Wacom Cintiq 21UX review

Few products that arrive at MacUser have so readily generated a crowd around the reviewer's desk as this, the Cintiq 21UX, Wacom's latest effort to mate a display and a graphics tablet.

The company has been making this type of product for almost 10 years, and the concept is undeniably attractive: by combining both technologies into one product, you can effectively draw directly onto the screen.

Those who use graphics tablets will be aware that a certain amount of imagination is required to allow you to draw on a blank slate while monitoring the effects of your actions on a separate screen, and takes both time and effort to get used to.

Well, now you don't have to invest time, just money. At a cost of more than £2200, the Cintiq 21UX certainly won't be on everyone's shopping lists, regardless of its place on their wishlists. It's perhaps not quite as expensive as it seems - a similarly specified display that doesn't feature the tablet functionality will cost more than £1000, but it could hardly be called cheap.

Let's not get too hung up on price, though. Two grand might stretch the budgets of some independent illustrators a little too far, but those working in studios shouldn't have too much trouble convincing their IT purchaser of the Cintiq 21UX's worth. Besides, it has no competition, so if you want this particular set of features, the only thing you can do about the price is grumble. A better focus is to find out how good the device actually is. As a graphics tablet alone, it's superb, building as it does the complete range of features from the Intuos3 range (see Reviews, 1 October 2004, p30). Let's recap on what this means.

For starters, the system boasts 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and a resolution of 5080lpi. These figures make for a great level of precision; used with applications such as Painter, this means you can get as close to the real thing without reeking of turps. Quick Mask operations in Photoshop are made easy, too, thanks to the exacting nature of this system. As an added bonus, this is the first Cintiq to support pen tilt as well, making using tools that support this functionality even more realistic.

The styli are identical to those from the Intuos3, making it easy to switch from this Cintiq to a standalone tablet, which is useful if you have a second monitor.

Like the Intuos3 tablets, the Cintiq 21UX features two sets of ExpressKeys and two Touch Strips, one group of each at either side of the display. These programmable ExpressKeys are set up to replicate modifier keys, making it easy to pan around an image, or toggle between paintbrush and eyedropper, for example. However, more sophisticated actions can be associated with these buttons, and each can be programmed separately for individual applications.

The Touch Strips default to acting as zoom controls, and they're pleasingly intuitive to use. All this is no substitute for full keyboard control, however, and we simply couldn't find a comfortable and practical configuration of the Cintiq 21UX and our keyboard. This problem is fundamental to such devices, but is nevertheless irritating if you make extensive use of keyboard shortcuts.

This is a shame, as Wacom has put so much effort into the ergonomics of the Cintiq 21UX. The unit can sit in a stand, and two wing-like paddles release the sprung mechanism to allow it to move from almost flat to 60. The front feet are rubberised, while the rear ones are on castors, allowing the whole device to move around very smoothly. If you want, you can remove the stand and rest the screen on your knee, but it's undeniably heavy.