Alternatives to Wacom Cintiq?

[eolake]

I want an screen/tablet like the Wacom Cintiq. But it is raaaather expensive.

Are there any alternatives?

[eolake]

Oh, and by the way: anybody who is using an LCD tablet: has it helped you a lot?
I am very frustrated by having to look another place than I am drawing, but I have never tried a screen/tablet.

[Roam]

Actually, I contacted a company in Taiwan that would import me a sample lcd tablet for 595 (seems that these things are a bit more common in Asia than the monopoly market Wacom has here), and also another company that would do a different model for like 750.

[MadSamoan]

There aren't many viable alternatives to Wacom since they hold patents that restrict what other manufacturers can emulate.

I used to use a Cintiq and they're helpful, but not enough to warrant the price. I don't know if newer LCDs are any better, but they have problems reproducing colors as well as normal monitors.

[eolake]

Originally posted by MadSamoan
I don't know if newer LCDs are any better, but they have problems reproducing colors as well as normal monitors.

Do you mean LCDs in general? Because I am very happy with my Apple Cinema Display.

[MadSamoan]

LCDs in general. On screen, the colors can look very rich and saturated, but in print or or another monitor or TV, the colors often turn out to be more muted than you might think. The current generation of LCDs may have this issue resolved though. Also Cintiqs used to cost twice what they cost now.

[eolake]

Originally posted by MadSamoan
LCDs in general. The current generation of LCDs may have this issue resolved though. Cintiqs used to cost twice what they cost now.

Really? The large one is three grand!

It probably won't be a lot cheaper very soon, though, too specialized. So I think I'll get it.

[Sheff]

Check this out (http://www.koreamod.com/tt/board/ttboard.cgi?act=read&db=koreamod_gallery&page=11&idx=51)

It shouldn't be too hard to build one. I've been wanting to do this for a while. I would guess the hard part would be finding the parts.

But if I were to build one, I would design it so that it could fit into my drawing table surface so that I could rotate the screen as necessary. And when it's not in use I could drop in a light table when I need that.

This project for me is really much further down the line. I built my first mod (http://www.sheff.com/projects/HellRaiser/hellraiser01.html) and it went pretty well, so I think building one like this Korean guy did should be pretty easy. I just wish I could read Korean.

I believe 3M makes a touch screen. I think what you want is a 'static screen' rather than a touch screen. I could be wrong on that though.

I like the Cintique, but you would need something like a nostromo n50 or n52 to complement it. Never having used one, I would say that just from the price, it's too much. I think you could build one for half the cost of the 18 incher or buy a tabletPC.

[eolake]

[QUOTEI built my first mod (http://www.sheff.com/projects/HellRaiser/hellraiser01.html) and it went pretty well, [/QUOTE]

I like your puzzle cube. (It should have been an Apple Cube of course:)

I am not a big horror fan, but I was fascinated by the design of the puzzle box in Hellraiser. I used a lot of time finding clean graphics of it on the web, and so on. Gorgeous, original design.

[Sheff]

http://www.sheff.com/projects/HellRaiser/hellraiserFAQ.html

On my faq page on the hellraiser cube are graphic links to the 3 sides in case you're curious. I basically rebuilt them in Xara and printed the vector output.

I wish I had a Mac cube or a G5. Can't justify the expense at the moment though. Maybe next year.

Thanks,

[eolake]

I wish I had a Mac cube or a G5.

I had a Cube. Cute machine, but slow, maybe due to the vertical drives.

I now have a G5. What a monster! Beauty and power in one.