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Hello everyone,I'm an Illustrator user,Iusually use the Adobe Illustrator. Evernote. Dropbox software and tasks. Mostly Illustrator on my display drawing tablet.
CINTIQ 22HD
I know there are a lot of people who are looking for cintiq alternatives as Wacom's tablets are expensive. I had been wanting a cintiq for years but never really thought they were worth all that money. However, after I had a chance of using Cintiq 22HD for a few days, I came to realize that drawing on a display tablet is far quicker and more enjoyable than doing it on non-display tablets.
SO, NOW I WANTED A DISPLAY TABLET TOO FOR TWO REASONS:
1.Drawing on a display tablet was far more enjoyable than drawing with graphic tablets (like my Deco 01). It felt like I was actually drawing on paper.
2.The higher precision and accuracy = I noticed I wasn't using the 'undo' on cintiq 22HD as much = less hours spent per painting.
CINTIQ 22HD WAS GOOD BUT IS IT WORTH $1600?
Although the drawing experience was really good (feels like Intuos but more precise!) on Cintiq 22HD, I still didn't think it was worth $1600. It's a 2012 model and the display was nothing spectacular considering the price. If the display was a higher quality and the tablet was slimmer, I would be dreaming of having one myself even at that price point. Anyways, I looked into cintiq alternatives and the closest thing seemed to be XP-Pen's newest model, Artist 22E Pro.
XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro
I ordered and had XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro display tablet (https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist22E-Drawing-Pressure-Adjustable/dp/B01M9EURM1 )for a day. It's been only a day but I already have a love and hate relationship with it... Here are the Pros and Cons
PRO's: 1.More affordable than Cintiq 22HD (although it's still not that cheap $899 / $799 until May 31) 2.Screen temperature stays REALLY COOL (OMG I LOVE) vs Cintiq 22HD gets a little warm 3.IPS Panel (wide view angles) and anti-glare coating's really good. (cintiq 22HD's is grainy) 4.almost no lagging felt when drawing (14ms = same as Cintiq 22HD) 5.Slimmer and smaller than Cintiq but has 21.5 inch screen (same as Cintiq 22HD) 6.Parallax better than or similar to Cintiq 22HD 7.pen accuracy, sensitivity on point (except for the area close to the edges) 8.easy to use and install 9.sharp, good colors
CON's: [UPDATE: I am told that these two issues are solved with recent XP-Pen drivers update]
1.Display is not sharp (texts, image edges, lines are soft when they need to be sharp and clear) 2.Lower pressure sensitivity levels (1%-20%) I feel like are not that accurate. I needed to put a little more force for the nib to register anything and that results in e.g. 20% opacity when I wanted 10%. 3.Pen Batteries: You need to recharge pens. Not really a huge con for me because they give you two pens. 4.No tilt on pen: not a big deal for me. Just mentioning for information as some people do care about this function.
Other notable info: 1.Color Gamut: standard (advertised as an 'amazing' display). It covers 72%~78% sRGB. Just a standard. It's not really a con or a pro I guess. 2.No pen stand: their site says they give you a pen stand. I only found a pen case. 3.Adj. buttons on the display are stiff but you don't need to use them often once everything's set. 4.Something about the way the pen nib works: related to the con I mentioned; I just didn't like the way it felt. The nib's a little bulky and doesn't feel good when doing detailed, light strokes. Depending on what kind of drawing you do, you may not even notice this.
*I wrote no pen calibration in the image but the driver does have it I just missed it. However, that doesn't change my opinion on the lower pen pressure levels!
SO, MY CONCLUSION IS:
1.XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro display tablet is a pretty good alternative to a Cintiq with some better aspects (thin bezels, better parallax, 21.5 inch screen etc.) 2.BUT! There are two major issues that made me return it. The pressure sensitivity was not up to my expectations. Maybe I am just used to Wacom pens but I felt like it's a little awkward when I needed precise strokes for details. Secondly, the display is not sharp (it's too blurry. It could be because of the anti-glare coating).
Therefore this is a great display tablet for: -people who have never experienced higher end Wacom tablets -hobbyists artists -people who have not had good quality IPS monitors -people looking for a Cintiq-like display without breaking their bank
Wouldn't recommend it to: -people who have used Wacom tablets (Intuos and above) and are used to them -professional users / serious artists
*Note: if you intend to use two tablets from two different brands (e.g. wacom intuos and a XP-Pen display tablet) on one PC, keep in mind that there can be only ONE installed driver. You need to uninstall Wacom driver if you are using the XP-Pen tablet and vice versa.
First let me say that I am happy with this tablet. The screen is amazing and the pointer doesn't 'drift' when it reaches the edges like some other tablets. The brightness on the screen appears to control the backlight and it can be set super bright for well lit rooms, which is great. You get 2 pens which is nice. mapping 16 keys to the front panel is GREAT, i've stuck stickers over the top and drew icons for what i mapped them to which helps. The color is very nice too. Some people have mentioned a thick nib, and also that the nib moves a bit. Compared to my old Wacom this is a non-issue during drawing. I've also seen people criticise the amount of force for really light or really heavy strokes. Firstly, i'm pressing really really lightly and it still picks it up and draws a very thin line. You can also calibrate the 'full' pressure in the driver so you don't need to press hard, though i haven't needed to. I wouldn't worry about people saying things like that. The only real issue is the parallax, and lag. Coming from a wacom device, I didn't even know this was a thing. It took at least 20 calibrations to get the cursor to sit where I would think acceptable under the nib. Once you've got it sitting where you are happy with, it becomes tolerable and I have been able to transition fine. The lag is harder to transition to. When you use a mouse on the screen, the lag isn't there, so it's something to do with the pen input. If you make quick strokes or just hover the pen over the screen and move really quickly, you can see the cursor will fall behind. if you make multiple quick strokes with the pen like hatching, you'll see a hook on the lines. This is because of the lag. The arrow is still catching up from the previous stroke so when you press down you actually start drawing out the return lag of the cursor. You just need to draw slightly slower to compensate. Once i transitioned past these differences, I really love the tablet. This is coming from a Wacom 12ux. It probably helps I never used a 22HD. I would recommend this device for others considering the price makes it a very capable device. PS: Photoshop 2017 will only work with this pen properly when set to compatibility mode windows 7. Took a while to work that one out.