If you are new to Wacom, you should understand this issue because it is a constant source of confusion for people looking to buy a Wacom tablet, get help with a Wacom tablet, or buy a replacement pen for their Wacom tablet.

The problem: Wacom makes two very different devices with confusingly similar names:

"One by Wacom" refers to any of 2 pen tablets

• One by Wacom Small (CTL-472)

• One by Wacom medium (CTL-672)

"Wacom One" can refer to any of 5 drawing tablets in two generations

• Wacom One GEN1 (DTC-133) - a pen display

• Wacom One 12 GEN2 (DTC-121) - a pen display

• Wacom One 13 touch GEN2 (DTH-134) - a pen display

• Wacom One S GEN2 (CTC-4110WL) - a pen tablet

• Wacom One M GEN2 (CTC-6110WL) - a pen tablet

Overview

The One By Wacom series of pen tablet (CTL-672, and CTL-472) are very good tablets. I highly recommend them for beginners. They are very reliable, have a good drawing experience, and allow you to explore drawing tablets without spending too much.

If you want to save some money you can find them on eBay. More here: Buying used drawing tablets

Models

• One by Wacom Medium (CTL-672) - released 2019

• One by Wacom Small (CTL-472) - released 2019

Core features

• Pen - The tablet comes with a Wacom 2K Pen (LP-190K). This is a standard 2-button pen.

• Other compatible pens - None. This tablet onlyu works with the LP-190K.

• Pen pressure range - and has a very low IAF (which is EXCELLENT) and an OK Maximum pressure of around 300gf. My notes on this pen: 7P notes: Wacom 2K Pen (LP-190K)

• Pressure Levels - 2048. This may seem low when you see other tablets rated at 8K or 16K pressure levels. Do not worry. 2048 is enough pressure levels for creative tasks. This is absolutely not going to affect the quality of the art you can make with this tablet. I maintain all you need are about 2000 levels of pressure.

• Tilt - this tablet does NOT support tilt

  • For a beginner this may not be an issue. Many people do not need tilt.

Cabling and connectivity

• Cable - the tablet comes with a Micro USB to USB-A cable. You can use this cable or any cable that supports data.

• Ports - the port on the tablet is Micro USB.

• Wireless - These tablets DO NOT SUPPORT WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY. You must always use them with a cable.

ExpressKeys

These tablets do NOT have any buttons or dials on the tablet.

Touch

These tablets DO NOT support touch.

Feeling

The One by Wacom pen is a little more plasticky and less premium feeling in hand than the Wacom's professional pens. But this is not a big deal for a beginner.

Osu!

These is a highly recommended tablets for playing osu! More here: Buying a drawing tablet for osu!

Pen tablets

Consumer vs Professional

The first letter to indicates if the tablet is a consumer of professional model. C means consumer. P means professional

• C -> Consumer (example: CTL-472)

• P -> Professional (example: PTH-660)

Active area size

The first digit of the number Indicates the active area size of the tablet

• 4 -> small (example: CTL-472)

• 6 -> medium (example: CTL-6100WL)

• 8 -> large (example: PTH-860)

Overview

For their Intuos Pro line of pen tablets, Wacom sells several texture sheets that replace the texture that came with the tablets.

Below are three examples of some of the texture sheets Wacom sells.

Tablet compatibility

These texture sheets are available for these models:

• Wacom Intuos Pro Large

• Wacom Intuos Pro Medium

Texture types

They come in three texture variations:

• Standard <- this is what the Intuos Pro models use out-of-the-box

• Rough

• Smooth

Benefits

These texture sheets have two benefits:

• If you have damaged the surface of your tablet, you can restore it to brand new condition

• If you simply prefer a different texture feel

Availability

Unfortunately these texture sheets are often out of stock and are very hard to find these days. The smooth texture sheet in particular is a rare item.

Installation

Here's an example of how to install a texture sheet:

Brian Matiash - How To Install Wacom Intuos Pro Texture Sheets On Your Tablet Mar 13, 2017

While you have the old sheet removed and before you apply the new sheet, I suggest you make use of this moment to clean the surface of the tablet to remove any dust and grime.

Overview

Wacom's top-of-the line pen tablets are the Intuos Pro series.

Model sweries

The most recent Intuos Pro models are the PTH-x60 series from 2017 & 2019.

Wacom Intuos Pro Small 2019 (PTH-460)

• Model year: 2019

• User manual:

• l

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium 2017 (PTH-660)

• Model year: 2017

Wacom Intuos Pro Large 2017 (PTH-860)

• Model Year: 2017

Resources

One by Wacom Small (CTL-472)

• Model year: 2019

• User manual: http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/CTL-472.html

One by Wacom Medium (CTL-672)

• my notes on this tablet

• Model year: 2019

• User manual: https://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/CTL-672.html

Overview

The Intuos 5 series was the last time Wacom used "Intuos" only to mean professional pen tablets. After this series Wacom went to calling their professional series "Intuos Pro".

Models

• Terry Lee White - Intuos 5 Review 2012/03/15

• New Brit Workshop - Intuos 5 Medium Touch Review - 2013/01/22

• Sara Dietschy - Wacom Tablet Small Intuos Pro VS Medium Intuos5 | Which One To Get / Size Comparison Feb 10, 2015

I also have used the Intuos 4 XL extensively.

This is an extra large tablet. Using a tablet at this size is very different.

I made a video showing what my experience with it is like.

Driver

Wacom's latest drivers have dropped support for the Intuos 4 tablets - except for the Intuos 4 XL.

Pen compatibility

Keep in mind this tablet does not use the more recent pens like Wacom Pro Pen 2.

Availability

It hasn't been produced for years. So, you'll have to find them on eBay. They can range in price from $100 to $500.

Overview

Wacom has existed for over 40 years. In that time they've released many different drawing tablets.

In this document I'll point you to different lists of tablets depending on what you're interested in.

Wacom's official current tablet models

You can see a list of all the tablets Wacom currently sells on their website (). However, this information does not cover the tablets they historically sold.

Kuuube's Wacom tablet mastersheet

Tablet expert Kuuube maintains a which as far as I know lists every Wacom drawing tablet ever made.

Overview

Wacom launched the Intuos 4 in 2009. These are professional pen tablets.

Models

Using a Wacom Intuos 4 in 2023 or later

These are still excellent tablets. However, Wacom has dropped support for them in their latest drivers.

For example none of them are listed in the compatibility list for Wacom windows driver version 6.4.4-4:

More here:

You can still use these tablets with caveats that come with using older tablets. More here:

Wacom Intuos 4 Large

• Oct 12, 2021

• May 11, 2009

Wacom Intuos 4 XL

Content has moved here:

Overview

This is a professional pen tablet series from 2001.

Models

Reviews

• Imaging Resource review of Wacom Intuos2

  • Original URL:

  • Archive link:

Models

2021 to Today family

Cintiq Pro 17 (DTH-172)

• Model Year: 2023

• Product Page:

• Nov 6, 2023

Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH-271)

• Model Year: 2022

Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227)

• Model year 2023

Cintiq Pro 16 (DTH-167)

• Model year: 2021.

