Wacom Cintiq 16 Review: Professional budget drawing tablet
The Wacom Cintiq is an extremely helpful tool for you to achieve quality photos or paintings. For the past few years, the use of mouse and cursor has been used to make local adjustments to a photograph. Professional editors and Photoshop artists have had cumbersome times using mice to make changes to a photograph. Well, things have changed for the better now. With the invention of pen displays and tablets, editing photos has become an easy task. The imprecision and awkwardness that came with using cursor and mouse are long gone now.
The Wacom Cintiq uses a three-in-one cable that ensures your device is well powered and is connected to your personal computer. It has a built-in 15.6-inch HD display that enables you to draw on the screen with the Wacom Pro Pen 2. This article takes you through a detailed review of the efficiency of the Wacom Cintiq in improving the quality of your photos.
| Wacom Cintiq Models | Active Area | Color Gamut | Pen Technology |
 Wacom Cintiq 16 (Amazon link) | 13.6 x 7.6 inches | 72% NTSC (CIE1931) | Wacom Pro Pen 2 / 8192 pressure levels |
 Wacom Cintiq 22 (Amazon link) | 18.7 x 10.5 inches | 72% NTSC (CIE1931) | Wacom Pro Pen 2 / 8192 pressure levels |
For the Wacom Cintiq to begin working, one end is connected to the power outlet and the other connects to three devices-One plugs into the Cintiq and the other two to the HDMI and the USB cable. With the help of Wacom Desktop Center software, the Wacom Cintiq 16 ensures that there is good workflow starting from the buttons on the pen to the sensitivity of the screen.
It allows you to alter the pen controls to each app so that the buttons perform one task in Photoshop and another in lightroom.
FEATURES
- The Cintiq 16 display is not laminated meaning the surface you draw on is separated from the LCD screen placed below.
- It has a multi-touch gesture that allows you to zoom, pan and rotate your work. This feature is key to producing quality photos.
- It uses a 72% percentage of the NTSC color gamut
- Has a tablet resolution of 1920 x 1080 full HD
Things I like about the Wacom Cintiq
- The size of the screen is within an accurate range and is great for sketching and retouching photos
- The accuracy and sensitivity of the pen are unparalleled
- The buttons are simply reconfigurable
- Convenient lightness and compactness to enable for lengthy periods of work
- Easy to use-There are no complex procedures on the use of the drawing table. However, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the simple instructions to quality images.
Interestingly, the Wacom Cintiq 16 is a complete package for you as a graphic designer or an artist. It contains everything that is important to digital works that will aid you in boosting your performance and improving the quality of your work.
It is very disappointing that you need to buy the express keys remote just to have access to the quality-of-life improvement it brings for any digital artist. Just stick to your keyboard for macros and hotkeys.
The newer models of the Cintiq don’t have express keys anymore. The current design seems to follow the design principle used in the Wacom One tablet that only has the screen and no express keys to reduce the bezels in the tablet.
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