Cintiq Problem: Calibration issue or faulty product?

[Jim_Campbell]

I'm breaking in my shiny new Cintiq, and I've noticed a problem with it: when I draw a straight line, as it goes into the bottom 3/4in of the screen the line bumps several pixels to the left. I didn't notice at first, since you tend to draw in the middle of the screen and the first couple of times it happened, I thought it was my useless, shaky hands, but this happens every time I draw a line that crosses into that bottom section of the screen.

So... am I missing something in the calibration settings, or do I need to return this Cintiq as faulty?

Bah!

Jim

[Professor Bear]

12wx, Jim?
It's a standard problem with that particular Cintiq tablet and usually crops up in comments about the product pretty much everywhere, but rather than come up with a new calibration routine that utilises more reference points than a DS interface, Wacom's official word on it is "oh well, what can you do?"

If I could figure out how to unlock the edge of the canvas (I work in Photoshop CS), I think that's pretty much the only getaround apart from shrinking the window so it doesn't go near the edge of the tablet screen - but considering that's losing you a lot of working space, I don't see that as a practical solution given the cost of the damn thing.

PC Cintiq users may also notice they suffer periodic 'blackouts' where the tablet either suddenly stops responding (needing a reboot), or goes completely blank after being assigned by the computer as the primary monitor and even restarting the computer won't fix it.  It's maddening shit and Wacom are clueless, though by accident I discovered you can bypass these problems by updating the tablet driver, but rolling back the driver on your graphics card to a previous version.

I'm still happy enough with mine, though, even if only because it frees up the monitor to watch telly while I work.

[Jim_Campbell]

12wx, Jim?

Yes. Eight hundred and fifty quid and I'm supposed to sacrifice the bottom 3/4 inch of a 12" screen? I don't fucking think so. That's "not fit for purpose" in my book -- it's going back.

FFS.

Jim

[antodonnell]

I only see Cintiqs in work . They are sweet. Sorry to hear about the bad luck with one though Jim. Next Time I have over £800 spare maybe I'll get one.

[TordelBack]

Eight hundred and fifty quid and I'm supposed to sacrifice the bottom 3/4 inch of a 12" screen?

Fuuuuuuck.  I hope you attach a few choice words when you send it back.

[Jim_Campbell]

Fuuuuuuck.  I hope you attach a few choice words when you send it back.

Words, turds. Tom-AY-to, tom-AH-to ...

Cheers!

Jim

[Jim_Campbell]

It's a standard problem with that particular Cintiq tablet and usually crops up in comments about the product pretty much everywhere

Both Dave McCaig and Dave Gibbons (!!) have advised that this is not the behaviour of a properly functioning tablet, so I'm reporting this as faulty in the morning. We'll see what happens.

Cheers

Jim

[Professor Bear]

It comes up in product evaluations and customer reviews all the time, Jim - I was aware of it before I even bought mine.  It's not a deal breaker for me and most, but I'm pretty sure it's the norm.

[Jim_Campbell]

It comes up in product evaluations and customer reviews all the time, Jim - I was aware of it before I even bought mine.  It's not a deal breaker for me and most, but I'm pretty sure it's the norm.

Mr Gibbons said the first 12" one he had demonstrated this problem, so he sent it back and the new one didn't do it. Maybe people should be making more of a fuss.

FWIW, I'd never heard it mentioned until I experienced it and then Googled "cintiq calibration distortion".

If paying well over £800 for a 12" tablet with a usable area of closer to 10.5" isn't considered a deal-breaker, then people are allowing Wacom to get away with something that is, frankly, unacceptable.

Bah!

Jim

[Peter Wolf]

If paying well over £800 for a 12" tablet with a usable area of closer to 10.5" isn't considered a deal-breaker, then people are allowing Wacom to get away with something that is, frankly, unacceptable.

Bah!

Jim

I dont pretend to know anything about Cintiq tablets or Wacoms as i dont use them but in principle after reading the above comments i find it astonishing that people just seem to accept the defect and not complain about it and actually buy into it knowing this problem exists and then say "Oh well what can i do about it ??" to me is totally unnacceptable and i hope you get it sorted.

FWIW you have exactly the right attitude.

Its only pretty much the norm because people willingly accept it.

[Kerrin]

Damn right Jim. For that sort of money you'd expect them to send a courier with a new one, no arguments, and take the knackered one away.

[TordelBack]

Damn right Jim. For that sort of money you'd expect them to send a courier with a new one, no arguments, and take the knackered one away.

A free handjob wouldn't be unreasonable either, under the circumstances.

[Roger Godpleton]

Stop trying to be me.

[TordelBack]

Son, I was suggesting free handjobs when you were still trying to charge for them.

[Professor Bear]

Rise from your grave, thread - rise and be avenged!

I've probably missed this being mentioned in another thread, but I thought I'd post it here given the relevance.  There's a driver update that addresses some of the issues mentioned in the thread above, the most noteworthy being a new four-point calibration setup.

http://www.wacom.com/downloads/driver-detail.php?id=221