• Be aware there is an older model from 2016 also (DTH-1620)

General

2016 to 2018 family

Cintiq Pro 16 (DTH-1620)

• Model year: 2016

• r/wacom - Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 Video Review 2012/03/29

Cintiq Pro 24 (DTK-2420)

• Model year: 2017

Cintiq Pro 32 (DTH-3220)

• Model Year: 2018

Wacom Intuos Small (CTL-4100)

• Model year: 2018

• User manual: http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/CTL-4100.html

Wacom Intuos Medium (CTL-6100)

• Model year: 2018

• http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/CTL-6100wl.html

Resources

• Wacom - Playlist: Getting started with your Wacom Intuos pen tablet

Models

Wacom Cintiq 22 (DTK-2260)

• Model year: 2019

• My notes on this tablet

• Brad Colbow review of Wacom Cintiq 22 (DTK-2260) 2019/07/18

• Ross Draws review of Wacom Cintiq 22 (DTK-2260) 2019/08/23

Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD (DTK-2700)

• Model year: 2015

• product page (archive)

• Aaron Rutten review of Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD 2016/11/07

• Jazza review of Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD 2016/02/07

Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD (DTK-2260)

• Model year: 2019

• User manual: http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/DTK-2260.html

• Brad Colbow review of Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD 2019/07/18

• Aaron Rutten review of Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD 2019/07/17

• MobileTechReview review of Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD 2019/07/19

Wacom Cintiq 16 (DTK-1660)

• Model Year: 2018

• User manual: http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/DTK-1660E.html

• Brad Colbow reveiw of Wacom Cintiq 16 2019/01/08

• Ross Draws reveiw of Wacom Cintiq 16 2019/02/22

• MobileTechReview reveiw of Wacom Cintiq 16 2019/01/08

• Aaron Rutten reveiw of Wacom Cintiq 16 2019/01/07

Models

Resources

• Wacom - What is the driver for the Intuos 3, PTZ model tablets?

• EyeKooDrawsStuff review of Intuos 3 Sep 11, 2021

• Pen & Blade review of Intuos 3 Jan 14, 2017

• Matthew Pearce review of Intuos 3 Oct 18, 2009

Wacom One 2019 GEN1 (DTC-133)

• My notes on this tablet

• Model year: 2019

• User manual: http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/DTC133.html

• Teoh On Tech review of Wacom One GEN1

• Brad Colbow review of Wacom One GEN1

• Create Now Sleep Later review of Wacom One GEN1

• Aaron Rutten review of Wacom One GEN1

Wacom Movink 13

• Released: 2024

• my notes on this tablet

• Product page: https://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pen-displays/wacom-movink

• Teoh on Tech - Review of Wacom Movink 13 2024/11/15

• Brad Colbow - Review of Wacom Movink 13 2024/05/16

Overview

An EXCELLENT pen display.

Although there are newer Cintiq Pro models from 2022 and 2023, the Cintiq Pro 16 from 2021 competes with them strongly. Wacom may have improved the new models support for color or added support for higher refresh rates, but they did not improve upon the already great drawing experience with this tablet.

Noise

While it does have a fan, the tablet isn't very loud, unlike the Cintiq Pro 27. If you are sensitive to fan noise though, it may be an issue.

The amount of noise is based on the brightness setting. But even at 100% brightness it is quieter than a Cintiq Pro 27.

Pointer lag

TYPICAL for a pen display. You can see the pointer trail the physical tip of the pen.

Apple iPads with the Apple Pencil have much less pointer lag

Pen tablets also have very little pointer lag in general.

Anti-glare Sparkle

Rating: LOW. It has more than the Cintiq Pro 27 - but that is to be expected since it is a 4K display.

Ports

It has 3 ports located on the top edge:

• HDMI

• USB-C (DP alt mode support)

• Power.

My connection configuration

I have it connected with a thunderbolt 3 cable and the Wacom power adapter that it came with.

Pen tracking accuracy

VERY GOOD. Very accurate. Like all pen displays veyr slight inaccuracy at the last 1mm to 2mm at the edges or corners.

Pen Pressure

The Wacom Pro Pen 2 (KP-504E) has an excellent low IAF and an excellent large maximum pressure.

Parallax

Very good. Low amount of parallax for a pen display. On par with other Cintiq Pro models such as the Cintiq Pro 22.

Using single USB-C cable

Unlike many other 16" pen displays, a single USB-C cable is not enough to power this tablet. You Still have to use their supplied power adapter.

Heat

Fans keep it cool. At the default brightness, the tablet is cool to the touch. At maximum brightness slightly warm.

VESA mounting

It is VESA mountable.

Stand

It does not come with a stand. I use a VESA-compatible Huion stand to hold this tablet at an angle.

Legs

No legs

Diagonal Wobble

Rating: VERY GOOD. Low wobble in all velocities tested.

Overview

The Wacom Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series of tablets are still the best pen tablets ever made even in 2024.

I have used both the large and medium sizes extensively and the small size a little bit.

All three are highly recommended. I recommend the Medium size (PTH-660) size for most users. This reflects my standard guidance that medium-sized tablets are the best choice for the vast majority.

The Pen - Wacom Pro Pen 2

These tablets come with the Wacom Pro Pen 2 (KP-504E) which is a HUGE part of why the drawing experience is so good.

Pressure range - This pen has an incredible pressure range. It's IAF is <1gf which is industry leading. And its maximum pressure is about 800gf which is incredibly high. Again this is industry leading. More here: pen pressure.

The pen is otherwise typical

• Nice to hold

• two buttons

• Has an eraser

Cost - Take care of your Pro Pen 2. A replacement typically costs $90 US.

Drawing experience

Pressure handling - excellent

Pointer lag - These tablets have very little pointer lag. You can see that demonstrated in this video: https://youtu.be/CRwzPJPA_5A.

Cables and connectivity

Included cables - These tablets come with a USB C cable.

Using 3rd party USB-C cables - You can use this cable or any USB C cable that supports data. In fact, I never use the USB C cables that Wacom provides for these tablets.

Wireless - All three tablets support Bluetooth connectivity for wireless operation.

Touch

In my opinion the touch support is not great. The touch pad on any laptop you use will be far better and more responsive. Also the touch support has poor palm rejection. Disabling touch is the first thing I do with an tablet that supports it.

Touch on Windows vs Mac - Touch works much better on Window systems than on Macs. This is not Wacom's fault, it is due to how well Windows supports touch compared to MacOS.

Surface texture

The Intuos Pro series has a slightly more textured surface than many other tablets.

Over an extended period of time (months?), you'll notice that the texture erodes a bit. The texture never goes completely away but it has a more typical amount of texture for a tablet. And the surface can end up looking a little "smooth" or "polished" in those areas. If you move the tip of your pen across the surface of the tablet you will even hear the difference as you move into these eroded areas. Below is an example of the texture erosion in Wacom Intuos Large (PTH-860).

Texture sheets

The Intuos Pro MEDIUM and LARGE models have a surface that is replaceable with a Texture Sheet.

Wacom has three kinds of texture sheets: Standard, Smooth, and Rough. These texture sheets are often sold out and the smooth one is EXTREMELY rare. Besides giving you the texture feeling you want, they are useful if you've scratched up the surface of your tablet and want to make it feel like new.

Nib wear

A result of surface texture texture is that - depending how you draw - you can wear down a nib very fast. If you are doing a lot of shading with many back and forth strokes you might even notice significant wear within a week or even a day.

In any case, I advise everyone to always pay attention to their nibs and replace them if they are getting very worn.

Diagonal wobble

Rating: VERY GOOD. Low amounts of wobble.

Wacom Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860)

Using a large tablet feels quite a bit different from using a medium tablet. It's important to understand this. So if you're interested in this tablet please watch the video below. In that video, I go into great detail about the practical issues of using a large tablet. And the video specifically covers the Wacom Intuos Pro large (PTH 860).

Overview

If you are interested in a pen tablet (a drawing tablet without a screen) for drawing/sketching/painting and want to go with the "safe choice" then you should pick a Wacom tablet. In particular the Wacom Intuos Pro models identified here (PTH-860, PTH-660, PTH-460) are THE BEST PEN TABLETS EVER MADE.

Here are my detailed notes on the Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series.

