WacomCintiq 16 Drawing Tablet with Screen, 15.4" Full HD Display Graphic Arts Tablet Includes Pro Pen 2 w/ Tilt Response, Graphic Design Animation Display Pad for Mac, PC

The media could not be loaded. I am an illustrator and animator (@inkshift) with over 14 years of experience working for Disney & Cartoon Network here in Portland, OR. I've also been a Wacom user for over 20 years, so let me open this review by saying they really knocked it out of the park with this new Cintiq 22.This is also my 4th Cintiq, so you judge for yourself if i have a problem or not ;) I have the 27” pro at my office as well as the new 16 and a super old 12” in addition to a handful of tablets dating all the way back to the late 90s.This Cintiq 22 is part of their new line of more affordable Cintiqs Wacom started rolling out this year and it really seems to be the golden mean between the smaller 16 and the larger Pros. Full disclosure: Wacom DID provide me this unit for review purposes but I hereby solemnly swear all views in this review are entirely my own and 100% my own opinions.First off: the pressure sensitivity is beautiful and virtually indistinguishable from my 27” pro, which cost over twice as much. As you can see in the attached timelapse of an illustration I did on this 22, each line came out exactly like I wanted it: smooth tapers, no shaky lines, no blotches, weird unintended textures or weird ends to my strokes.The included Pro Pen 2 is a solid, comfortable pen and really helps you feel the 8192 levels of pressure. You can also the new Pro Pen slim if you want a sleeker pen but i prefer the stubbier feel.Secondly, the overall build quality and polish impresses, it is very solid and the design is professional and clean. Small detail but important to me: the power button is easily pushed and feels pleasant and responsive.The entire machine feels very sturdy while not being too heavy. I kind of wish they brought back the side buttons they had on the 12” and 21” but I can see how it makes sense ergonomically and aesthestically to leave those off. It should be noted that this 22” doesn’t come with a remote or a bluetooth keyboard, which is not a deal breaker for me because my 27” came with the remote and I never use it.It DOES however come with a fantastic, preattached stand! The new stand is sturdy, stable, lightweight, solid metal with non-slip rubber grippy feet, easy to use and highly flexible. Wacom REALLY came through for its users with the stand this time, as I have not been a fan of the stands of the past: they’re either huge, expensive, cumbersome and awkward to operate or they just have the little fold out legs, which are simply insufficient for long term use and you’d need to invest in an extendable arm that can keep your Cintiq suspended/supported.One difference between the pro line and this newer, more affordable line is that these units do not have a bonded glass display. THis means that there’s a tiny bit of space between the pen and the screen and that generally means there is more parallax (the offset between the cursor and the pen), but it was not noticeable to me once I calibrated it properly. The screen has an anti-glare surface which feels nice and smooth, not slick or slippery at all with just the right amount of texture to it.Another difference between this 22 and the pro line is the Adobe RGB colour range. This Cintiq sports a 72% Adobe RGB vs a 97% for the pro line, but I don’t think you will be disappointed (or honestly really notice? I didn’t) unless you’re super tuned into colour and colour correction or need the most accurate representation possible. But at that point, you should probably be investing in the pro line.Like I said, I also have the new 16 which is also great but felt a bit small to me and became cumbersome very quickly for when I needed a number of palettes/windows open. At 22”, (21.5” viewable), that is is not a problem here at all.Wacom has paid great attention to detail in packaging as well as the attached power cords: it includes a British power plug free of charge, as well as 2 different orientations of power cords: horizontal and vertical. As you can see in my unboxing clip, I’m a little surprised by the amount of power cables at first glance but upon further inspection it all makes sense.Setup was very easy: 3 cables as seen in the picture. The HDMI cable is a welcome addition compared to the 3-in-1 cables, which are a bit messy, cumbersome and require complete replacement should ONE of them have an issue.Things to note!I didn’t bother adjusting the pressure curve settings because they were great out of the box, but I did change the click speed and I also deactivated Windows Ink (I use windows 10). I don’t understand what Windows ink is for but all it seems to do to me is make you unable to drag/select text in input fields.Conclusion:All in all, this is a beautiful and affordable piece of equipment. It is technically part of their ‘budget’ line but there is nothing budget about the size or the quality of this device. The size, design and build quality exude class and quality and the pen and pressure sensitivity are best in class.While the unit is not small, it strikes a perfect balance between spacious and compact. It doesn’t take over your whole desk like my larger units nor does it break the bank at $1200. I would definitely recommend this to the professional on a budget or a very lucky/forward thinking student or hobbyist.PROS:- Buttery smooth & responsive pressure sensitivity- Smooth but not slick anti-glare surface- Solid build quality and professional look & feel- Comes with a sturdy, stable and flexible stand- Great size with room for longer strokes and all the palettes/windows you may need open- Stays cool even when working on it all dayCONS:- “Only” full HD (1920 x 1080) vs the 4k of newer models but I have the 4k model as well and I haven’t been botheredby any potential pixelation. All my illustrations are all made at 600 Dpi and I haven't noticed any problems.- Mine had 1 dead pixel but I only notice it when I look for it. I streamed a commission earlier today in myInkshift Facebook group and didn't notice it once.

