UPDATED REVIEW-
I have updated this review. I have become more critical of the fans now that my house is quieter in winter, and the backlighting issues are actually a little worse then I realized. Overall it's still awesome and am glad I got it though*
WACOM THIS WACOM THAT-
I am a long time wacom user, starting with the intuos 4 medium back in 2010 then in 2012 I upgraded to the 22hd. At the end of june 2020 I upgraded to this 24 pro.
For over 7 years I heavily used the 22hd and logged a massive amount of drawing hours on it. If it were a car it would probably read over 300k miles by now. It was the darn near center of my life. Gaming, drawing, painting, study, reading, tv, shopping, watching cat videos on youtube, I did everything on it. Despite a few problems I was very happy with it and I had no plans to upgrade anytime soon. But then suddenly a dirty usb plug led me to falsely believe my 22hd was dying. So I did my research... said my prayers... and ordered a 24 pro.
STUNNING 4k screen-
Even though I don't have 10bit color mode enabled yet, the color difference from 22hd was still immediately noticeable along with the larger screen and 4k. I had never seen a 4k screen before, and it absolutely blew me away when windows booted up the first time with my fun colorful desktop picture now brimming with a new vibrance and clarity I have never known. I figured getting a 4K cintiq would have to be an upgrade but I was not prepared to just how massive this upgrade would be. Working on large pieces of art like this is really nice. The color is a little more accurate on the 24 pro too. No more weird greenish yellows for me.
GAMING-
Games in 4k are absolutely mind blowing (well most games anyways) it is almost as visually shocking as the first time I tried VR, I kinda feel like I am almost really there. It's beautiful eye melting clarity and I just love it. While my 1060gtx works great at 4k for drawing and doing work in windows, it is not strong enough to get more then a dozen fps or less in games unless I put everything but resolution to low (which oddly looks kinda cool in some games). If you can somehow find a 3060 rtx or better, you are going to have a great time with this display.
HZ-
This screen is 60hz which is standard for most 4k displays. Even so I would love to see a 120hz or higher 4k cintiq someday, especially considering how expensive these cintiqs are. 4K gaming beyond 60fps is now a reality thanks to powerful new video cards coming out.
LARGE MARGE-
As impressive as the 4k resolution is, honestly the 2 more inches might be the single most useful thing about this coming from a 22hd, at least for drawing and doing work. I can't say enough how much I love the extra space for the multitudes of open windows\apps I often have open. I don't feel cramped anymore. You might think it better just to have 2 screens, but I prefer just 1 because everything is still "right there" for me, especially since you generally pull the cintiq close to you when working on it (a big screen in your face means you really have to turn your neck to see a 2nd screen off to the side).
The 24 pro seems to be the perfect size. I am not sure I would want larger as it becomes more of a struggle to reach up with the pen to the far sides of the screen.
DEAD\STUCK PIXELS\DUST-
Sadly I have 4 dead\stuck pixels (or are they dust?). A fair number of reviews seem to have the same problem, consider yourself lucky if yours is flawless. I decided to not make a fuss about it because at 4k these pixels are soo tiny I can only see them if I pull the screen close to my face and try hard to see them, and there is a strong chance a replacement would also has dead pixels anyways.
If you are wondering, I did try pixel fixing videos but it didn't work.
BACKLIGHT BLEED\GLARE-
If the screen is very dark I can see some light bleed on the bottom middle of the screen. Not nearly as bad as some people seem to have it. For me the worst part is the 4 corners that have a GLOW\glare if I am watching a really dark tv show or playing a really dark game. I didn't notice this much at first, but now that I've had more time to evaluate, it's definitely there and can be a little rough on the eyes, and I now consider this to be the singular worst thing about the 24 pro, but it isn't bad enough for me to call it a major problem, though some people get 24\32 pros with severe levels of this.
FAN NOISE-
The 2 noisy fans seem to be the number 1 complaint about the cintiq 24 pro.
At 100% brightness (which is too bright when working long hard hours) they are definitely noticeable. Kinda like pc case fans (cheap ones) and on pretty much all the time. Thanks to how cool they keep the drawing surface I don't mind it when drawing or painting as I generally don't work in complete silence then anyways. But while gaming or watching tv I can honestly say I don't like em. Thankfully I am content at around 60% brightness so the fans are rarely on (or quiet if they are running).
If wacom didn't bother with the cintiq engine upgrade port (seriously who uses that?) they could have designed this whole thing to not need small noisy fans but large quiet ones instead that run at a lower rpm, or ditch the fans all together and just have heat pipes or something. You can set the fans to low or auto but it's hardly any different at max brightness, and at lower brightness the LOW fan setting actually runs louder then auto does.
If their only real purpose is to keep the drawing surface cool, then it would be nice to have an option to disable them for people who want absolute silence or a new setting for "lower" cause low just isn't low enough. I doubt they are actually needed to prevent the device from burning up cause I used it all july and it was hotter n hell in here with no AC, and everything is fine.