Wacom has several separate lines of pen tablets. This document will help you understand the difference and help you make your choice.

• One by Wacom -> product page

• Intuos -> product page

• Wacom One GEN2 -> product page

• Intuos Pro -> product page

Wacom One GEN2 tablets

Wacom One GEN refer 2 pen tablets and 2 pen displays

The Wacom One GEN2 pen tablets are intended to be upgrades to the consumer-level Intuos tablets.

Currently Wacom One GEN2 pen tablets and pen displays seem to suffer from pressure issues and I do not recommend purchasing them.

More here: 7P notes: Wacom One GEN2

Recommendation summary

• Sketching, digital painting, illustration, etc. -

  • If budget permits, get a Wacom Intuos Pro MEDIUM (PTH-660).

  • If you tend do draw with larger gestures then consider a Wacom Intuos Pro LARGE (PTH-860).

  • If you want to spend less get a One by Wacom MEDIUM (CTL-672) or a Intuos Medium (CTL-6100, CTL-6100WL)

• Photo-editing - i.e. you aren't doing anything that requires "strokes" - then the One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) is fine.

• Using the tablet as a mouse replacement - i.e. you aren't doing anything that requires "strokes" but instead just clicking on things or dragging them - then the One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) is fine.

• Taking notes. I don't recommend pen tablets in general for taking notes. Use an alternative (like an iPad) instead. More here: Taking notes with drawing tablets.

• Play Osu! - One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) or One by Wacom SMALL MEDIUM (CTL-672) are the best choices. For more information regarding tablets for osu! and other tablet options consult Kuuube's tablet buying guide.

• Exploring drawing tablets - this is if you are not sure if you are going to use a drawing tablet, but just want to dabble without spending a lot.

  • Start with a One by Wacom SMALL (CTL-472) for general usage.

  • Start with a One by Wacom MEDIUM (CTL-672) if you intend to draw on it.

• Want the best and don't care about the cost. Either:

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860)

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-660)

• Picking the right size - More information about picking the right size: tablet size.

Pens

Each product line uses different pens. And the pens can only be used within that product line. For example if you try to use the LP190K pen with the PTH-860, the tablet does not even recognize there is a pen there. More here: Wacom pen compatibility

REMEMBER: You cannot MIX AND MATCH these pens. For example, it is not possible to use the amazing Wacom Pro Pen 2 with the One by Wacom, Wacom Oner, or Intuos tablets.

Of the pens identified, the Wacom Pro Pen 2 is the best in terms of design, materials, shape, weight distribution.

Overall drawing experience

All of the tablets except the Wacom One GEN2 tablets have a very very good drawing experience. The Intuos Pro PTH-x60 series definitely the best of all of them though - largely driven by the amazing pressure handling of the Wacom Pro Pen 2.

Pen pressure

Learn more here: Pen pressure

2048 pressure levels is all you need for creative work. All of these pens are enough in that regard. Wacom has strong marketing towards their higher pressure level tablets, but the vast majority of users will not be able to make use of these higher levels in their work.

More than pressure levels, the pressure range has a greater impact on your drawing experience. And this is driven by the quality of the pressure sensor in the pen.

Pens pressure range compared

Notes:

• Data for IAF and max pressure measurements independently made by Kuuube.

• Learn more about pen pressure

• Learn more about how pen pressure ranges compare across pens

Drawing features

Notes on pen tilt

TILT - Not all drawing styles require tilt. And if you do want to control the rotation of your brush many drawing apps let you control the brush rotation based on the direction of the pen movement instead of tilt. Lean more here: Pen tilt

Tablet resolution

Resolution means how many separate points the tablet can distinguish (i.e. resolve) in a given length. This is specified as Lines Per Inch (LPI) though it is also useful to think about it as lines per millimeter (LPMM)

You will not notice the difference between 2048 LPI and 5080 LPI.

• One by Wacom -> 2048 LPI = 80.62 LPMM

• Wacom One GEN2 = Unknown

• Intuos -> 2540 LPI = 100 LPMM

• Intuos Pro -> 5080 LPI = 200 LPMM

Accuracy

Accuracy = tablet & computer know the correct position of the tip of the pen. As far as I have observed, all three tablets are very accurate.

Pointer lag

Pointer lag is the difference between the physical position of the pen and where the operating system pointer is drawn. Pen tablets in general display very little pointer lag. In comparison, all pen displays all show very noticeable lag.

• One by Wacom -> almost no pointer lag

• Wacom One GEN2 -> almost no pointer lag

• Intuos -> almost no pointer lag (has a extra lag due to position smoothing on hover)

• Intuos Pro -> almost no pointer lag

Learn more here: Lag

Accuracy / Diagonal wobble

The Intuos Pro models exhibit less wobble than the Intuos of One by Wacom. But all three are acceptable.

Position smoothing

Position smoothing makes for better looking strokes but introduces pointer lag. All of these Wacom tablets are great for artists in terms of position smoothing.

Driver position smoothing

Wacom drivers by default add a little bit of position smoothing - which is needed - to make their strokes look better. The smoothing is not much and Wacom pen tablets still feel more responsive than other tablet brands.

Hardware position smoothing

Wireless/Bluetooth

Touch support

USB port on tablet

The consumer series use older USB ports than the professional series.

ExpressKeys

Touch support

For these tablets that do support touch, touch can be enabled/disabled with a physical switch on the side of the tablet.

More here:

• My detailed notes on the Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series.

• Touch support

Tablet design

With the Intuos Pro tablets and pens - everything feels great to me. The texture the weight of the pen, etc.

The One by Wacom, Wacom ONE GEN2, and Intuos models feel a more plasticy/cheaper. Also I just don't enjoy how their pens feel in my hand.

Active Area

The size of the tablet is based on it's active area which is the region on the tablet that is sensitive to the EMR pen. Besides the height and width of this area it is also convenient to discuss them in terms of their diagonal lengths.

Aspect Ratio: Most monitors are 16:9 (1.78) or 16:10 (1.60) If the Aspect Ratio of the tablet does not match the monitor, that means your strokes will be slightly distorted. So, remember to enable the Force Proportions checkbox to have undistorted strokes. More info here: https://youtu.be/9oAvsJk5ESU

Reliability

All of these are very reliable tablets. Their pens are also very reliable. But remember, DO NOT drop your pens. they are much more delicate than the tablets and you can break from a fall.

Drivers

The same Wacom driver works with all three product lines.

Surface texture

The Intuos Pro has a more textured surface, the Intuos and One by Wacom have less texture.

The Intuos Pro MEDIUM and LARGE model surface texture can by change using texture sheets.

More here: My detailed notes on the Intuos Pro (PTH-x60) series.

Future versions

Intuos

In August of 2023, The Intuos models seem to be replaced by the One by Wacom GEN2 pen tablets.

One by Wacom

No sign of any updates coming

Intuos Pro

Having said that since Wacom has upgraded its professional Cintiq line of pen displays in late 2022, there is a natural expectation that updates to their Intuos Pro pen tablets may be coming. Wacom has unfortunately not signaled anything about new Intuos Pro pen tablet products.

Notes on pen tablet models

Intuos Pro

There are two Intuos Pro generations and unfortunately the have the same name "Intuos Pro". So if you are purchasing an Intuos Pro you really need to pay attention to the model numbers.

