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Little product review (XP-Pen, Wacom)
2 years ago
I usually don't do things like these, but after my second XP-Pen screen tablet 'breaking' (more like deteriorating) in almost the exact same way my first XP-Pen did, forcing me to buy yet another tablet, I had the urge to write about it.
XP-Pen (XP Pen Innovator 16, Artist Pro 16)
First of all, while I know some of my friends like XP-Pen, I can no longer recommend their products, at all.
Obviously it's meant to be a more affordable alternative to Wacom, but the tablets themselves feel quite "flimsy" and after a little more than one year of use, both of them started to have severe screen problems (flicker, grainy pixels, random flashes, black screens). These issues seemed to be related to just... randomness. Sometimes they work fine for hours, sometimes they turn into a disco. Literally knocking on the table the tablet was standing on, fixed or broke it. Mind you, these tablets barely ever moved from their spot on that table.
Also, the screen's surface tends to get scratched up easily after use. That was a major reason for the first switch to another XP-Pen, as the first screen started to feel like drawing on sandpaper. The second one was laminated and a bit better.
Besides the clear technical deficiency, I actually DO like how the tablets are designed with the controls on the side, front and center. Especially the rotating wheels worked very well; more on that later. Another thing they did well, is just the general "appearance" of the product. Packaging was nice looking, box was filled with the goodies you would expect; cleaning cloth, 10+ pen tips, super nice and hefty pen holder, glove and so on. It made a really good first impression (unlike Wacom).
Wacom (Cintiq 16 Pro)
Before ever using a screen tablet, my main tool was an Intuous, and before that another wacom pen tablet. They both still work, no scratches, no issues - so I knew Wacom would be a purchase that should (please) last more than just a year.
But maybe I expected a bit too much from them, on all other fronts... Wacom comes across as incredibly stingy and uninterested. I get a table with 1m long cables, three cables instead of one, I have to order a separate remote for it (another $100), it comes with a whole 3 (!!) replacement tips for the pen, no glove, box was paper thin and tore while opening, tablet wasn't even shielded, and so on.
And then there's the design of the tablet itself... which I really don't like. It's minimalist to a fault. I'll get used to it in time, but taking away the control buttons from the side of the tablet to force me to use a dumb remote just feels wrong and kind of makes the whole drawing process feel "cramped" in a way? The back buttons don't really feel nice either - they're too far up and are just identical plastic bumps, giving me no way to know what I'm pressing (as I can't see it either).
Just for reference: with my XP-Pen, I had 1 (longer but still kinda short) USB-C table, a little stand and my pen. With my wacom? I have 3 cables jutting out of it (HDMI, Power supply, USB-C), limited options on how far I can go from my PC due to the length, one hand busy with holding a remote, other holding pen. I just feel more restricted in every way. Doesn't look as nice either with the taped-together cables coming out behind it... what the fuck where they thinking?
But, on the other end... I can just feel how nice and sturdy it is. It's a brick, yes, but that's what I hoped for. It doesn't creak (like the XP-Pen) when I touch it - and having integrated legs instead of a stand is a bonus.
But then there's the remote, and the buttons on the back: stiff, kinda hard to distinguish by feel... and the wheel on the remote is in every respect worse than the XP-Pen's integrated controls (to the point where I'm trying to find other way to quickly rotate the picture).
Yeah, I really don't like their design philosophy... Grrr.
My Conclusion.... fuck
XP-Pen has the far better design, the more professional appearance (from packaging to pen holder), seems less stingy... but the quality is shit.
Wacom lacks behind in almost every aspect except for the overall product quality.
I wish I could have a Wacom, with the design of an XP-Pen. But ironically, after checking XP-Pen's shop, they seem to now change their own design to look identical to Wacom... which would take away the only advantage I feel they have on them.
And yes, at least for me, it just feels natural to have your left hand on the screen, rotating the picture with your thumb while drawing; like you would when holding a piece of paper. Now I awkwardly have a hand sitting on a table fiddling with a remote.
I'll get used to it, but I still can't help but feel I downgraded... by buying the clearly better product? It just feels off.