DRAWING AND PAINTING-
Compared to the 22hd it's about the same experience, but slightly better. The etched glass screen has a slightly more toothy feel then the 22hd which is nice, and the parallax is improved. Drawing on a 22hd felt more like plastic on plastic. Even so, ultimately it's mostly the same experience so it's more about having that extra screen real estate and 4K UHD which is much nicer on the eyes then the old slightly blurry 1080p 22hd (it had aggressive anti-glare coating).
Some people said the new etched glass eats the felt pen nibs really fast, but I haven't had a problem with that? I do draw with a feathery touch though, which is one of the best things about a cintiq vs a cheap tablet (it will actually register your lightest of strokes). Doing art on the 24 pro is magnificent.
THE PEN-
8000 pressure levels. You'll notice about 10 of them.
The new pen is disappointing.
It's slightly lighter and thinner then the 22hd grip pen, but it still feels like a fat marker and has that slimy rubber grip which feels slightly sticky after long hard hours as your paw heats up and sweats. Even their new pen PRO slim has the rubber grip as well, so no thanks!
The old intuos 4 CLASSIC PEN is still IMO superior, even though it doesn't have 8000 pressure levels. I can barely notice the difference in pressure levels between them. 2000 pressure levels was already way more then you can probably perceive (those people who say they can notice a difference are probably just experiencing some kind of placebo\power of suggestion effect lol).
The classic pen is almost as light and about the same feel as a real pencil, and by not having a rubber grip it feels natural and uh.. not warm and sticky. I strongly recommend it and I hope they never discontinue it. It's the pen the display should really ship with (who wouldn't like it more then the grip pen?).
PEN HOLDER-
I don't see many people mention this in their reviews, and was trying to figure it out before buying, but yeah the 24 pro totally comes with a pen holder you can clip into in 1 of 2 spots on the top of the cintiq. Pretty handy. I was hoping it could be attached to the sides, but that's a minor gripe as it does work good up top.
EXPRESS REMOTE-
I expected this to be a big upgrade, but sadly it kinda isn't.
If it's been off for hours, it doesn't turn on when you click any button on it like it should have been designed, instead you have to awkwardly slide this really tiny and weird slider on the bottom to turn it on. It will automatically shut off after 15 minutes or so without use, and this is part of why it holds a charge that lasts a long time. I charge it maybe once a month though I don't use it much.
Why?
For serious work the keyboard is still much faster to use.
There is a multitude of buttons on the remote, but it is terribly awkward to hit most of them when you hold it with 1 hand and drawing with your other hand. In reality only a few buttons are actually comfortable to hit quickly while working. They did their best to put braille like patterns to help you feel out which button your thumb is resting on, but because there is no spacing between buttons I often end up hitting 2 buttons at a time instead of 1 like I wanted.
So when I want to go FAST like sonic, I can't. It's slow and cumbersome to use these buttons compared to the lightning speeds I attain with a keyboard.
The touch wheel is pretty bad just like I remember form the intuos 4, doing a horrible job at recognizing touch. I BADLY miss the superior old touch strip on the back of the 22hd, and I about cry every time I reach up to use it like I have for 7 years only to remember it's not there anymore...
I think the remote should be redesigned a little.
Touch strip down the middle of it. Buttons with some spacing between each key on the sides of the touch strip. Less buttons to hit sure, but are much more usable. The remote should automatically turn on by hitting any key on it- it shouldn't even have nor need a manual slider for power.
MAGIC MAGNETICALS-
I do love how the remote sticks to the bezel area left or right sides magnetically. That is really slick and professional. Though I find the magnets could use just a tiny bit more power, if the screen has been cleaned recently, it can slide down and eventually fall off especially if you tilt the screen down a bit, and the magnets are only on the middle (not top or bottom of the bezel area)
The charging usb cable works fine. It's really short, but long enough to plug into the side of the cintiq and still have the remote magnetized to the bezel area (this works to either side). I wonder if they could make it charge from the magnetic field someday in the future and just forget the cable all together.
IS THE REMOTE GOOD FOR ANYTHING?
yes.
For just light sketching when I don't need to use hotkeys very often, I love this remote, cause I and be wrapped up in a warm blanket on cold nights and have my left arm tucked away while still having access to some express keys.
The remote is a good idea, it just needs to be redesigned and improved upon.
4 TOUCH BUTTONS-
The only touch buttons on the regular 24 pro are the top right ones on the bezel for accessing the display settings or other wacom settings (and an onscreen keyboard button). They glow with backlighting and look great against the black bezel. I really like this design and I am kinda surprised they didn't expand on this idea more by adding touch express keys on the left and right sides of the bezel. A touch strip in this style on the front under where the remote sticks to would be about perfect for using your thumb on.
