Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid review.
I have been using my Cintiq Companion Hybrid for a few months now and thought I would share my thoughts on the device for the benefit of people who are considering investing in one, or who are on the fence about whether or not they are worth the money.
Initially I went for the Cintiq 13HD, which I picked up on Amazon.co.uk through one of their warehouse deals. I got it for just under £600 used/as new and it was as described.
My first impressions of the 13HD were very positive; the build quality was great and I quickly got used to drawing directly onto the screen. After a week or 2 of regular usage though, I discovered that the device had 4 dead/stuck pixels.
Even though they were barely noticeable due to pixel density, for such an expensive device I felt like this was unacceptable.
The 13HD was still under the 30 day Amazon warehouse deals warranty so I shipped it back and got a refund.
That was when I turned my attention to the newly released Companion Hybrid. After doing a few weeks of research into the device, and failing to find any other similarly priced 13HD replacements I decided to go for the Companion Hybrid.
As a semi-professional, freelance artist, it was a pretty big investment for me and I didn't make the purchase lightly, but I reasoned that with commissions it would eventually pay for itself.
Now for the actual Cintiq Companion Hybrid Review!
I'll start with the negatives of the CCH that I have experienced. After my experience with (what I considered) a faulty 13HD, I did a thorough check of the CCH screen and straight out of the box the device had 1 dead/stuck pixel; there is also some fairly obvious back-light bleed at the bottom edge of the screen, but that is only really noticeable when the screen is completely black.
Other than that, along the very right edge of the screen the pen accuracy is off by about 5mm. Similar to what I experienced when trying out the Surface Pro, only not as extreme and only on the right edge.
My first reaction to this was genuine disappointment as I had just unboxed and booted up the device for the first time...It deflated my excitement about getting a new piece of equipment and made me question whether I had made a good decision investing in such an expensive device.
After asking on Wacom's forums about these issues, they are all considered within normal tolerance and not 'defects'.
So straight out of the gates that was a bit of a downer. For the first couple of weeks I did consider returning the device based on these flaws, but I eventually decided against it as they are (relatively) minor imperfections. It's still disappointing for such an expensive device though.
Another issue that I have had is that on rare occasions in Android mode, after turning the screen on it does not register pen/touch gestures and requires a long press of the power button to reboot and get pen/touch functionality back.
On rarer occasions after connecting the 3 in 1 HDMI/USB/PSU cable, it switches to desktop mode, but does not recognise pen/touch input. Unplugging the cable and plugging it back in remedies this though.
So, with the negatives out of the way, how is the actual device? I have got to say, even with the few niggling flaws it is an amazing device and I don't regret my investment. I don't think I could go back to a regular pen/tablet at this point.
The tablet itself is well constructed and quite heavy, but not too heavy and a good size to put into a backpack and take on the go.
The soft case that comes with it is great, even if it is a total dust magnet. It provides adequate protection from knocks etc. when in a bag, but it wouldn't protect it if you were to drop the device.
The case also has a slot for the pen case, which is a little magnetically sealed box that holds your pen, nibs and nib remover (the rubber lining is also a dust magnet). The pen itself is similar to the grip pen that came with my Intuos4 except it has a silver barrel and is now called the 'Pro pen'.
The CCH comes with 10 regular nibs (9 in the pen case and 1 already in the pen), though you can use any nibs apart from the 'hard felt' nibs which will reportedly scratch the screen, so stay away from them.
Currently after a few monthly of daily usage I do not have any scratches or marks on the screen, but I tend to set my pressure sensitivity (using Wacom tablet properties) so that I do not need as much pressure to get the lines or depth of shading that I want. This also slows down the wear on the nibs so that they don't need replaced as often.
I have heard a lot of people complaining about the stand provided with the Cintiq companion and the 13HD models, with the Cintiq Companion versions stand being a slightly slimmer, smaller version of the 13HD stand that allows for it to stay on while in the Companion soft case.
I haven't had any problem with it personally. I attached it to the tablet when I first got it, and normally have it in it's lowest or mid position when the tablet is in use. When not in use, it is collapsed down and it slides snugly back into the soft case.
It maybe isn't the sturdiest accessory in the world, but I can't see it breaking unless you were being very rough with it. I find it perfectly functional, but I am not very heavy handed with things in general.
There is also an included microfibre cloth for cleaning the screen.
In Android mode it is very responsive; the Android version of Sketchbook Pro is very well optimized and a perfectly capable piece of digital art software.
Ambient Design also have a version of their Artrage software coming to Android, so that will be great too when it comes out.
There are other art apps available, but to be honest, nothing that really struck me as being that useful.
It's also worth mentioning that the bundled Android art-app offerings from Wacom are pretty terrible when compared to the likes of SB Pro. I've barely touched them.
Battery life in Android mode, running in 'high performance' gets you about 5-6 hours of working in my experience, but I have never actually fully run the device down while on the move. Battery life is fine (16GB model here, 32GB model has a larger battery for whatever reason).
In standby mode, the battery will last for days and the device will charge while running in Desktop mode (as long as the PSU part of the lead is connected).
You can also run it in desktop mode off of the internal battery if you wanted or needed to.
In desktop mode, the added bonus of the CCH over the 13HD is that you also have multitouch gestures, so in the software that I use (Artrage 4 and Manga Studio 5) you can use the MT gestures such as pinch to zoom, rotate and position the canvas.
Desktop mode also allows for full customization of all the shortcut keys on the left side of the device (or right side if you are a lefty).
This level of customization is sadly lacking in Android mode with the shortcut keys currently not being utilized for anything other than changing the brightness of the screen, acting as a 'Home' button or closing the application you are using.
The buttons on the side of the pen are also unused in Android mode, which is a shame. Hopefully this will change with future updates and as Android art software matures.
As with the Cintiq 13HD and other Cintiq models, in desktop mode it relies completely on the CPU/GPU power of the host computer to run, and obviously requires a spare USB slot as well as an HDMI port. This needs to be taken into consideration if you don't want to experience performance issues.
All in all, my experience in desktop mode has been great. I use it all the time and having the added functionality of multitouch gestures is a great time saver.
If you are a hobbyist that just wants to draw for fun, then I wouldn't recommend that you get one at all (unless you have a lot of expendable cash, which most people do not).
If you are a professional/semi-professional artist and earning money from your digital art (or perhaps even if that is your goal), then the device will pay for itself in the long run and is an excellent tool that I don't think you will regret investing in.
Which is what these devices are. An investment. They are not toys. They are meant for professional work and they deliver.
