Want to buy a Cintiq 21ux, have a few questions

[Schnookiefoo]

Hey all. Ahead of everything, sorry for the long babbling! :S

Since the Cintiq 21 is quite a costly piece of equipment, I'm a tad hesitant to just go out and buy one. I've gone through the topics here and there seems to be mixed opinions about the thing, some hate it, some love it. I've been using a 9x12 intuos 3 for almost 4 years now, and although its been great, there's just a hand eye coordination problem I can't overcome. No matter how much I seem to practice I cannot get my sketches on the PC to look like the kind I do on paper. After looking at the Cintiq, looks like the thing can solve all my problems.

I mainly do comic/cartoonish stuff, with the occasional painting here and there. It usually takes me a few hours to line my work. If I could get this done with simple strokes in even an hour, it would be uber awesome. Whats really got me sold on it is Skottie Young's work. He speaks highly of the thing on his blog and it really got me interested in it. So, at the moment, I'm really certain I would like to get a cintiq 21, but I've got a few concerns I'd like to ask about;

Scratching - Whats the surface of the tablet made of? I've read stories how the thing scratches and builds up smudge, while others say they've had it for a few years and it's still in great condition. My only plan so far to combat these problems is to keep my hands clean, not wear anything on my arms that may scratch the thing, and make sure to press lightly with the stylus.

Overheating - How hot does it get? I have a fairly airy place I plan to put it, will I have any problems with painting/drawing for 6+ hours straight?

Delay - Is there a delay with strokes? This is probably my main concern. Thought I read somewhere that it can have delay problems.

Any helpful info will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Arshes Nei]

Older versions of Cintiqs are made of scratch resistant glass, newer versions use acrylic and have mixed results. It may be that there was a "bad batch" possibly that scratch more easily. Some haven't had this problem. There are sheets you can put over them if you're concerned.

Overheating I heard was more to do with the smaller model than the larger one.

[jdeegz]

hey man, my computer lab at school has ~10 of these. They are great, and improve your work flow greatly compared to normal tablets.

Since we have roughly 100 I.D. students using these cintiqs there is a bit of scratching, but you can only see it when the monitor is off/sleep or if the entire screen is dark/black. You can certainly clean them like any other monitor so smudging should be no problem.

Our cintiqs are on 24/7 and have never had a problem with overheating. And you wont notice any delay unless it is on your computers side.

You should not have any second guesses on buying this thing. It is awesome, and you will love ever second of it :D

[PsiBug]

I also used an Intuos 3 for several years and finally got a cintiq last year. I like it alot and I use it every day!. It does get warm and stay warm but I haven't had any actual "overheating" problems. It may seem hot if you plan to work with it in your lap. I did that for a while but with the heavy cord and the weight of the screen, it's much nicer to work with it on the stand.

I bought mine used on ebay for $1500 and it has some very faint wear that can only be noticed when it's off or possibly when painting something with a very dark/black background as mentioned above. I haven't noticed or thought about the "wear" in months if that gives you any indication of how minor it is. I'm assuming I have the acrylic cover instead of the glass but I'm not sure and I'm not currently at home to check.

If you buy a used one, make sure you are getting all the drivers and software and cables. Also be sure to know your seller's reputation and any guarantees that are made about it's working condition. I've had zero problems with mine but there can be risks with used merchandise.

I still have the best results (usually) if I sketch on paper, scan it and then do the finishing/inking/coloring/whatever on the Cintiq. Your mileage may vary.

-Michael

[Schnookiefoo]

Thanks for the info and tips guys. Really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these now! :D

[Elsevilla]

got one and havent get any of this things you mention, most of them are from old posts, usually by cintiq haters, cause they want to give their own excuses to use their intuos 3, people will always complain about new things, they tend to see more the problems than benefits, the monitor gets a bit of heat like any other monitor, and in winter its a blessing, no more cold hand problem.

No lags at all, that depends on the machine you ar using, works fine with my hp. Recomend you to try it on cons, before buying it.

I lamented for months, why did i bought this thing, now its just a blessing.

