5 ms·

The Yiynova MSP19U Cintiq Alternative Swings for the Fences

39 points by barredo 14y ago

andrewcooke 14y ago
do any of the wacom alternatives work with linux?
- alrs 14y ago
  Linux has the wizardpen driver that is supposed to work with UC Logic digitizers. http://www.xpd259.co.uk/2011/04/wizardpen-graphics-tablet-and-debian.html http://www.xpd259.co.uk/2011/04/wizardpen-graphics-tablet-an...
- erjiang 14y ago
  Yep, I can also confirm that the UC-Logic devices are supported by the wizardpen driver on Linux. I wrote up some instructions a long time ago on getting it to work[1], and I'm sure there are more up-to-date instructions now. The USB protocol is almost trivial to figure out without documentation, and the wizardpen driver has been around for a long time. [1] http://notes.ericjiang.com/posts/45 http://notes.ericjiang.com/posts/45
evoxed 14y ago
Funny! Just today I gave my girlfriend a monoprice tablet after seeing the review by this guy. I'm writing this message with it– it's awesome! Better than any of the Wacoms live used either at school or work, and with a pretty hackable (though already more than acceptable) case. (Running Mountain Lion on a MacBook Pro.) There was a time when Wacom was the only dog in town, seems that won't be the case for much longer.
- ricardobeat 14y ago
  UC Logic tablets have been around for a long, long time. We bought a pair for $24.99 each (DigiPro brand) from ThinkGeek around 2006, they had great accuracy. One of them still works today.
  - evoxed 14y ago
    They've been around, but I don't know of anyone who took them seriously back then (as a designer). My memory was that the driver was really spotty (the current one seems to work pretty well) and the pens broke very quickly. At the time the Wacoms were built like tanks, and so on the surface at least it seemed like a no-brainer for professional work. I never tried a Yiynova so I can't say for that but the second hand reviews I got weren't so great either until now, with the UC Logic components. Anyway, I'm glad that more people are discovering them now, especially myself! ;)
    - ricardobeat 14y ago
      Drivers were fine, little to none jitter, good pressure sensitivity. The windows software for calibration was ugly but completely functional, you could set the sensitive area (great for widescreen), define hotspots etc. You could even set it to a "mouse mode" (relative movement) and play FPS games with it :) Wacoms over here used to cost up to 20x as much (>$500). This made the DigiPro ones the no-brainers. At the time tablets were not common at all due to high prices. They still sell the exact same model for bargain prices, but intuos/bamboo have fallen to the $100-200 range.
      - evoxed 14y ago
        Hehe, FPS was actually the first thing I remember thinking when I used a Graphire– I remember wishing there was some zero latency Cintiq type thing so that Counter Strike could become digital Whack-a-Mole. I was actually looking for a Bamboo this Christmas... tried it, realized it was kinda crappy, then decided to give the UC-L another chance. I'm beyond pleased! The thing is most people I know working in illustration or design just deal with the cost of the Wacom, since we already spend so much on regular media! Hopefully a few of them will try mine out and see what we've all been missing.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
mietek 14y ago
Why not post a link to the review author's site? It has the added benefit of not being typeset in grey on grey. http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u
greggman 14y ago
Maybe I'm missing it but wacom tablets are not only pressure sensitive, they also measure the angle of the pen (tilt sensitive) so for example when simulating a pencil you can draw as though the pencil is straight down or tilted (although they only go to 60 degrees) It's not clear if these cheaper tablets support this. (although looking at the artist's results maybe that's not important) Another is wacom tablets support multiple pens. The pens are dual pointed (the tablet can tell if you are using the tip side or the eraser side) and which pen you're using (so you can for example of 10 pens, each with different settings and then just use a different pen rather futs with software settings. I don't think I know any artists that use multiple pens with a wacom tablet. I'm guessing many of them use the eraser tip though (which is effectively just another pen tip) I'm not saying that makes wacom worth the difference in price. I'm just curious which features the tablets being reviewed have relatively to the wacom ones.
mladenkovacevic 14y ago
Hold on, wait second, stop the presses.. you're telling me that I can get a device comparable to a Cintiq for the price of an Intuos.. and a device comparable to an Intuos for the price of a Graphire/Bamboo?? If this is true, and this entire thread is not some cheap marketing effort by Monoprice/Yiynova my mind if officially blown. I really thought Wacom was my only option... but for $80-90 I'll give one of these Monoprice devices a try.
- erjiang 14y ago
  People have been buying cheap drawing tablets powered by UC-Logic digitizers at least as early as 2006. (Aiptek was especially known for selling a large, cheap drawing tablet, the 12000U.) Back then, there were a few caveats depending on the manufacturer, including fragile pens and less-than-stellar driver software. One thing to note is that the UC-Logic pens use a different tech than Wacom's -- they require a battery inside the pen. And it looks like they still don't have tilt senstivity. But at that price...
  - mladenkovacevic 14y ago
    I guess I'm so clueless because the last time I was in the market for a drawing tablet was about 8 years ago when I purchased my Graphire. Only recently have been looking into a replacement and didn't want to spend a lot for something that's essentially a hobby. My research has now led me to this tablet which seems to use the same UC-Logic digitizer http://www.huion-tablet.com/product/product.php?sku=1004 http://www.huion-tablet.com/product/product.php?sku=1004

