Let's talk about the Wacom Cintiq 16 in 2023

UPDATED OPINIONS AND MORE INFO (as of January 2025):

Are you searching for a drawing tablet? It's easy to come across the Wacom Cintiq 16 series, but hold your horses. Let's talk about the Cintiq 16 in 2023. Why I like it, and why you may need to do more searching (or not, check out the video below).

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[faultyheart]

A friend of mine just gave me a Wacom Cintiq 16. He didn't use it anymore. It's a win for me!

[Theranthrope]

If only more reviews were like this one. +1

[katiegallico]

I was watching this because I own two XP pen tablets (the 13.3 pro and the Star 06 screen-less tablet). I've come to be sorta dissatisfied with my 13.3 pro that I've had for probably 4 years now, the reason I bought the Star06 in the first place was because I didn't like the color inaccuracy or how my screen started to look almost oily? idk how that happened.... So I thought "I'll treat myself to a Wacom...they have better quality right? who cares if they cost more" but in short after this very thorough review I think I'll just stick to XP Pen.... Thank you for saying actual useful information in this video rather then simple praise.

[DixonMarshall]

Very thoughtful review, thank you! I have a bit of a different perspective, though, due to my nearly 2 decades of work flow using a Wacom tablet (not a display tablet).

Last year I finally upgraded from my ancient Wacom Intuos 3 6x11 tablet to a Wacom One 13 display tablet. I use the word "upgraded" loosely, because it really felt like a downgrade, other than actually drawing on a live screen. There are two issues that I have with the Wacom One: I can't use my go-to pens, the Art Pen, which has barrel rotation in addition to tilt and pressure, or the Airbrush Pen with the paint flow valve wheel. I could only us the one-button pen that came with the tablet, or a 3rd party pen that really had no different capabilities. The other complaint is the restrictive size of the 13 inch drawing area.

I did some research, including your review, but also technical research on the capabilities of the Cintiq 16. I learned that it does work with previous generation pens! And, I found a gently used Cintiq 16 on Marketplace for less than half the new price. So now, I have the Cintiq 16 with a collection of 4 pens. The original Pro Pen 2 that came with it, a Pro Pen slim, an Art Pen, and an Airbrush Pen, and I'm loving the tablet.

I'm not sure if many Wacom users realize that one of the nice features of the Wacom software for Cintiqs or the pro-level tablets (not the Wacom One), if the tablet is used in an app like Corel Painter or Rebelle, is that each pen remembers it's last used brush. So when I touch my airbrush to the tablet, Painter will switch to an airbrush. My Pro Pen Slim is set to a #2 pencil; the Pro Pen 2 is set to a fat, round brush, and the Art Pen is set to a thick paint knife. No competitor tablet currently (and may not ever) has this capability, and this is a game changer for me, so I won't even consider a Huion or other Wacom knockoff tablet.

[pagemare]

I bought a second-hand Cintiq 16 for $280. Even if other competitors have cheaper initial prices, I believe there's no better deal than this.

[richardcarlisle]

I was using a Wacom non-display tablet for years then decided recently to upgrade to a display tablet. Not wanting to spend a fortune, I tried the 22" XP Pen. Parallax was insane, I could not get it properly calibrated and the hotkeys would not program correctly. I set it back and ordered a Huion Pro 16. The PC would not recognize the unit as a display. All it would display was a black screen, and yes, it was plugged in correctly and every other monitor I have works fine plugged into the same HDMI port. I spent 2 days trying everything I found on YouTube and google with no luck so it went back. In both cases (XP Pen and Huion) support is sketchy at best. Now looking at the Cintiq 16. More money than the XP Pen and Huion but it works and has support.

[Flyyyyy-]

I would love to see a direct comparison between the XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) and the Cintiq 16.
In terms of sensation when drawing, but mainly in terms of quality and durability. I know that the Cintiq 16 is inferior in terms of technical specifications, but I'm still considering buying it because I still don't know how long this XPPen will last, but I know that Wacom is reliable in this regard.

[Jerry_quesoso]

I'm currently deciding between the Cintiq Pro 16, Xencelabs 16 and Huion Kamvas 19. All of them at the same price range, but this device just caught my attention...

Pen displays get crazy expensive the higher the resolution and the more accurate you want the colors to be, but why should I spend more for that? My workflow allows me to ignore the colors and image quality for like 80% of the time which means that I could invest that money for a better monitor and fix colors there. I legit could work on a worn out screen with permanent burn-in and still be cool with it.

The Wacom alternatives I mentioned sound enticing, but will they last longer than 3-5 years? Questions questions...

[Hynotama]

The deal breaker for me was the lack of a touch screen. For this price, I don’t care how “premium” the brand is, they had no excuse to exclude touch controls for canvas manipulation. The Wacom One 13 Touch has touch controls, as the name implies, but it is nearly the same price and considerably smaller and the pen is nowhere near as good.

[sylwiaratajczyk]

Ha so you do recommend it at the beginning of the video but not at the end. This parallax thing is something that would bother me. Need to check tablets that have thinner screen layer I guess. Thank you for this review, very helpful!

[crossvadar]

Got it last year, would say there are regrets sure, the price to repair is like 50% of the unit. If I can pick again, will be either Huion or XP Pen for sure. Wacam just old school

[MizzyMiz]

Worst part is that its actually more expensive now-

I have a old Intuos pro s PTH-451, looking to upgrade since well my old grip pen stylus is holding together with tape and prayers the screw on part is so worn it just falls off and I'm looking for something a bit bigger and into screen tablets.

So I was looking into what's currently available and honestly the prices, I just want a decent mid range price option but no...

[Flyyyyy-]

Please XP-Pen, send an Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) for a review here 😁

[TVTIME-gv]

Good review! You talk about all the necessary stuff, although the music it's way too distracting for me

[SuperMetalWorld]

Thank you so much for the great advice! You're voice is really good for these review videos. Keep it up!

[gntendo]

Came for the review stayed for the memes lol 😂 good review I’m trying to figure out what to get I’m thinking maybe a Wacom 22 but for same price I can get a huion pro 4K

[ragna]

So conflicted which one to get. I use an Mac and the Option are a wacom cintiq 16 or a Huion Kamwas pro 16 2.5k. Both Same Price, Both 4.6 Stars. I watched so many Reviews and now am Even more conflcited

[lazkata]

I appreciate your thoughts on the stand but I never even tried it when I saw that you bolt in the tablet, so it's not removable... So, when I have to carry the tablet around or put it away in some cupboard, since I don't have a desk that's 2 square meters - I have to unbolt the tablet to remove it? I'm sure there could be a better product design which would allow the tablet to be easily removed from the stand but ... not in this case I guess... Apart from that, I'm really happy with the tablet, I know they sacrificed screen quality to reduce the price but it's still decent if you're not using it 8h every day. If only I know there was no stock screen protection before I scratched it tho.. :x

[Juliana-pvwz]

I dont understand why people say things like... buy another brand because wacom doesnt worth...but in the end still using this wacom product. This dont make sense..

[kajohchan]

For the same price do you think I should go for something else from XP-Pen or Huion instead? People've been saying that they can't compare with Wacom in terms of durability, and I wouldn't want to buy a new tablet every 2 or 3 years.