• The current generation (sometimes referred to as "GEN2")

  • Intuos Pro Small (PTH-460) -> 2019

  • Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-660) -> 2017

  • Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860) -> 2017

• The older generation (sometimes referred to as "GEN1")

  • Intuos Pro Large (PTH-851) -> 2013

  • Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-651) -> 2013

  • Intuos Pro Small (PTH-451) -> 2013

Notes on older Wacom tablets series

• The Wacom Bamboo series has now been renamed to the One by Wacom series

Distinguishing physical features

• the One by Wacom has a bright red back

• the One by Wacom has a fabric pen holder on the side of the tablet

• The Intuos in available in several colors for the back plastic

• The Intuos has a fabric pen holder on the top of the tablet

• The Intuos Pro is always black both front and back

• The Intuos Pro has no fabric pen holder

• The Intuos Pro has a circular dial on the left of the tablet.

Summary

This solid tablet beginner tablet - though it is overpriced for what it is.

I still find 13" tablets a little too small for me. I normally recommend 16" tablets. But as a starter tablet or intended for use by a child, this size works well.

NOTE: Wacom One GEN2 pen displays

Wacom did release the Wacom One 13 touch GEN2 tablet which is the direct successor, but that tablet is more expansive and has worse pressure handling.

Connectivity

The tablet comes with a 3-in-1 cable. Wacom calls this the "X-shape cable". And you must use this specific cable from Wacom.

NOTE: Cable attachment direction

Also when you plug in the 3-in-1 cable to the top of the tablet, the cord from should go to the left. If the cord goes to the right the tablet won't work. See the diagrom below from Wacom's user manual for this tablet.

Single USB-C connection

The tablet DOES NOT work with a single USB-C cable.

Display Panel

This has an AVHA display panel, not IPS. The colors are a little washed out and viewing angles are not great.

Pen

The supplied Wacom One GEN1 pen (CP-913) is a decent pen. It's not as good as what you would find with the Pro Pen 2. It is comparable to the Samsung S pen in terms of IAF and pressure range.

Legs

This tablet has two legs on the back that can place the tablet at an angle more convenient for drawing.

VESA

This tablet does not have any VESA mounting holes.

Compatible pens

Besides the Wacom One GEN1 pen (CP-913), the Wacom One GEN1 (DTC-133) tablet is compatible with other pens not made by Wacom.

Wacom X-Shape cable for Wacom One DTC-133

The Wacom One (DTC-133) uses a PROPRIETARY 3-in-1 cable that Wacom calls the "X-Shape cable" (ACK44506Z).

Overview

The Wacom Pro Pen 2 is an INCREDIBLE pen. Despite the existence of the Pro Pen 3, I think the Pro Pen 2 is better. This is the standard against which I judge all other pens.

Pressure

• It supports 8192 levels of pressure

• Like other Wacom pro pens it has an very low IAF of <1gf.

• As of May 2024 it has the highest maximum pressure in the industry of almost 800gf.

Features

• Two buttons

• Eraser

Cost

It is an expensive pen at about $90. So it is more expensive than some pen tablets themselves.

Basics

Product page:

This diagram is my summary how their consumer line of tablets is evolving

Branding

• "Wacom One" now includes both pen displays and pen tablets

• The successors to the Wacom Intuos pen tablets (CTL-4100*, CTL-6100*) are: the Wacom One (Gen2) pen tablets (CTC-4110WL, CTC-6110WL).

User manuals

Resources

Summary

The Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227) along with the Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH-271) are the best pen displays in the market as of July 22.

This is my favorite tablet of the 70+ that I own. I prefer drawing on this one more than any other because of the drawing quality and the size (not too big, not too small).

• my notes on the

Basics

• Release year: 2023

• Product page:

• User manual:

Drawing experience

• EXCELLENT

• Has the leading drawing experience in the industry thanks to its support of the Wacom Pro Pen 2 and Wacom Pro Pen 3

General

• Active Area / Display size: 476 x 268 mm (18.7 x 10.5 in)

Pens

Comes with a Wacom Pro Pen 3

Compatible pens

I mostly use the Wacom Pro Pen 2 with this tablet.

Display

• Native resolution: 3840 x 2160

• Aspect ratio: 16x9

• Size: 26.9 in (68.3 cm)

• Brightness: 300 nits.

  • I run it at 50% brightness.

  • The larger Cintiq Pro 27 is can get up to 400nits of brightness

• Display panel tech: IPS

• Color Depth: 10bit (per channel)

• Laminated: yes

• AG Treatmement: Etched glass

• Refresh rate: 120Hz.

  • I run it at 60Hz

Anti-glare Sparkle

Rating: GOOD (LOW)

It has a little more than the Cintiq Pro 27 - but that is to be expected since it has a higher PPI.

Dead Pixels

I saw none when I started using it and none have developed.

Color modes

• Native (the default)

• AdobeRGB

• DCI-P3

• Rec.709

• Rec.2020

• Display P3

• sRGB

• EBU

• PQ Rec.2100

• PQ DCI

• HLG Rec.2100

• Custom

I left it running in Native mode.

Parallax

EXCELLENT - very little parallax.

Pen tracking accuracy

• Wacom does not publish numbers

• I found it to be extremely accurate at the edged and corners

  • A bit more accurate than the Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH-271)

Diagonal wobble

Rating: GOOD. Exhibits a slight wobble in diagonal lines.

Slightly better than Cintiq Pro 27.

Pressure handling

EXCELLENT (best in the industry) because the pens are very good.

Pointer lag

GOOD but not GREAT - this is typical for a pen display

Switching to 120Hz makes a little bit of difference to pointer lag but not much.

Cabling and connections

Using single USB-C cable

Unlike many other 16" pen displays, a single USB-C cable is not enough to power this tablet. You Still have to use their supplied power adapter.

How I connect it to my PC

Instead of using Wacom's USB-C cable, I use a Cable Matters Thunderbolt 3 cable to connect it to the USB 4 port on my mini pc.

Fans

It DOES have fans. Which cause some noise.

There is no control over the speed of the fans.

Noise

• The fan noise is always on.

• Quieter than than the Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH-271) but louder than the Cintiq Pro 16 (DTH-167).

• At 50% brightness the noise the noise is audible but does not bother me unlike the DTH-271 which I am irritated by. With normal sounds in my office (Air conditioner, etc) I often can't pick up the sound.

Heat

Fans keep it cool. At the default brightness, the tablet is cool to the touch - maybe just very slightly warm.

Touch

Supports touch.

• There is a physical button on the back of the pen display to enable/disable touch.

• Most of the time I disable touch but occasionally use it when I need to.

Express Keys

• total of 8

• 4 on back left

• 4 on back right

• I don't enjoy the express keys. I find them awkward to use. Instead I use a tourbox.

Build quality

EXCELLENT

OSD

• You can get to the OSD by pressing a physical button on the back of the tablet

Stand

It does NOT come with a stand.

There is a specific Wacom Cintiq 22 Stand which is very expensive.

I instead use a much cheaper Huion ST100a stand.

Legs

It does NOT have any legs

Laying flat

The back of the the pen display has pieces that stick out due to the buttons. This means:

• It does not lay down flat on a desk

• It will slide around easily

VESA mounting

It has 100mmx100mm VESA mounting holes on the back.

Overview

As of July 2024, Although released in 2019 the Wacom Cintiq 22 continues to deliver the best drawing experience possible with a slightly out-of-date screen.

I bought mine used from eBay for $380 and was very satisfied.

Basics

Release year: 2019

User manual:

Setup

General

Pressure handling - EXCELLENT. See my notes on the Pro Pen 2.

Display > basics

Size: 21.5 in (55 cm)

Lamination - NO. This is not a laminated display. Yes this introduces a very slight increase in parallax but not much. And it did not affect my drawing.

Refresh Rate - Standard. up to 60 Hz.

Resolution - 1920x1080

Brightness: 210 nits specified. Like many pen displays, this is not a super bright display - which is fine because most people tend to keep their eyes closer to the screen than a normal monitor and if the display was brighter, it might be overwhelming.

