Honestly, I prefer painting on the tablet and looking up at a separate screen. I've got an intuos4 at home and a cintiq lab at my school, and whenever I use the cintiqs at school it's just kind of uncomfortable. It's nice to paint on a tablet, because your hand doesn't get in the way of what your painting. Believe me, it doesn't take long to get used to it, and once you are it's something that feels very natural. I love my tablet, and I prefer it over the cintiqs. I can also keep the tablet right next to my keyboard for quick access to shortcuts - yes, there are more than 8 shortcuts in most programs. It's quicker just to hit them on the keyboard. Some basic shortcuts I tap the tablet buttons, but for the most part I just use my keyboard. All in all, I find tablets more comfortable than cintiqs, even though cintiqs are more fancy.
Wacom Intuos5: I've been loving the line since I first upgraded to the small Intuos2 tablet, and would definitely have a hard time going back to their more consumer-aimed models. Especially since I started working with Zco Corporation, and moved onto the full-sized Intuos4, I've been really enjoying the softer surface and customizable side panel. Each upgrade to the line has definitely been made with the artist in mind.
The touch surface is definitely my favorite selling point of the 5 line- pen-based tablets have always been a little clunky when it comes to regular mouse-esque uses. I can't wait to take one of these for a test drive, and see how that's been integrated for myself! I had the same problem and called Wacom directly at the 800# on their website and they just wanted to verify that the Billing address matches EXACTLY what is on your credit card. Just verify your address with them and tell them you did the same with your CC company and they'll enter the order for this mini tablet manually. The Cintiq 12wx is already four years old and there's no update in sight. I like the smaller size (the bigger Cintiqs are too cumbersome and expensive for my needs), but the amount of cables and screen resolution is frustrating, and it's definitely not "mobile." An update is sorely needed.
Wacom Intuos5: I've been loving the line since I first upgraded to the small Intuos2 tablet, and would definitely have a hard time going back to their more consumer-aimed models. Especially since I started working with Zco Corporation, and moved onto the full-sized Intuos4, I've been really enjoying the softer surface and customizable side panel. Each upgrade to the line has definitely been made with the artist in mind.
The touch surface is definitely my favorite selling point of the 5 line- pen-based tablets have always been a little clunky when it comes to regular mouse-esque uses. I can't wait to take one of these for a test drive, and see how that's been integrated for myself! I had the same problem and called Wacom directly at the 800# on their website and they just wanted to verify that the Billing address matches EXACTLY what is on your credit card. Just verify your address with them and tell them you did the same with your CC company and they'll enter the order for this mini tablet manually. The Cintiq 12wx is already four years old and there's no update in sight. I like the smaller size (the bigger Cintiqs are too cumbersome and expensive for my needs), but the amount of cables and screen resolution is frustrating, and it's definitely not "mobile." An update is sorely needed.