Would you buy a Cintiq if you had the money to spend?

[sk66]

I have enough spending money set aside for "photography" to buy one, but I'm not sure it's a "good" expenditure...
I have a tablet which I find very useful on occasion, but I also find it "unnatural" to draw off to the side of where I'm looking...I think this prevents me from using it much...
I'm buying a new house, and I have the room to set up a dedicated "station" and I'm considering options.

Right now I use a 17" MacBook Pro. I've considered an additional monitor as I find that very useful sometimes.

I was "hoping" a cintiq might fix both at once (external monitor, draw directly on image)

As for other ways to spend the money (aprox $2000)...Nothing much Photography related other than maybe a backup/upgrade body...I use a D300...

Opinions/advice? I'm ok with not buying anything at all... It seems like a lot of money for minimal benefit really, but I have no experience with one...

[LoveDSLR]

A friend of mine got one and I missed getting the Cintiq 12WX from a sale. I like to use it for extract.

I think you are better off upgrading to a D700.

[sk66]

Thanks. I considered "upgrading" to the 700, or just buying one as a second body, but I don't think that's the right move for me... I'm not sure it's really much of an upgrade from a D300, other than high ISO performance I don't think it would really benefit me. And I just can't justify a second high dollar body to myself, one or the other would get almost no use...
I think I'll wait on camera upgrade until I find it necessary/ justifiable, and by then the D700 will be old news....

[OsmosisStudios]

Is the cintiq the one that functions as a monitor, that you draw directly onto?

I was watching the Penny Arcade guys working, and they use a tablet thing that's essentially an artists table that was one big monitor that you drew directly onto. Not cheap, though!

[wattsbw2004]

I love to buy one of those those!!! Right now I have the intuos3 tablet but I could totally use the cintique as a primary monitor and use my current monitor as my 2nd so I can edit with dual screens... BUT, im a college student with a $756/ month bill among other things so although I can probably afford it and be tight for a while, I don't absolutely need one right now.

[ShepArt]

At my previous job I had a Cintiq. It was the hardest thing to leave behind when I left the company.

If I had the spare change right now, I would purchase one in an instant. Once you start working with it, you won't know how you got along without it.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by ShepArt

At my previous job I had a Cintiq. It was the hardest thing to leave behind when I left the company.

If I had the spare change right now, I would purchase one in an instant. Once you start working with it, you won't know how you got along without it.

Would you go with the 12wx or the 21ux? The 12 being half the cost but less useful as a second monitor...

[ShepArt]

Originally Posted by sk66

Would you go with the 12wx or the 21ux? The 12 being half the cost but less useful as a second monitor...

That is a great question. A lot of the answer would depend on work space and how you would be using it. I had the original 20" Cintiq. To use it as a drawing tablet, I wanted to have it closer to me. When I was using it as an "second monitor" doing video editing, I wanted it back on the workstation closer to my main monitor.

I think for photo editing today, I would go with the 12wx as it is lighter and I would be able to move it around easier. I also had the opportunity to write a review of the Axiotron ModBook last year, and the ability to do my photo editing with it in my lap was wonderful.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by ShepArt

I think for photo editing today, I would go with the 12wx as it is lighter and I would be able to move it around easier. I also had the opportunity to write a review of the Axiotron ModBook last year, and the ability to do my photo editing with it in my lap was wonderful.

That is how I envision to use a 12wx too--on my lap.