Can you see pixels? YES clearly. Which is to be expected with this resolution at this size.

Bit depth: 8bits per channel

AG film: YES

Etched glass: NO

Response time (G2G): 22ms. This response time is fine for drawing and office work. Serious gamers will likely not want to use this for a gaming monitor.

Color gamut:

• 72% NTSC

• 96% sRGB

• The colors look fine. This is not a modern wide-gamut display so you might find it looks less saturated than other modern displays. But I think it looks fine and works well for my needs. I prefer to work in sRGB anyway.

Pen tracking

Accuracy: EXCELLENT in center an in edges and corners. very small deviation in corners and edges and better than many other tablets I have seen.

Tilt compensation - EXCELLENT. Tilting pen in its full supported range did not move the pointer from the tip by an appreciable amount.

Pointer lag

TYPICAL. Lag is visible but this amount is what we see in all pen displays.

Diagonal wobble

MINOR WOBBLE. Good for a pen display.

Anti-glare sparkle

VERY GOOD. Very faint ag sparkle visible. Only visible if eyes are 4" to 6" from tablet.

Display sharpness

pixels are clearly visible and well delineated

Blacklight bleed

I think this did have a little more blacklight bleed than other pen displays. I'm not particularly sensitive to backlight bleed and it didn't affect me at all.

Express keys

Tablet has no express keys

VESA mounting

YES. This tablet supports VESA mounting (100mmx100mm)

I did not test with any VESA arm or stand.

Stand

I think the original packaging includes a stand but the used package I bought on eBay did not come with a stand.

Legs

Does not have a legs.

Surface Texture

Typical texture of a plastic film on glass. Film provides enough grip. Pen does not "slide" around.

Feels ever so slightly "stickier" than an etched glass display.

Fans

Noise

Silent.

Touch

NO. This tablet does NOT support touch.

Heat

I ran the display at 100% brightness for two hours. The overall tablet is about room temperature with a very slight (very slight) warms to wards the left side.

Device shape

It has a wedge shape. It is thicker at the top of the screen and thinner at the bottom of the screen. So laying it on a desk surface gives it a very slight angle of maybe 10 degrees. It's nice to have some angle but typically if drawing at an angle is important for you, then get a stand.

The device works very well on the desk. It does not slip around due to the 4 rubber strips on the bottom.

Sound support

• No speakers

• No headphone jack

Cables and Connectivity

Ports

• Power

• USB-B

• HDMI

Port location

The ports are behind a cover on the back.

The ports are oriented up so cords will go straight up and out and are clearly visible when using this device.

Special note on USB-B

This port type is getting less common. So to make sure you know what the cable looks like here is a photo of the cable I used. I used my own cable, the original Wacom cable was part of the package I bought from eBay. USB-B is on the left. USB-A is on the right.

Special note on HDMI

My connectivity setup

My laptop was connected to a CalDigit TS4 dock via a TB4 cable.

The provided power went to the wall.

For the HDMI connection I tested two scenarios:

• The Cintiq was connected to the dock via the USB cable and an HDMI cable using an adapter.

• Connecting the Cintiq directly to the laptop with an HDMI cable.

This is the adapter I used for HDMI when connecting to the CalDigit TS4 dock which has noHDMI port: Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter.

Other notes

If you are going to buy this tablet used to save some money, please keep in mind that the Pro Pen 2 is not cheap. If you lose or break the pen, getting a new one is about $90.

Basics

• Low IAD + good max pressure

• Two buttons

• No eraser

Pressure response

Max pressure is good (>= 400gf). Ignore IAF in charts below - my testing was not designed for accurate IAF measurements.

Overview

Wacom introduced this pen in 2023. It is a terrible pen. Because of of how it handles pressure. I prefer using the Wacom One Pen 2019 GEN1 (CP-913) instead.

Officially the name of the CP-923 pen is "Wacom One Standard Pen" but that name is confusing so I will call it one of the two following names:

• Wacom One Pen (GEN2)

• CP-923

The Old Wacom One Pen (CP-913)

Below is the old Wacom One Pen (CP-913). It is better than the CP-913. It only has one button but the pressure handling is much better.

Pen support

• All the Wacom One (Gen 2) tablets are compatible with the new Wacom One Pen (Gen 2).

• This is good. It eliminates a huge source of confusion around pen compatibility.

Pen evolution

• One by Wacom (CTL-472, CTL-672) -> Wacom Pen 2K (LP-190K)

• Intuos (CTL-4100*, CTL-6100*) -> Wacom Pen 4K (LP-1100K)

• Wacom One Pen (Gen 1) -> CP91300B2Z

• Wacom One Pen (Gen 2) -> CP92303B2Z

Pressure levels

• One by Wacom (CTL-472, CTL-672) -> 2048

• Intuos (CTL-4100*, CTL-6100*) -> 4096

• Wacom One (Gen 1) -> 4096

• Wacom One (Gen 2) -> 4096

So no improvements to pen pressure levels. As a reminder, all you really need are 2048 pressure levels and it is the pressure range that is more important.

Number of pen buttons

• New pen (CP-923) -> 2 buttons

• Old pen (CP-913) -> 1 button

Tilt

• New pen (CP-923) -> supports tilt

• Old pen (CP-913) -> does not support tilt

Compatibility

Backwards compatibility

• New pen (CP-923) -> Does not work with Wacom One (Gen 1) (DTC-133) tablet

Forwards compatibility

• Old pen (CP-913) -> Does work with new new Wacom One 2023 GEN2 tablets

Samsung Galaxy S compatibility

• I confirmed both pens (CP-913, CP-923) work with the Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra.

• I confirmed that the Samsung S Pen works with both the Wacom One 2019 GEN1 tablet and the Wacom One 2023 GEN2 tablets

Serious Pressure problems

• The CP-913 does not have these issues

Max Pressure

Overview

Here you can find a list of common Wacom pens and some compatibility notes.

List of common Wacom pens

Pen & tablet compatibility

Wacom tablets are highly specific about which pens they work with.

Notes on buying pens for Wacom tablets

Always check with Wacom support to verify that a specific pen model will work with your tablet BEFORE you purchase the pen.

Compatibility lists

There are three popular compatibility lists:

• Wacom maintains their own PARTIAL list of pen and tablet compatibility. You can find it here:

• MacHollywood maintains another the .

• Tablet expert Kuuube, maintains this list . Note that in this list is tested with Open Tablet Driver, not the Wacom drivers.

As always, no matter where you see compatibility lists, ALWAYS contact product support to verify compatibility before purchasing a pen.

Common pen and tablet compatibility pairs

Below are the common compatibility pairs. These are based on Kuuube's pen compatibility mastersheet and Wacom's published information.

Notes:

• This list only includes those combinations that have full compatibility. This

• list also excludes some very old Wacom tablets.

• Always verify compatibility with Wacom support before you purchase any pen.

Third-party pens compatible with the Wacom tablets

For almost all Wacom tablets, only Wacom pens work with those tablets. But there are a few exceptions where certain Wacom tablet support a specific set of non-Wacom pens.

The Wacom One GEN2 tablets also support some non-Wacom pens:

• Wacom One 13 touch (DTH-134)

• Wacom One 12 (DTC-121)

• Wacom One M (CTC-6110WL)

• Wacom One S (CTC-4110WL)

The Wacom Movink 13 also supports some non-Wacom pens.

Pro Pen 3

The Wacom Pro Pen 3 (ACP50000DZ) is a very normal EMR pen that lives up to previous models in terms of quality. And may be slightly better than the Wacom Pro Pen 2.

Pressure

Background

Pressure levels

• Pro Pen 3 supports 8192 pressure levels.