OVERALL:I previously had a Cintiq 22HD, and for me the Cintiq 22 is a direct upgrade. I've been satisfied with this product so far, although full disclosure: I have only had it for about a week. I use it for medical illustrations and digital painting. In general, I think if you're a professional who uses a tablet for digital art some but NOT all of the time for work that is intended to be displayed on a customer's device, or a very serious hobbyist who does a lot of digital painting sometimes for pay and sometimes not, then you're probably the target customer for this product.If you are just starting out with digital art then I think this product is probably not worth the cost for you (yet), and if you're doing artwork for print or game/movie/tv production and can get your employer to buy a cintiq for you, then you should consider getting the pro 24 or 32 instead. Personally, I would have a hard time making the business case for needing such a tablet for my current job, which is why I decided to go with one I could afford to buy as a personal expense instead.WHAT THIS PRODUCT IS NOT: this tablet is NOT a computer. It is a specialized monitor for creating digital artwork that needs to be plugged in to a computer to work. If that's not what you are planning to use it for, then you shouldn't buy it. Also, this product is NOT a second monitor: you should not leave it turned on when you aren't using it for artwork, if you just leave it on all the time and use it like a regular monitor it will burn out faster.Pros:-If you are a wacom tablet user but have never used a pen display before then a cintiq will be a huge upgrade for you, although expect for it to take some time to get used to using it. For me the hardest thing to get used to was not being able to see the part of the screen that my hand was in front of.-If you're coming from one of the previous generation pen displays like the 22 HD, this tablet should be completely fine. It's smaller than the 22HD, but has more screen area. It's also lighter and doesn't get as hot, and it can sit comfortably on your desk instead of needing to hover in the air. The stand it comes with is much sturdier and easier to deal with than the one that came with the 22HD as well.-If your computer outputs to HDMI or any lower tier signal then you probably won't have any issues with resolution. Honestly maybe I'm just getting old but I actually had to buy a DVI adapter for the HDMI video cable to hook up to my computer.-I saw some reviews talking about paralax with this display, but I didn't notice anything serious, and definitely nothing worse than with the 22HD.-As with all wacom products it's very easy to set up as long as you are capable of downloading driver software from a website and installing it.-Finally, it is cheaper than the 22HD was 5 years ago, and a great deal cheaper than the Pro 24.Cons:-If you have never used a tablet before and are coming from traditional pen and paper artwork, there is going to be a period of time where the tablet will feel awkward to use, but I promise that you will get used to it if you give it time. There is no digital drawing tool that will be easier for you to get used to than a pen display, it is the most similar to pen and paper drawing of all digital art tools.-If you are used to working with high quality 4k video output then the 1080 screen is going to be a downgrade for you. Also just like previous generations, this cintiq has issues with color matching.-The stand is very sturdy but it does require that your cintiq sits stationary on your desk and you can't rotate it around in this position. The way it's built also makes it more difficult to attach an ergo arm to it which was easy enough to accomplish with the 22HD.-Although it is cheaper than the Pro 24 cintiq, it's still a 1200$ piece of equipment and that is probably going to be beyond many people's budget.-And my final gripe with this tablet, which is maybe being a little nitpicky, is the location and setup of the three (!) cords that it needs in order to work. The power cable, USB cable, and HDMI video cable all plug in to the TOP of the tablet, rather than hooking into the back or side, causing them to loop over and hang down behind the device awkwardly. Also honestly the fact that it needs three separate cords is a lot of wires on your desk. All of this is a fairly minor complaint though: even if one of the cords does get kinked, they aren't that expensive to replace: you don't even have to get them from wacom, it's just a standard high speed usb cable and an hdmi video cable.In conclusion, if you're doing artwork for a job that involves some digital painting, or perhaps you're a freelancer who doesn't have a gigantic budget, or someone who does a lot of digital painting but isn't selling it for whatever reason, this tablet will be totally fine for your needs without destroying your budget.