And for everyone who has a working, nice XP-Pen - maybe I'm just unlucky with these, but two attempts were enough. And warranty is another topic entirely of course - this is more about my experience with the products :))
XP-Pen (XP Pen Innovator 16, Artist Pro 16)
First of all, while I know some of my friends like XP-Pen, I can no longer recommend their products, at all.
Obviously it's meant to be a more affordable alternative to Wacom, but the tablets themselves feel quite "flimsy" and after a little more than one year of use, both of them started to have severe screen problems (flicker, grainy pixels, random flashes, black screens). These issues seemed to be related to just... randomness. Sometimes they work fine for hours, sometimes they turn into a disco. Literally knocking on the table the tablet was standing on, fixed or broke it. Mind you, these tablets barely ever moved from their spot on that table.
Also, the screen's surface tends to get scratched up easily after use. That was a major reason for the first switch to another XP-Pen, as the first screen started to feel like drawing on sandpaper. The second one was laminated and a bit better.
Besides the clear technical deficiency, I actually DO like how the tablets are designed with the controls on the side, front and center. Especially the rotating wheels worked very well; more on that later. Another thing they did well, is just the general "appearance" of the product. Packaging was nice looking, box was filled with the goodies you would expect; cleaning cloth, 10+ pen tips, super nice and hefty pen holder, glove and so on. It made a really good first impression (unlike Wacom).
Wacom (Cintiq 16 Pro)
Before ever using a screen tablet, my main tool was an Intuous, and before that another wacom pen tablet. They both still work, no scratches, no issues - so I knew Wacom would be a purchase that should (please) last more than just a year.
But maybe I expected a bit too much from them, on all other fronts... Wacom comes across as incredibly stingy and uninterested. I get a table with 1m long cables, three cables instead of one, I have to order a separate remote for it (another $100), it comes with a whole 3 (!!) replacement tips for the pen, no glove, box was paper thin and tore while opening, tablet wasn't even shielded, and so on.
And then there's the design of the tablet itself... which I really don't like. It's minimalist to a fault. I'll get used to it in time, but taking away the control buttons from the side of the tablet to force me to use a dumb remote just feels wrong and kind of makes the whole drawing process feel "cramped" in a way? The back buttons don't really feel nice either - they're too far up and are just identical plastic bumps, giving me no way to know what I'm pressing (as I can't see it either).
Just for reference: with my XP-Pen, I had 1 (longer but still kinda short) USB-C table, a little stand and my pen. With my wacom? I have 3 cables jutting out of it (HDMI, Power supply, USB-C), limited options on how far I can go from my PC due to the length, one hand busy with holding a remote, other holding pen. I just feel more restricted in every way. Doesn't look as nice either with the taped-together cables coming out behind it... what the fuck where they thinking?
But, on the other end... I can just feel how nice and sturdy it is. It's a brick, yes, but that's what I hoped for. It doesn't creak (like the XP-Pen) when I touch it - and having integrated legs instead of a stand is a bonus.
But then there's the remote, and the buttons on the back: stiff, kinda hard to distinguish by feel... and the wheel on the remote is in every respect worse than the XP-Pen's integrated controls (to the point where I'm trying to find other way to quickly rotate the picture).
Yeah, I really don't like their design philosophy... Grrr.
My Conclusion.... fuck
XP-Pen has the far better design, the more professional appearance (from packaging to pen holder), seems less stingy... but the quality is shit.
Wacom lacks behind in almost every aspect except for the overall product quality.
I wish I could have a Wacom, with the design of an XP-Pen. But ironically, after checking XP-Pen's shop, they seem to now change their own design to look identical to Wacom... which would take away the only advantage I feel they have on them.
And yes, at least for me, it just feels natural to have your left hand on the screen, rotating the picture with your thumb while drawing; like you would when holding a piece of paper. Now I awkwardly have a hand sitting on a table fiddling with a remote.
I'll get used to it, but I still can't help but feel I downgraded... by buying the clearly better product? It just feels off.
