Wacom Cintiq 24HD Touch - Pen-Enabled Display Plus Multi-Touch Gestures (Part 2)

Setup and software

After relying on two best friends to help you lift this monster out of the box, all the hard works were over. Since then, you only need two connections (USB and DVI) with the computer and install the driver to start drawing on the screen. Remember that you will need a $ 30 adapter for the DVI cable to connect to Mac's Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt jack. The whole process took us less than 10 minutes before we can launch Photoshop. Of course, that is if you are willing to use the Wacom's default setting for the ExpressKey and touch gestures. One thing you will want to do is calibrate the pen so that all of the action happens directly under the tip. This adjustment takes only a few minutes and will help you get rid of many frustrations.

Setup and software

Configuring all of the ExpressKeys, multi-touch swipes and pen actions is easily done in the System Preferences panel under Wacom if you're on a Mac (we used a MacBook Pro for these tests). Here, you'll find access to all of the functions that a button, finger or pen click can control. You can also categorize all the applications reserved for command here. Looking for adding software library? Cintiq 24HD touch includes the full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements, Anime Studio Debut, Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4 Select Edition and the 90-day trial version of Corel Painter 12. However, during our time with the display, we used Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Corel Painter trial version 12 to check it.

Touch gestures and general use

While multi-touch function provides some useful shortcuts during our session, any action that required more than two or three fingers became quite inconvenient.  The most useful gestures were 2-fingers action:  pinch to zoom in / out and rotate the canvas. These two commands work almost perfectly, and help us not to reach out to the ExpressKey to move files. However, when we need one tool or action requires more than 2 fingers, the result is not very interesting - which is very similar to what we saw with Intuos5 touch. After all, we have to program all of the gestures used most often to the two-finger settings and leaving the rest to very limited use. Using our non-pen hand to man the controls along the bezel while moving in to zoom or rotate became our preferred setup.

The most useful gestures were 2-fingers action:  pinch to zoom in / out and rotate the canvas.

As expected, the pen functionality with Cintiq 24HD touch worked perfectly. We had a performance similar to what we saw with Intuos5 touch, making the work of our sessions interesting. We found that the pen has created favorable conditions for tasks such as photo editing, typography and any works that need brushes. Speaking of brushes, you'll notice all of those 2,048 sensitivity levels at work with a digital paintbrush or a tool that's used to tidy up a few images in Photoshop.

Other options

If the "crisis" price makes you turn away from the Cintiq 24HD touch, there are few other options from Wacom which are more affordable. As we have discussed, the non-touch version 24HD is still available and - in addition to the lack of multi-touch functionality and several enhancements to the screen - $1,100 cheaper than the price of 24HD touch. The outfit also offers the recently announced Cintiq 22HD pen display for $1,999, however, the base/stand isn't nearly as accommodating (despite its ability to rotate) as the one we've handled here. It also has a 21.5-inch LCD screen instead of an H-IPS screen which is used by the 24-inch model.

Conclusion

No surprise that the pen functionality on a Wacom's screen or tablet would be excellent - especially on high-end kit that we have spent time here. We never have a problem with the pen functionality, and having all of those pressure levels at your disposal should be a major improvement over a regular mouse, to say the least. However, based on the fact that we only use a few touch gestures, we do not sure spending the extra cash for the touch model is worth it. Of course, the two-finger zoom and rotate actions are quite convenient, but we want to see the same consistency of actions that need 4 or 5 fingers. Besides some improvements to the screen, touch functionality is really what distinguishes the two and we aren't convinced that the additional $1,100 is a wise investment.

No surprise that the pen functionality on a Wacom's screen or tablet would be excellent - especially on high-end kit that we have spent time here.

Multi-touch gripes aside, both Cintiq 24HDs are excellent accessories for any professional designers. The ability to draw directly on the screen in many applications will reduce valuable time in most creative tasks and provides precise control over mouse movements around the desk. One other big plus for the pen-enabled display is the ability to control screen to any position that you can imagine to make sure you remain comfortable while working late. The ergonomic base/stand has as much to do with our affinity for these two as the displays themselves. Even if you do not spend money for those touch models, these 24-inch displays from Wacom should definitely be on your shortlist when the time comes to make a big purchase for that new studio.

Price: $ 3,699

Pros

·         The leading pen input technology

·         The base/stand can be adjusted

·         The ExpressKey can be programmed in both sides.

Cons

·         Heavy

·         The touch gestures can be erratic

·         Price

Verdict

·         Touch model added touch gestures on Cintiq 24HD pen-enabled screen is rich in possibilities, but we do not sure that if it's worth of money

 

Specifications and price ·         Price: $ 3,699 ·         Input voltage: AC 100 -240 V, 50Hz/60Hz ·         Output voltage: DC 24V, 5.0A Max ·         Maximum power consumption: 71W, 2W in sleep mode, 1W in off mode ·         Dimensions: 769.3x463.74x64.0 cm, excl. stand ·         Weight: 29.0 kg (63.93 lb), incl. stand; 13.7 kg (30.20 lb), excl. stand ·         Interfaces: DisplayPort, DVI, VGA, USB ·         Supported operating systems: Windows® 8 / Windows® 7, Vista™, XP (32 / 64 bit) Macintosh® OS X, version 10.5.8 or later ·         Stand: flexible positioning ·         Certification and compliance: VCCI Class B, FCC Part 15 Subpart B (class B) and C, CE, KCC, BSMI, C-tick, CB, CCC, GOST-R, China RoHS, Korean RoHS, EU RoHS ·         Display type: a-SI Active Matrix TFT LCD (H-IPS) ·         Screen size (diagonal): 61 cm (24.1”) ·         Display area: 518.4 x 324.0 cm ·         Aspect ratio: 16 : 10 ·         Display resolution: WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200 pixel) ·         Pixel pitch: 0.27 mm x 0.27 mm ·         Colors: 16.7 million ·         Brightness: 190 cd/m2 ·         Contrast ratio: 550:1 ·         Response rate: 13 ms ·         Viewing angle (horizontal/vertical): 178o/178o ·         Cover plate: tempered etched glass with anti-glare film ·         Plug and Play: DDC 2B, DDC/CI ·         Tablet technology: electromagnetic resonance method ·         Tablet active area: 518.4 x 324.0 mm (20.4 x 12.8 in) ·         Tablet resolution: 0.005 mm per point (5,080 lines per inch) ·         Tablet’s coordinate accuracy: ± 0.5 mm (± 0.02 in), center ·         Tablet’s reading height: 5 mm (0.2 in), center ·         Tablet’s report rate: 133 points per second ·         Pen type: pressure-sensitive, cordless, battery-free ·         Pen switches: tip switch, 2 side switches and eraser ·         Pressure to activate tip switch: less than 1 g (0.035 oz) ·         Pressure levels: 2,048 ·         Tip switch lifetime: 10 million pen strokes ·         Pen’s weight: ± 17 g (0.63 oz) ·         Rubberized grip area: yes ·         Supplied pen nibs: 6 standard nibs, 1 stroke nib, 3 felt nibs ·         Graphics card type: any graphics card with DisplayPort, DVI or VGA connection (DVI and DisplayPort connection recommended)