SPEAKING OF BEZEL-
I just love the nearly all glass front of this thing and tapered back. Only at the very edges is there finally a ridge where the glass meets the outer edge of the plastic chassis. It feels oddly very pleasant to grab this thing. When pondering the deep meanings of life I often find myself dragging my thumbs around the bezel area just cause it feels nice.
VESA ARM MOUNTS (the only way cintiqs should be used imo)-
The official wacom vesa arm mount is expensive, and seeing as how I already had a ergotron LX which I got with my 22hd back in 2012 (it still works good!), I decided to buy the required steel plate so the 24pro could fit on it. If you don't already have an arm mount, maybe consider the wacom one as it comes with everything you need and they claim it's more sturdy and stable (less shake when drawing on it- not that it's a major problem though).
Installation went well, cause it only fits 2 ways. Of course I got it wrong the first time, but no big deal. A few minutes to fix. =z
I did have to use a great deal of arm strength to tighten the ergotron enough to hold the cintiq up. While the 24pro is about the same weight as a 22hd, the vesa metal mounting plate adds some serious heft to it. Also make sure that whatever desk you are mounting this to is sturdy and heavy enough it won't topple over, especially as you move the cintiq around which can change the center of gravity and all that. All put together it's heavy.
TO VESA OR NOT TO VESA?-
Using an arm mount means you can put the screen in just about any position and angle you could ever want. Whether I am drawing, or gaming, or watching tv, reclined in my chair or not, I can always have the screen in the perfect position then easily push it back out of the way when done. I can't say enough how wonderful this is. It's a great reason to get a 22 or larger cintiq too just so you can do this. It's all part of bringing drawing to your comfort zone, and I don't know of a better way to achieve that.
FREE SOFTWARE-
The intuos and 22hd came with waaaay better software. The pro line just comes with 2 months of adobe rush and access to their photo library. Pretty lame. I am not even going to bother registering cause I could care less about this software.
DRIVERS-
I am impressed how well the 24 pro works compared to the 22hd. The pen handles the edges of the screen very well in every app I've tried, and stability is improved. I don't find myself having to save and reload my custom settings to fix odd problems anymore. The only bug I've found is sometimes upon booting up, it fails to load the drivers properly (pen does nothing) which requires a restart- a minor inconvenience. The other bugs I run into are the fault of apps and not wacom from what I can tell.
CONCLUSION-
There is no question...
Despite the potentially noisy fans, or the unpleasant glare like glow of the backlighting in dark scenes (the worst single problem), or the 4 dead pixels that only bother me if I remember they are even there...
The 24\32 pro still is the very best digital drawing\painting\modelling tool out there. I don't know of a better drawing surface besides actual paper.
I love working in 4k. It's amazing for doing art, but also fun for gaming and tv too. Paired with a vesa arm mount it will become your best friend that goes on incredible journeys through the digital world with you. I am very happy I upgraded from my 22hd.
I am already hungry for the next gen cintiq's that will hopefully fix the few existing problems and have other fun improvements like 100+hz, or 8k resolution. Those are probably some years away yet as wacom does not bring out a new line very often. If you want the best NOW in 2020, this is it, the pro line. Nobody else makes a 4k pen display that I can find, and wacom drivers have gotten to a point where they are pretty solid.
Even so, if you can live without 4k (you really can't once you see it- I call it the 4k curse), and are new to this sport thus not sure art will become your new life, definitely consider a cheaper model or different brand. 800$ is much cheaper then 2000$ if you decide art isn't for you. Do your research. I've been at this long enough to know what I want and need, and there is no question it's the 24 pro. Also, if you have a need for touch, definitely pay extra to have it. This purchase is something you'll live with for a number of years, so do it right the first time.
-----BONUS DVD SECTION-----
REFURBISHED OR NOT?-
You can get a refurbished cintiq pro on ebay, saving hundreds of dollars. But this is risky, as they may or may not have serious light bleed, any number of dead pixels\dust spots, and craziest of all, even scratches! You can only exchange those if there is something non cosmetic that is wrong. And each one sold is not individually shown, so you have no idea if you will be lucky and get one with no issues or 200 dead pixels.
I would definitely advise you all to just pay a few hundred more to get one on amazon so you can at least return it\exchange if something is wrong. I like how many refurbed 24 pros they have on ebay for sale up against how few reviews of this product are out there. This pro line definitely has some manufacturing problems, so I would take this seriously. I don't know how much we can fault wacom either for this generations problems. It must be really hard to make a 4k pen display, nobody else is doing it. I just hope the next gen cintiqs will be darn near flawless.
INTUOS OR CINTIQ-
All those people who say intuos is better... I don't get it. I've used both for years, and it's night and day. It's really hard to ink curves on an intuos. The disconnect that exists by drawing on a pad but looking up at a screen is not natural. It's not the natural way to draw and it isn't nearly as fun. You crazy people you! =)
| Brand | Wacom |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Manufacturer | Wacom |
| ASIN | B0C2TVR3V2 |
| Date First Available | April 18, 2023 |