• Nothing special here. All modern tablets/pens say they support this number of pressure levels.

• I continue to maintain that 2048 levels is all you need for creative applications. Some say even fewer pressure levels are needed.

Pressure response for drawing

RATING: EXCELLENT

Pressure response is how changes in pressure translates to drawing strokes in creative application

I tried it in these scenarios

• Small pressure produces for light strokes

• It is easy to create many small slight strokes quickly (example: hatch lines)

• Varying pressure as you draw changes stroke width very smoothly

• It is easy to maintain even pressure and line width.

• Nice tapering at beginning and end of strokes

  • How the beginning and ends of strokes look is highly depending on the app and the brush settings.

    • For example, sudden flicks to end a line in Clip Studio Paint look a little different than the same motion in Photoshop. But this seems normal.

  • For the Pro Pen 3 with the Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 the begging and ends of strokes felt as good as they always have.

Pressure range

Rating: EXCELLENT

The Pro Pen 3 has the typical wide pressure range from Wacom. Unfortunately there are no clear published specs from Wacom on other manufacturers on these pressure range values. So we have to evaluate it subjectively for now. To me it seems similar to that of the Wacom Pro Pen 2 which has a very wide pressure range.

Initial activation force

Rating: EXCELLENT

The Pro Pen 3 has a typical low IAF for Wacom Pro pen.NOTE: I am not skilled enough to measure it, but to me the Pro Pen 3 IAF feels like the Pro Pen 2 which has an IAF of <1gf.

Comparing Initial Activation Force

• Wacom does not publish IAF numbers

• I don't know of any clear way to measure it.

• One benchmark used to evaluate IAF is whether the weight of the pen itself will trigger a pressure reading.

• I tried using this benchmark to get a feel for the IAF the Pro Pen 3 versus the Huion PW517

  • I dangled the pen on the surface from a piece of tape. This was to avoid my hand adding pressure.

  • I looked at the impact on the "pressure test region" of their respective driver apps

  • Result for Wacom Pro Pen 3: The weight of the Wacom pen itself consistently draws a stroke

  • Result for Huion PW517: The weight Huion pen itself the will inconsistently draw a stroke. Sometimes it draws. Sometimes it doesn't.

Customizability

• Unlike previous Wacom pens, the Pro Pen 3 is very modular and customizable

• Grip options

  • No grip

  • flared grip - gives it same basic shape as the pro pen 2

  • non-flared grip

My pen configuration

• 1 pen body with tip - the front

• 2 pen body rear

• 3 button strip with three buttons

• 4 metal weight. I placed the heavier end inside part 1

• 5 flared grip

When my pen is fully assembled it looks like this:

3 button strip

• I like buttons on my pens so I installed the 3 button strip

• Wacom expects you'll map the topmost button to erase

• Personally I have difficult distinguishing three buttons from two and so I often press the third button when I meant to press the second.

• So, in Wacom driver, I simply disable the third button.

• I was afraid the button strip would easily come out of the pen. It is securely in there and hasn't popped out even when I have dropped the pen to the floor accidentally.

Drawing experience

• NOTE: This relates to the physical feeling of holding, moving, pressing the pen against the glass. This has nothing to do with how pressure works or how it works with apps.

• SUMMARY: The feeling is EXCELLENT

• I think it is an improvement over the Wacom Pro Pen

• However I think there is a lots of subjectivity to this. For example, I accidentally picked up the Pro Pen 2 and started drawing with it. And I thought I was using the Pro Pen 3 and remarked how good it felt. Only when I looked at the pen did I realize I was using the old pen.

• To me the differences between the Pro Pen 3 and the Pro Pen 2 are slight and subtle.

• Other people feel that the difference is more obvious.

Solidity

RATING: EXCELLENT

Because the pen is very modular, I was afraid that it would feel unstable. Actually, it's incredibly solid feeling.

Grip feeling

• The grip is made of two pieces. Inside it a shell of plastic which is surrounded by the rubber grip material.

• Overall it the grip is much more firm than the grip of the pro pen 2

• The grip doesn't feel rubbery

• Very difficult to bend when the Grip is installed.

• The grip can be damaged with sufficient force. If you squeeze the grip when it is not on the pen, you will initially find it hard to bend however much if the rigidity is due to the plastic shell inside. If you keep exerting pressure you will break the plastic and it won't fit as well when you place it on the pen.

Compatibility with older Wacom tablets

Currently, the Pro Pen 3 can only be used with the Cintiq Pro 27.

Possibility of future compatibility. Wacom mentioned on twitter and during their demo event they would release an update that would make the Pro Pen 3 work on select older tablets.

• After their pre-launch demo event on October 5, 2022, they published the Q&A. This was the first time they were clear that they were working on some form of compatibility.

• On 2024/03/09 I asked Wacom again on twitter
• Wacom has not published that update

• Wacom has not identified which older tablets will be updated to be compatible with the Pro Pen 3

What happens when you try using the Pro Pen 3 with an older tablet

• With Wacom's latest drivers

  • Nothing happens

  • The drivers don't reveal that the pen even exists.

• With OpenTabletDriver

  • The tablet does sense the pens position - but the cursor is "bouncing around" many times a second- it is unusable for drawing

Barrel rotation

Eraser

The pen DOES NOT include an eraser at the other end. Instead, use one of the 3 buttons as the eraser.

I do not recommend the Wacom One 2023 GEN2 pen displays

The new Wacom One GEN2 tablets and Wacom One GEN2 Pens currently struggle with pressure issues. See this video for details:

Stroke quality

As you can see from the my testing below. The stroke quality with the new pen is not good compared to the old pen. This is due to a combination of tablet and pen.

Notes on the new Wacom One Pen (GEN2)

Cables & connectivity

The Wacom One (Gen 2) pen displays can be connected three ways

• With a 3-in-1 cable

• With a single USB-C cable

• With two USB-C cables. One for display. One for power. Not all computers supply enough power over a USB-C connection to power a display. So this makes sense to provide the option. Most other pen displays work this way.

Parallax

TBD

Tablet Buttons

None.

Pen display > OSD

Pen displays > display panel

• Native resolution: HD (2K): 1920x1080

• Refresh rate: 60Hz

• The new display panels have a wider color gamut. They are clearly better than the old Wacom One Gen 1 tablet.

Pen tablets > USB port

• The predecessor Intuos pen tablets used a micro USB slot

• The Wacom One (Gen 2) pen tablets now use a more common USB-C port

Legs

The new Wacom One (Gen 2) pen displays do not have any legs. They lay flat on the desk.

The old Wacom One (Gen 1) pen display has legs on the back. You can lay the display flat on the desk or you can pull out the legs and draw at and angle.

Wacom is offering a very unique design for their stand.

VESA mounting

Neither the Wacom One GEN1 or the Wacom One GEN2 pen displays are VESA mountable.

Diagonal wobble

Wacom One 12 GEN2 (DTC-121)

Wacom One 13 touch GEN (DTH-134)

Wacom One M GEN2 (CTC-6110WL)

Compatible pens

Besides the Wacom One GEN1 pen (CP-913), the Wacom One GEN1 (DTC-133) tablet is compatible with other pens not made by Wacom.

Wacom 3-in-1 cable for Wacom One GEN2 pen displays

The Wacom One 12 (DTC-121) and Wacom One 13 touch (DTH-134) work with a 3-in-1 cable. I SUPPOSE this is a proprietary cable.

model number: ACK4490602Z

Summary

• The Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 is the best pen display ever made. With a price of $3500 it is also the most expensive pen display ever made.

• This Cintiq is an excellent device - except for the irritating fan noise. I love drawing with it. Drawing experience is excellent. But only incrementally and subtly better than previous models.