[kodekon]

I bought 21" Cintiq a couple of weeks ago and I'm loving it! I used to use Intuos1 A5 (6"x8") I guess for 8 years and Cintiq is much more natural to use, and I mean MUCH more. I have Cintiq on the table on the stand that came with it. I'm still trying to find the right postures when drawing but I guess it's actually better for the back and for the body overall to keep changing the postures constantly. I guess it's just natural to keep changing Cintiq's tilt and rotating it all the time to suit your needs when drawing on it.

I haven't tried to use Cintiq on my lap since the size and the weight would make it a bit awkward. I was trying to think the differences between drawing/painting on paper/canvas and drawing with Cintiq but actually I haven't drawn properly for years on a paper since it was always so messy. Sure with paper pad it's nice to be able to move the paper any which way you want and feel the texture of paper etc., but drawing and painting digitally is just so much easier. I love the undo's! Anyway I guess Cintiq is the most natural way at the moment to draw and paint on the computer and even if drawing with real pencils is in a way more natural the advantages of drawing digitally make up for the differences.

The only flaw in my unit is one single stuck pixel that got stuck after about a week I'd gotten the Cintiq. It was stuck for a day or two and then it disappeared. LCD panels sometimes get them, and although I was a bit disappointed about it I got over it since when that pixel is stuck you don't notice it all the time. But it's gone now and hopefully it doesn't return :)

BTW, the latest versions use glass once again. This is from Wacom's own forum when someone asked about it:

"The first versions of the Cintiq21 models (just DTZ-2100) had an acyrlic surface covering the whole surface, the later -C and current -D releases have a coated glass surface."

http://forum.wacom.eu/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1278#p5478

[Ryn]

Scratching - Whats the surface of the tablet made of? I've read stories how the thing scratches and builds up smudge, while others say they've had it for a few years and it's still in great condition. My only plan so far to combat these problems is to keep my hands clean, not wear anything on my arms that may scratch the thing, and make sure to press lightly with the stylus.

Just take good care of it and you'll be fine. Make sure your hands are clean when you work (Ill take breaks to wash my hands every hour or so). Keep it free of dust, which can get caught under your pen and grind into the surface. Make sure your pen nibs stay clean for the same reason. I've only had it for 4 months or so, but it's in the same condition as it was the day I bought it.

I have no overheating or delay problems on mine. My only criticism is the cintiq doesn't display contrast very well. There is a discernible difference between the whites on my cintiq and on my laptop. However, the colour range is better than my laptop display. So at least I know the display faults and I can work accordingly. After getting used to it, it isn't a big deal at all.

It's a great piece of equipment and I'm very glad I bought one.

[Riley Stark]

I have one and I LOVE it.

I've had mine for a little over a year now and there's not a single scratch on it and I use it every day (almost all day). I always leave it on, just like I do with my computer and it's fine.

I'm a small girl (about 5ft. 2in.) and I can work with it in my lap - it doesn't get too hot (nothing even CLOSE to what my MBP heats up to), so you should be fine there (I was even using mine with shorts on the other day and it was no problem against my skin). It can be a bit clunky if you're working with it in your lap, but it is definitely doable. I find it easiest if I can sit in a chair that has the ability to lean back, just so I can work at more of an angle - it's easier to balance/work that way.

I have no lag at all using mine, but that will mostly come down to how powerful your computer is rather than the Cintiq itself. The more ram you have available or the faster the processor you have, the better it will work for you. I'm running on a 2.6ghz Macbook Pro with 4GB ram and mine works with no delay whatsoever. And that's with a few programs open in addition to Photoshop. (Usually dumb stuff like AIM or a few browsers.. occasionally a movie running too.)

As was mentioned before, the color range could be slightly better on the Cintiq, but I usually use my calibrated monitor to color test anyhow (just to be sure) so that hasn't been a huge issue for me.

All-in-all, I absolutely love my Cintiq. For the amount of time it saves me, it was worth every single penny and has paid for itself a few times over. I'm actually considering getting the little 12in one (in addition to my big one) so that I can take it with me when I go places.

Hope this helps! Good luck! :)