Wacom Cintiq 21ux

Last week I received the Wacom Cintiq 21ux at work to aid in the creation of all of the custom animations and illustrations our clients have been requesting as of lately. I'm very privledged to work for a company that is willing to invest so much into their employees' hardware and software needs. After getting a week or so to get used to it I've decided to compare it against the 12wx Cintiq I use for personal use.

The only big difference is the size. In case you're wondering, the 21 in 21ux and 12 in 12wx are related to the number of inches the screens measure diagonally. The w in 12wx simply means that it's widescreen format. The 21ux is pretty massive and requires a decent amoutn of desk space. Here it is in relation to the size of a red delicious apple (it was the only thing I had in my hand at the time).

Having the extra space is a huge advantage. On the 12wx, I usually can't fit all of my windows for Photoshop and Flash on one screen and usually end up dragging them to a second or third monitor, however with the 21ux, no additional monitors are necessary. The drawing surface is large enough for even the most detailed drawings. One small advantage the 21ux has over the 12wx is that it connects with one fat cord that contains the power, USB and DVI plug. The 12wx has a DVI plug that goes into a box that stems into DVI, power and USB cords. Kind of a hassle having a little block box laying around, but I supposed to save the extra $1000 most people will deal with it.

Personally, I would say if you can afford the $1900-$2000 you should definitely pick up the 21ux over the 12wx, the size difference alone compensate for the extra cash. Not to say the 12wx isn't a great piece of technology, drawing directly on the screen is a huge advantage over most tablet in the market right now.