• For creative professionals - who deeply care about color this may be a worthwhile and useful purchase that replaces the need to buy a pen display and a reference monitor

• For everyone else - especially if you don't have professional color requirements, the value you get may not justify the cost.

Notes

• This was a personal purchase.

• This was not a review unit. I bought it from the wacom.com online store.

• I have no relationship to Wacom.

Wacom pre-launch demo event

• I attended Wacom's demo event on Oct 5 2022 before the product was launched.

• This wasn't an exclusive event. I registered for it like everyone else when Wacom publicly revealed the event.

• Wacom published the Q&A from the demo event here: https://content.wacom.com/acton/attachment/43270/f-82fbd755-3ca6-41b0-8603-0d7b59d041c2/1/-/-/-/-/Wacom%20Cintiq%20Pro%2027%20Product%20Event%20Q%26A_Oct%202022.pdf?sid=TV2:AJoJnUTl8

User manual

http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/TOC/DTH271.html

Other reviews

• Many others have created very thoughtful reviews

• Please consult them to get a more complete understanding of this tablet

• You can find other reviews of the Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 in Wacom reviews.

Components

Drawing experience

Summary

• The best drawing experience there ever has been with a pen display.

• However, the improvements are minor and incredibly subtle over previous generations.

Active area / Display size

• At 27" diagonal for both the active area and display, this model is one of the largest pen displays ever made.

• Only two models have come close in size.

  • The Wacom Cintiq Pro 32 (DTH-3220) first released in 2018.

  • The discontinued Cintiq 27HD (DTK-2700) first released in 2015.

• The available largest size from competitors is 24"

Specs

• size = 596 x 335 mm (23.5 x 13.2 in)

• diagonal size = 26.9 in (68.3cm)

• aspect ratio: 16x9

Pointer lag

• Background: lag

• In absolute terms, The Cintiq Pro 27 has shows moderate pointer lag.

  • Pen tablets (like the Intuos Pro Large PTH-860) have much less lag than this Cintiq. These have EXCELLENT lag.

  • Apple iPads have much less lag than this Cintiq, but not quite as little as pen displaces. These have EXCELLENT log.

• In terms relative to other pen displays, The Cintiq has GOOD (but not GREAT) pointer lag.

• Affect of the 120Hz refresh rate - The 120Hz refresh rate of the display panel only minimal improved the perception of lag. This surprised me. I expected the 120Hz to make a bigger difference based on my experience with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 2 which also uses a 120Hz refresh rate.

Tilt

• More here: Pen tilt

• Tilt support with the Cintiq Pro 27 is standard for Wacom: EXCELLENT.

  • Tilt is smooth, accurate, and responsive.

  • Tilt works correctly at edges and corners.

• Wacom has improved overall tilt experience with the shape of the Pro Pen 3. The pen has a sharper tip section, making it physically possible to get to more tilt values.

Pen tracking accuracy

• Background: pen tracking

• Wacom does not publish pen tracking accuracy numbers

• But we can compare it to other tablets that do have published numbers

• Here are the accuracy numbers for the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 4K (GT2401) as

  • +/- 0.5 mm at center

  • +/- 3mm at corner

  • I think these numbers are accurate for the Huion

• The Cintiq pro 27 - just like every other pen display - has some non-uniformity.

  • Compared to any other pen display out there the uniformity is VERY GOOD.

  • The amount of inaccuracy at the edges and corners is very low - clearly better than the Huion Pro 24 4K model.

Parallax

• Background: parallax

• An iPad Pro has EXCELLENT parallax (very little parallax)

• The display of the Cintiq Pro 27 has VERY GOOD parallax due to its full lamination but clearly not as good as an iPad Pro

• The Cintiq Pro 27 parallax is nothing special for modern pen displays. Many pen displays are fully laminated lately.

Pressure

Pressure is a feature of the pen you use with the tablet.

See my notes on the Wacom Pro Pen 3 that comes with the tablet.

Diagonal wobble

• Background: diagonal wobble

• In my testing, the Cintiq Pro 27 has GOOD-to-OK (i.e. low) diagonal wobble. See comparative samples here: diagonal wobble.

• NOTE: Originally I had ranked the Cintiq Pro 27 as having VERY GOOD wobble. Upon further testing with many other tablets, I havve downgraded the ranking.

• As tablet that costs $3500 I think The Cintiq Pro 27 tablet should have better (less) diagonal wobble. There are other tablets out there at various price levels that are better:

  • Wacom Intuos PTH-860

  • Huion Kamvas Pro 24

  • Huion Kamvas 13 and XP-Pen Artist 13 (2nd Gen).

Diagonal wobble

Rating: OK

Compare to some other diagonal samples linked from here: diagonal wobble

Display

Specs

• native resolution: 3840 x 2160

• aspect ratio: 16x10

• contrast ratio: 1000:1

• refresh rate: Up to 120Hz

• Response time: 10ms

• panel tech: IPS

Bit depth

• Supports up to 10 bits per RGB channel (30 bits for each pixel) giving 10 Billion colors

• Also works at standard 8 bits per RGB channel (24 bits for each pixel) giving 16.7 unique colors

• I only used it at 8 bits per channel

Brightness

• 400 cd/m2

  • NOTE: 1 cd/m2 = 1 nit

• Overall relatively bright for a pen display, not as bright as many of the modern displays in the market.

• In comparison:

  • Cintiq pro 27 -> 400 cd/m2

  • Apple iPad Pro (11 inch) (4rd gen) -> 600 cd/m2

  • Surface Pro 8 -> 452.8 cd/m2

  • Huion Kamvas Pro 24 4k -> 200 cd/m2

• In practice seemed bright enough for drawing. I certainly did not find it dim

• However, if you place it next to a device like an iPad Pro or Surface Pro 8, then it's clearly not as bright.

Refresh rate

• Supports up to 120Hz

• Works at 60Hz

• Works at 30Hz - you do NOT want to use it at this refresh rate

• NOTE: Pay attention when you plug it in, depending on how it is connected to your PC, you could end up with a lower refresh rate. Always check the refresh rate being used when you plug it in. Don't assume you are getting 120Hz.

  • For example: When connecting to a Surface Pro 8, via the surface dock, and a miniDP to HDMI adapter limitation I could only achieve 30Hz due to limitations in the adapter.

Anti-glare treatment and sparkle

• Background: Anti-glare sparkle

  • Reflections on your pen display would make it difficult to draw. To reduce reflections, manufacturers give an anti-glare (AG) treatment to the display/ The AG treatment is either etched glass or an AG film applied on top of the glass

• The Cintiq Pro 27 uses AG etched glass

• The AG sparkle from the etched glass is GOOD (i.e. low) for a display of this size and resolution

  • AG Sparkle is only slightly visible with eyes 4" away from glass

  • AG Sparkle is not visible at my normal drawing distance with eyes 13" from glass

Glass texture

• The AG etching provides a subtle texture for your pen to grip against. Your fingers won't notice it but it definitely helps the pen feel connected to the tablet.

• It does NOT have that slippery feeling that comes with the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil.

Dead pixels

None observed in my model

Blacks

Deep black to my eyes - not dark grey.

Color Support

I don't have a much background in color - especially in a professional sense. Here I am just listing the specs.

Gamut

• 98% DCI-P3

• 99% Adobe RGB

Color modes

Using the OSD you can place it into different color modes

• Native (the default)

• AdobeRGB

• DCI-P3

• Rec.709

• Rec.2020

• Display P3

• sRGB

• EBU

• PQ Rec.2100

• PQ DCI

• HLG Rec.2100

• Custom

My usage: I left it at Native.

