Wacom Cintiq vs. tablet pc

Sarc · 03-03-2008, 01:40 PM

I'm looking to upgrade from my Intuos tablet and would like to get some feedback on which direction to go. As much as I'd love to swing a Cintiq, I can't justify the price tag.

It looks like the next best thing would be a tablet pc of some sort---replicating to a point the draw on the screen experience of the Cintiq with the portability/usability of a tablet pc.
If that's the direction to go, what the best tablet pc for sketching/drawing? I would primarily be using photoshop and sketchbook pro. I see the Toshiba Tecra popping up on a lot of ID boards. Any input would be appreciated....

stealthn · 03-03-2008, 02:47 PM

Look at ASUS (I have an RF1), could bang form the buck. But I guess it depends on how accurate your drawing has to be.

Chuck Grieb · Chuck Grieb's Garage

My wife has a Motion 1600LE - she is a storyboard artist with Disney - she loves it - rarely draws on paper anymore. I have an HP TC4400 provided by the school at which I teach (I teach animation at the college level). Both Tablets are great drawing tools, the convertible aspect of the HP is useful if you don't have another computer, but the Slate design of the Motion makes it a more focused drawing tool. Gateway has some very affordable Tablets with 14" screens.

HardDrive · 03-03-2008, 10:19 PM

My former company pretty much settled on Toshiba tablets, and we were very pleased with them.

island911 · 03-03-2008, 10:36 PM

A couple of Industrial Designers in our studio use the Cintiq tablets ..and like them. I believe that they have much better control over pressure, than most tablets.

Sarc · 03-04-2008, 08:02 AM

Thanks for the replies guys. Chuck--I'll have to look into the motion. Island-no doubt I would love a Cintiq (they just introduced a smaller 12" model), but for now I can justify the $$$, even though I hear the sensitivity on the Cintiq is preferable over a tablet pc (which I have yet to try)

island911 · 09:15 AM

You should test drive the different tablets. I have a few tablets and they all have different sensitivities to the pen. Btw I'm writing this on a Samsung UMPC. This tablet uses any touch, whereas Many others use a special pen. -you likely already know this --. and only a special pen. And I believe that those are all Wacom based technology. Having a special pen also allows you to rest your palm on the screen without confusing the. input.

oh, also, Vista has better tablet tools than XP.

Chuck Grieb · Chuck Grieb's Garage

Wacom penabled technology is a must for the artist. Be sure the tablet you purchase uses Wacom penabled technology (I believe Wacom lists the systems using it on their website). You'll probably need to download the proper drivers from the Wacom website as they don't usually come installed.

I have found that drawing on my wife's Motion is the same experience as on my HP. The Cintiq has 1012 levels of pressure (at least on the 21" model), tablets were at 256, I think newer ones are now 512. Pen settings make a big difference, be sure to have the proper drivers installed and ensure the pen settings are consistent if comparing.

Friends with both the Cintiq and Tablet PC have said the pressure sensitivity difference is not such a big deal - the larger screen size of the Cintiq is what makes the difference. If looking at the 12" Cintiq I would likely always pick the tablet as you get an entire computer for the price of the Cintiq monitor.

I would like to get a 21" CIntiq for my home set up, but really enjoy the portability of the Tablet PC. Check out www.cartoonmonkey.com for some more Tablet PC artist info.

Safari is another Slate type Tablet PC brand you might want to investigate.