly positioned upright, at a 45 degree angle and over the edge of the desk any degree in-between is fine until a moderate amount of pressure is applied in which the screen will move. 2 small feet are included which can be pulled out to slightly prop the unit (similar to that on keyboards).
First Impressions
The unit comes in a box the size of my university accommodation… ok maybe not, but in seriousness it’s massive and heavy. I managed to get it up 2 flights of stairs by myself but with great difficulty; it’s ‘only’ 30kg’s in weight but the boxes size makes it awfully difficult to carry, so be sure to get someone else to help.
The Wacom is really well packed; the unit itself takes up only 50% of the box inside with the rest being packed out with a polystyrene surround. Be sure to read the instructions for removing the unit as you can potentially damage the stand if it’s handled incorrectly. Once out of the box and on the desk again the unit behemoths everything! It dwarfs both my Samsung SA950D 27” monitor and my 27” iMac despite it being a 24” device. A lot of desk re-arranging was in order to get it into the right position, so be prepared to work your work area around this device.
- it’s big…
Installation was simple, included and already attached to the Wacom is a DVI cable and USB for connection right into your PC/Mac; if you don’t utilise the DVI connection, then a VGA cable is also supplied although some ‘assembly’ is required, i.e. you have to remove a part of the stand and route the cable neatly through it so it is installed correctly. Drivers are included on a disc, which is to be expected, it contains all the relevant software bundled with all Intuos and Cintiq products with some additional brush sets for use in Photoshop.
Using The Cintiq
Using the stand is easy, the 24HD feels extremely well built and it glides into any position effortlessly. Positioning the Cintiq over the edge of a desk is such an awesome feature, it feels really natural. The Cintiq’s thick outer bezel was designed to accommodate your forearms and elbows; it feels a lot like a design bench as opposed to a regular tablet.
The stand is pretty neat
Drawing direct onto the screen is also a fantastic feeling, not having the dissonance between the tablet and the monitor makes for a far more natural experience. Some users complained of lag on the older versions of the Cintiq, it’s abit of a myth, if you have a decent enough machine then you won’t get the lag, if you push it beyond its means(like 2500 brush size, 0 spacing etc…), just like with any program, then you’ll start to experience issues. With an i7 and 16gb of ram, the experience is smooth. The screen surface however is about 5mm thick; the texture of it, although hardwearing, does create a slight blurry overlay. The thickness of the surface also make drawing on it at an angle little odd, at any angle other than directly above you get to see the distance between the stylus tip and the screen; good calibration and an hour of drawing make this an none existent issue, but it is there to begin with.
The express keys really help your workflow and can be individually mapped for any shortcut or pre-recorded action; profiles can even be set up for separate pieces of software. The scroll wheels have 3 buttons to the side of them which cycle their function (Zoom/Scroll, Brush Size, and Rotation, by default in Photoshop). They all take abit of getting used to and in my case haven’t completely removed the need for a keyboard, but that’s where the on-screen keyboard and complimentary USB port come into play.
1:1 mapping is a fantastic feature with Cintiq products, but the larger units require a lot more energy to work on. The screen in the 24HD doesn’t heat up asmuch as the older models do thanks to its built in cooling unit, but it does still generate some heat, especially towards the top of the screen. This heat coupled with larger strokes then you would produce on a regular sized tablet causes you to tire quicker. On the flip side I use my wrist a lot less to draw and instead rely on my elbow and shoulder for larger strokes which feels a lot more comfortable; I can imagine people with wrist injuries or carpel tunnel would find drawing on the Cintiq 24HD a godsend.
Conclusion
Wacom have really upped the bar with the Cintiq 24HD, it’s an amazing product and in my opinion worth every penny. It is responsive, well-built and of a superior quality to anything else I have tried including the older 21ux, it’s just in a completely different league. It is, however, not without its flaws, they’re small but they do exist, some can be circumvented completely with good installation and complimentary equipment, like a good PC; others you just have to adjust to. Make no mistake the 24HD is a monster of a product which oozes quality and which any professional or enthusiast shouldn’t be without.
Pros
- Great screen resolution, brightness/contrast and colour reproduction
- Awesome build quality and ergonomics
- Responsive with intuitive express keys
- Very natural drawing feel and fun to work on
- Easy to install and use
- 1:1 mapping, what you draw is what you get
- Amazing stand
Cons
- Expensive and HUGE
- Slight blur to the image due to the texted surface
- Requires a lot of energy to work on for longer drawing sessions
- Current issue with the Wacom ‘Art Pen’ (will be fixed in a future driver release)