Connections

Ports

• 1x mini DisplayPort

• 1x HDMI

• 2x USB Type-C

• 1x USB Standard-A

• 1x power

How I connected it to my PC

• I used two cables

  • Power cable -> goes to wall

  • USB-C cable (provided in the box) -> to connect to the thunderbolt 4 ports on my PC. The USB C cable provided display signal + data.

• I used the Cintiq with

  • Mac Studio

  • Surface Pro 8

Express keys

• Total of 8 keys. 4 on left. 4 on right.

• If you mount the pen holder on the left or right of the tablet, you will lose access to the express keys on that side.

• The express keys cannot be used to enable/disable touch. You have to use the touch switch on the back of the device.

My usage

• I prefer not to use express keys in general.

• I rely on a TourBox device so express keys don't help. I have my non-drawing hand on my Tourbox device so the buttons aren't really very useful for me.

Mounting

• You cannot use the device without mounting it to something

• On the back it has a standard 100mm VESA mount

• You can either

  • Use the Cintiq Pro 27 Stand (sold separately at $500)

  • Any compatible VESA display arm (like an Ergotron HX) that hold sup to 20lbs

  • Wacom Flex Arm + Wacom Flex Arm Adapter

The Cintiq Pro 27 Stand

Stability

• It wobbles a bit if you press on it.

• I mitigate the wobble by placing something under it's bottom edge. That provides some additional support to keep the tablet very still.

Rotation

• The Z axis is a line between your eye and surface of the tablet

• Can rotate +/- 20 degrees

• Can NOT rotate the display into portrait mode

Tilt

• Typically you will use it with the tablet facing upwards somewhat so you can comfortably draw

• You CAN angle it so that the surface is perpendicular to the floor.

  • However, then essentially the bottom edge is directly touching your desk. So it isn't very useful in that position if you just want to use it as a monitor with this stand.

• You can angle it so that the surface is facing completely upwards and parallel to the floor.

Height adjustability

• Some limited height adjustability - cannot lift the the display very high

• If you need to use it like a normal monitor -you should get an arm instead of using the stand

Fans

• The Cintiq Po 27 contains two fans according to Wacom.

  • Note that the Cintiq Pro 24 had 4 fans.

• I asked Wacom why it need fans.

• Wacom's reply: "Unlike a typical desktop monitor or touch-screen, Wacom pen displays are designed to have a hand on them all the time, so heat is a serious factor for long-term usability and comfort. On most smaller tablets and displays, enough heat can escape from the back, so it's not an issue. However, the larger and brighter the display, the more heat it will produce. Heatsinks are a common device used to normalize temperatures and dissipate heat. Our displays use heatsinks to help dissipate heat, and an active heatsink requires a fan to work effectively"

• It is still unclear to me why the Cintiq Pro 27 needs fans when many other devices don't. For example, is the Huion Pro 24 4K is silent and is just very slightly warm to the touch. There are many other examples of devices.

• The fans are located on the top edge of the display

Fan noise

Duration

• The Fan noise is always on if the display is powered

• Fan noise during power up or wake from sleep

  • Will be loud for a few seconds

  • Will be silent for a few seconds

  • Then will settle in on its constant sound

Control over fan noise (there is none)

• Changing brightness does not affect Fan

• There is no way to control the fan speed.

• I hope and encourage Wacom to release an update that gives some selective control over the fan.

Subjective perception of fan noise

• In a quiet environment you will notice the fan noise

• The noise does bother me. It is louder than any device I have in my office except my PC when I am gaming at 4K.

• Here's what it sounds like: https://twitter.com/TheSevenPens/status/1579912655581876225?s=20&t=Fv8rNtUcS0wdUeAXV_MwJg

• I mitigate the fan noise perception sometimes by using earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation. I use Google Pixel Buds pro which completely mask the sound. As much as this solution does work, I don't think the future of using expensive creative equipment should require me to put something in my ears.

• I would STRONGLY prefer the Cintiq Pro 27 to be silent or at least much quieter even if it has run slightly warmer.

Objective measure of fan noise

• I had originally hoped to use a device to measure the noise, but when I went to research these devices I learned that consumer-level devices and apps are unreliable.

Pen Compatibility

• Tested and confirmed that these older pens work fine with the Cintiq Pro 27

  • Wacom Pro Pen 2 (KP504E)

  • Wacom Grip Pen (KP-501E)

  • Wacom Art Pen (KP-701E)

• Wacom's list of supported pens for the Cintiq Pro 27

Wacom Pro Pen 3

The Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 comes with the Wacom Pro Pen 3.

The Wacom Pro Pen 3 is a very normal EMR pen that lives up to previous models in terms of quality. And may be slightly better than the Wacom Pro Pen 2.

See my notes on the Wacom Pro Pen 3.

Touch

• All Cintiq Pro 27 models support touch

• You can enable/disable touch with a button on the rear of the display

• Quality of touch support: Past vs Present

  • Historically I have never been happy with touch support in Intuos Pro models.

  • The touch support in the Cintiq Pro 27 is very much improved.

• The overall touch experience

  • When connected to a Windows computer - VERY GOOD. Windows has had extensive built in touch support for a decade now and it shows when using this device. It feels very natural. However it did suffer from occasional glitchy behavior. For example sometimes it "lost" a ping-to-zoom gesture and I had to repeat the gesture again to get it to work. If you are used to working with a Microsoft Surface then I would say the Surface touch experience is clear better than the the Wacom Cintiq Pro 27.

  • When connected to a Mac - OK. It works well, but MacOS is not built to work with touch like an iPad is. So please don't expect the touch support to make your Mac feel like an iPad.

  • Palm rejection is much improved. But still didn't reject my palm enough. So as I tried to pinch and zoom in Clip Studio Paint I would often find that I had accidentally drawn a stroke. I mostly disabled touch while using the device because of this reason.

Buttons on back (not the Express keys)

There are three buttons on the tablet (top right if you are facing the tablet)

These buttons are the

• power

• show/hide OSD

• slider to control touch

These work fine.

My only nitpick here is that the power button is very close to the show/hide OSD button and also they are difficult to distinguish by touch. So, I am always a little nervous that instead of bringing up the OSD that I am about to turn off the tablet.

Build quality

• The Cintiq Pro 27 - excellent

• The Cintiq Pro 27 stand - excellent

• The Pro Pen 3 - excellent

• The pen holder - feels cheap and finnicky. Does not open elegantly. The lid will unelegantly pop off.

Cost

• There's no getting around the cost. it is extremely expensive.

• $3500 for the pen display itself, and you'll need to separately purchase a stand.

• The Wacom stand for this device itself costs $500.

Protecting your investment

Protecting the screen

Generally people are concerned about scratching up the glass surface. And when a tablet costs so much that makes sense.

I am still searching for how we can give some added protection to the surface - like some kind of protective film. I don't have an answer to this yet. If anyone has suggestions, let me know.

Warranty

The tablet comes with a 2 year warranty (at least in the US).

However, an extended warranty can be purchased. Here's what Wacom had to say about it from the Oct 5 demo event.

"... we currently offer a 2-year, 3-year, and 4-year extended warranty on the Wacom eStore (displayed above the Add to Cart button). This is in addition to the 2-year manufacturer warranty, so you could have up to 6 years of extended coverage. It's also possible that other retailers may offer their own extended service packages."

Who should buy it

Ultimately this device seems targeted at really high-end professional scenarios that involve dealing with color in specialized ways.

• Beginner -> I don't think it makes sense to get. You won't benefit from it much. You could spend the same money ($3500) and get a PC, a 4K pen display, mounting arm, and more.

• Intermediate -> Same as beginner answer.

• Experienced user of a Cintiq Pro 24 or 32 model -> YES, IF you are really really need its pro color support