Wacom Cintiq 22 lets you sketch big at a (relatively) small price
Pencil in the 22-inch addition to Wacom's entry-level pen-display line at $1,199.
The Cintiq 22 comes bundled with the multiangle stand that's optional for the 16-inch model.
Wacom's less-expensive line of pen displays just got bigger -- literally -- with the new 22-inch model, the Cintiq 22. It joins the Cintiq 16, which debuted at CES 2019 as part of Wacom's push to attract new artists in need of its pressure-sensitive prowess but who don't have the bucks for its traditionally expensive professional graphics tablets to attach to creatives-focused systems.
The Cintiq 22 will be available this month for $1,199 (directly converted, about £964 and AU$1,705). In comparison, the 24-inch Cintiq 24 Pro starts at $2,000 (£1,900, AU$3,000), which is a nontrivial savings. But in exchange you give up the much higher-quality display; the Pro uses a 4K Adobe RGB gamut display, while the 22's is an HD (1,920x1,080) sRGB model. The non-Pro models also lack a touch option.
Essentially a larger version than the Cintiq 16, the 22 improves on that model by bundling the multi-angle stand rather than the so-so folding legs the smaller tablet uses, but unfortunately, offers a cabling system that isn't much better. I disliked the 16's awkward, old-fashioned hydra that combined the USB, HDMI and power connection into a single cable with three heads, but the 22's three-cable solution isn't much of an improvement. (Then again, none of Wacom's cabling solutions are particularly elegant. Waiting for USB-C with display support, Wacom!)
The Cintiq displays are also somewhat dim. Though the pen-optimized matte surfaces necessarily reduce the light output, the Pro 24-inch at least hits 235 nits, which is a comfortable level for people used to working with Adobe RGB calibrations; the 22 is only about 210 nits, which is just a little too low.