39 points by barredo 14y ago

andrewcooke 14y ago

do any of the wacom alternatives work with linux?

alrs 14y ago
Linux has the wizardpen driver that is supposed to work with UC Logic digitizers. http://www.xpd259.co.uk/2011/04/wizardpen-graphics-tablet-and-debian.html http://www.xpd259.co.uk/2011/04/wizardpen-graphics-tablet-an...
erjiang 14y ago
Yep, I can also confirm that the UC-Logic devices are supported by the wizardpen driver on Linux. I wrote up some instructions a long time ago on getting it to work[1], and I'm sure there are more up-to-date instructions now. The USB protocol is almost trivial to figure out without documentation, and the wizardpen driver has been around for a long time. [1] http://notes.ericjiang.com/posts/45 http://notes.ericjiang.com/posts/45

evoxed 14y ago

Funny! Just today I gave my girlfriend a monoprice tablet after seeing the review by this guy. I'm writing this message with it– it's awesome! Better than any of the Wacoms live used either at school or work, and with a pretty hackable (though already more than acceptable) case. (Running Mountain Lion on a MacBook Pro.) There was a time when Wacom was the only dog in town, seems that won't be the case for much longer.

ricardobeat 14y ago
UC Logic tablets have been around for a long, long time. We bought a pair for $24.99 each (DigiPro brand) from ThinkGeek around 2006, they had great accuracy. One of them still works today.
- evoxed 14y ago
  They've been around, but I don't know of anyone who took them seriously back then (as a designer). My memory was that the driver was really spotty (the current one seems to work pretty well) and the pens broke very quickly. At the time the Wacoms were built like tanks, and so on the surface at least it seemed like a no-brainer for professional work. I never tried a Yiynova so I can't say for that but the second hand reviews I got weren't so great either until now, with the UC Logic components. Anyway, I'm glad that more people are discovering them now, especially myself! ;)
  - ricardobeat 14y ago
    Drivers were fine, little to none jitter, good pressure sensitivity. The windows software for calibration was ugly but completely functional, you could set the sensitive area (great for widescreen), define hotspots etc. You could even set it to a "mouse mode" (relative movement) and play FPS games with it :) Wacoms over here used to cost up to 20x as much (>$500). This made the DigiPro ones the no-brainers. At the time tablets were not common at all due to high prices. They still sell the exact same model for bargain prices, but intuos/bamboo have fallen to the $100-200 range.
    - evoxed 14y ago
      Hehe, FPS was actually the first thing I remember thinking when I used a Graphire– I remember wishing there was some zero latency Cintiq type thing so that Counter Strike could become digital Whack-a-Mole. I was actually looking for a Bamboo this Christmas... tried it, realized it was kinda crappy, then decided to give the UC-L another chance. I'm beyond pleased! The thing is most people I know working in illustration or design just deal with the cost of the Wacom, since we already spend so much on regular media! Hopefully a few of them will try mine out and see what we've all been missing.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

mietek 14y ago

Why not post a link to the review author's site? It has the added benefit of not being typeset in grey on grey. http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u

greggman 14y ago

Maybe I'm missing it but wacom tablets are not only pressure sensitive, they also measure the angle of the pen (tilt sensitive) so for example when simulating a pencil you can draw as though the pencil is straight down or tilted (although they only go to 60 degrees) It's not clear if these cheaper tablets support this. (although looking at the artist's results maybe that's not important) Another is wacom tablets support multiple pens. The pens are dual pointed (the tablet can tell if you are using the tip side or the eraser side) and which pen you're using (so you can for example of 10 pens, each with different settings and then just use a different pen rather futs with software settings. I don't think I know any artists that use multiple pens with a wacom tablet. I'm guessing many of them use the eraser tip though (which is effectively just another pen tip) I'm not saying that makes wacom worth the difference in price. I'm just curious which features the tablets being reviewed have relatively to the wacom ones.

mladenkovacevic 14y ago

Hold on, wait second, stop the presses.. you're telling me that I can get a device comparable to a Cintiq for the price of an Intuos.. and a device comparable to an Intuos for the price of a Graphire/Bamboo?? If this is true, and this entire thread is not some cheap marketing effort by Monoprice/Yiynova my mind if officially blown. I really thought Wacom was my only option... but for $80-90 I'll give one of these Monoprice devices a try.

erjiang 14y ago
People have been buying cheap drawing tablets powered by UC-Logic digitizers at least as early as 2006. (Aiptek was especially known for selling a large, cheap drawing tablet, the 12000U.) Back then, there were a few caveats depending on the manufacturer, including fragile pens and less-than-stellar driver software. One thing to note is that the UC-Logic pens use a different tech than Wacom's -- they require a battery inside the pen. And it looks like they still don't have tilt senstivity. But at that price...
- mladenkovacevic 14y ago
  I guess I'm so clueless because the last time I was in the market for a drawing tablet was about 8 years ago when I purchased my Graphire. Only recently have been looking into a replacement and didn't want to spend a lot for something that's essentially a hobby. My research has now led me to this tablet which seems to use the same UC-Logic digitizer http://www.huion-tablet.com/product/product.php?sku=1004 http://www.huion-tablet.com/product/product.php?sku=1004