And for everyone who has a working, nice XP-Pen - maybe I'm just unlucky with these, but two attempts were enough. And warranty is another topic entirely of course - this is more about my experience with the products :))
But it worked well with the new cable. It endured hits, and humid dusty weather on storage for almost 2 years and is still working as the first day.
That said, I thought the Wacon would be a good upgrade eventually, so I'm glad for the heads up. Here it is three times more expensive than the xpen, so I was unsure if it was worth at all.
By what you mention, it seems NO is the answer xP
And yes, it's strange... Wacom is for sure better in quality, but that lack of buttons on the left is such a huge downgrade in quality of life, I really don't understand why it's missing. And judging by the XP-Pen store, they're going to copy that sub-par design which makes 0 sense to me.
That does sound like a dumb-decision -_- 6 are already few. I hope it's got backlash and they reverse the decision. Perhaps they are trying to cheapen out costs (as to not raise prices....lowering quality instead)
Sad future we are moving into. Things cost more and more, and are shittier and shittier.
Yeah, support didn't work out all too well with XP-Pen either, but I wanted to keep that out of the hardware problems.
Just frustrating and annoying, what can you do :)
I did have them both on a stand pretty much permanently, yes - and I did try to support it with a bit of cardboard and tape towards the end of it's life as another attempt to stabilize it (but I guess it may have been too late?) Honestly I'm not even sure if it's the cable, as I tested it without literally moving anything (barely breathing) and it sometimes just works again or doesn't - I just sit there restarting the tablet 10-20 times until it work again for 5 minutes. If it just was the cable, then any movement of it should interrupt the screen - but when it was stable, it was stable... even when moving the cable (all stuff I tested around with in my desperation/frustration the last few months)
Either way, if the weight of a cable is enough to break it, it's another mark on how cheap the product ultimately is... none of my other devices suddenly break apart from a cable hanging off of them :)
Which one are you using?
Have you looked into the Huion offerings? I did so a year ago while searching for a new tablet and from the reviews they seem like a great alternative to Wacom, unless they started dipping in quality recently somehow
Wacom stuff is overpriced and I don't like the lack of solid buttons on the devices. Heck, if they just bothered to integrate slots on the bezel where you could clip in stuff like the Expresskey remote, they could have their minimalist design while still allowing users to integrate those quick-keys back into the design by choice - with the benefit of possible future iterations, cheaper versions (wouldn't need a battery and wireless chips if it just piggybacks off the Cintiq directly), and being able to replace broken buttons.
Now that there's a 120 hz 27" Cintiq Pro, I'm probably going to go that route eventually unless the others can catch up. I'd really prefer not to have to pay used car prices for my art technology, but when it comes to the high end (and the simple addition of touch) the others aren't really trying to compete.
And why would you need a 120 hz 27'' Cintiq Pro? Don't you think that's overkill? At that point you could just buy a house...
With the 27", mostly I just want a bigger screen so I don't get lost in the details as much and I can properly draw the way I learned, using my whole arm. High refresh rate is just a cherry on top, but it's a nice experience. I've played with enough devices that let you draw on 120hz+ screens and it just feels right. But I'm a tech nerd, I just love my nerd stuff~
So, the solution is migrating to Clip Studio Paint then, I guess :) Oh boy, too bad - I like SAI a lot for its focus and simplicity. CSP looks like Photoshop.
And with a 27'' inch you better have long arms... hahahaha
I'm a huge fan of vector layers for lineart/inks, too - I can just overshoot my lines way past where they intersect something else, and quickly wipe out the part past the intersection instead of tediously getting in close and trying to clean it up. Or thicken/thin lines I've already drawn using the Correct Line tool. It's like magic, if it suits your workflow.
The easel and sketch paper I used to draw on is probably closer to 32", where the 16" feels like I'm drawing on a normal sheet of printer paper. It's hard to draw "properly" on these, and I'll probably need to un-learn a lot of excessive wrist movements I've gotten used to from these smaller screens. I'm definitely well on my way to some wrist problems after all these years. But yeah, those big ones aren't cheap~ xwx