Cintiq Companion pricing

Spudnik

So I'm looking into maybe getting a Cintiq Companion and when I look at the Wacom EU store (I'm in the EU), I can see the Companion 256gb for 1800 Euro. But on the US store, the same device is listed for $1800,which is almost 500€ cheaper. What gives?

.Wiki

I guess in the US store the price is without taxes.

huffer

EU taxes like VAT, import customs - prices are always higher in EU for electronics and other things.

Spudnik

That I would understand but as is, the price is exactly the same in both regions but one time it's in dollars, the other time in euro. Seems very arbitrary.

MeintevdS

If you're comparing $ to € it's almost always a matter of replacing the symbol. I had the same thing happening when I bought my cintiq from the American amazon, thought I had an amazing deal until I got charged 250 for shipping and 250 for importing it

Spudnik

Well dann, at that point it'd probably be to fly to the US and buy it there...

MeintevdS

Hehe yes, if you plan on going there for a vacation soon that would be a good plan. Careful though, since on the airplane they make you fill out a form to tell them what you bought in the US and if it's more than an X amount they'll still charge you tax/import.

Sucks, but what can you do

edit:
You might wanna check out the UK amazon. For example video games are often cheaper in the UK then they are in the rest of the EU. And since they are part of the EU you won't get charged extra import and such. This can sometimes save you some money.

javi

I think it's actually cheaper, just to buy a Surface Pro 2. Still uses wacom technology as well. Here's a good video detailing the differences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an9Rzgrzwtk&feature=kp

ikken

MeintevdS wrote: »

Careful though, since on the airplane they make you fill out a form to tell them what you bought in the US and if it's more than an X amount they'll still charge you tax/import.

I'd unbox it in the airport & dispose the packaging tbh. hey u customs dude, it's my 5 years old samsung ipahd, which is why it's so HUGE, and I'm reading BOOKS on it while flying, gtfo

Spudnik

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too ^^

Spudnik

Follow up for those of you who have experience with the companion: How well is it suited for Game Art? Specifically Zbrush, Maya, Max, Marmoset, PS, xNormal etc.? Where are the potential pitfalls?

Jeff Parrott

For Surface Pro 3 compatibility stay current with http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/2014/5/29/surface-pro-3-what-runs-what-doesnt

I guess there's a new nTrig driver coming June 20th. Might make it more of a viable option. But when you look at specs, a case, better pen, etc the price is like $100 difference.

Isaiah Sherman

Jeff Parrott wrote: »

For Surface Pro 3 compatibility stay current with http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/2014/5/29/surface-pro-3-what-runs-what-doesnt

I guess there's a new nTrig driver coming June 20th. Might make it more of a viable option. But when you look at specs, a case, better pen, etc the price is like $100 difference.

Thanks for the link!

Is there a similar list for the Cintiq Companion?

SnowInChina

for half the price i would buy it.. but thats really pricy

Jeff Parrott

Isaiah I haven't found one. I imagine it's everything that works with a Wacom tablet/Cintiq though. I heard ZBrush gets laggy around 6-8 million active points.

soulstice

The big thing about Surface Pro is that as far as I know there are no hardware keys. Personally for me to do any Zbrush and Photoshop work, having hardware keys vs pushing on some touch screen buttons makes a world of difference.

Isaiah Sherman

I'd use a mini bluetooth keyboard regardless of which tablet I used.

However, the screensize of the SP2 is really small. The SP3 is much better at 12", so I'm more willing to try that.

The price point of the SP3 is also still way lower than the Cintiq.

Jeff Parrott

SP3 is cheaper. But price out the mid tier one (comparable specs to Companion), a better pen option (stock is meh I guess), keyboard thing. By then it's $100 off a Cintiq Companion. Which has Wacom drivers and build quality.

Isaiah Sherman

Heard anything on if WACOM is going to release a newer Companion any time soon? That'd likely make the current Companion price drop.

Xoliul

MeintevdS wrote: »

Hehe yes, if you plan on going there for a vacation soon that would be a good plan. Careful though, since on the airplane they make you fill out a form to tell them what you bought in the US and if it's more than an X amount they'll still charge you tax/import.

Sucks, but what can you do

Nobody will ever stop you for that on the airplane. I walked in an out with a PS4, not even hidden or anything; no issue at all. Saved me 200 euros.

Jeff Parrott

Isaiah Sherman wrote: »

Heard anything on if WACOM is going to release a newer Companion any time soon?

In this video the guys from Wacom field questions. First one is why can't the Win8 one tether to a PC. They talk about that. Another one is what about updated proc, specs, etc. He says nothing to announce but probably or something like that.

I would assume with it being an actual PC that they'll have to refresh that aspect of it yearly or drop the price heavily.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BhKsQLEi50"]Tech Talk Tuesday: Cintiq Companion, Cintiq Companion Hybrid and Cintiq 13HD - YouTube[/ame]

Spudnik

Thing is, I'm going to the US end of July for an event, but would like to have the companion by that time already and have gotten familiar with it. Additionally, there's an event at the end of June here in the EU that I'd like to try the Companion on. So the question is: Would it be possible/make sense to get the companion here in Europe, get familiar with it, use it at the event and return it before the 40 days are up, then buy it in the US and have it shipped to the hotel I'm staying at? Seems like a bit of a pain in the ass but would save me ~500 Euros if I'm not overlooking something...

Jeff Parrott

Just order it to the US and save dat monies. Use the money to buy food or software. If you're coming to SF area you can ship it to my house I'll use...set it all up for you and get it ready.

Spudnik

Sorry for necro'ing this thread but it's not really worth it to start a new one.

They shipped the Companion with multiple connectors for multiple power outlets, but not the US one. Since on the power adapter it says input 100-240V 50-60Hz, I assume I can just buy a 3pin US power cable ([ame="http://www.amazon.de/IEC320-3-Pin-US-Stecker-Kabel-Netzkabel/dp/B00I93XTM6"]like this[/ame]) and that should work, shouldn't it?

ivanzu

Yes

Fogbrain

I like the look and specs of the Cintiq Companion and to basically have a portable sketchpad in my hands to just practice practice practice while I'm out would be great.

But man, Wacom prices on Cintiq products are ridiculous. I think it's way too much, I'm hopeful for a price drop and I have heard using a Surface Pro would be a cheaper option. One day I'd love to own something that just lets me take my sculpting or photoshop on the go and work as well as PC would.

WarrenM

The Surface 3 is reportedly excellent. I'm leaning that way, myself. Once I get some spare cash together, I mean...

Jeff Parrott

I priced out the Surface 3 and it was like $1500 total. The Cintiq was $1850 total. Including tax on both. The $350 different to have a matte screen, hotkeys, and an additional 1792 pressure levels from the Surface 3 256 levels is worth it in my book.

WarrenM

I don't know enough about this .. and they are equivalent in every other way?

Jeff Parrott

Read http://frenden.com/post/90779846937/microsofts-surface-pro-3-vs-wacoms-cintiq-companion for some good thoughts on the differences.

pior

I like the look and specs of the Cintiq Companion and to basically have a portable sketchpad in my hands to just practice practice practice while I'm out would be great.

I don't want to sound sarcastic or anything, but in your case a simple foldable clipboard and some A4 paper will give you much more mileage than any digital tablet would. I've had tablets in the past (an old, yet very capable MotionComputing ; and I also tried out the Cintiq Companion for a few days) but none of these matched the amount of opportunities to "practice everywhere" than a mere sturdy clipboard offers. I take mine out pretty much everyday, either to sketch while having breakfast or when going out for a quick walk. No tablet will ever match this kind of flexibility. Sure it's ugly and it doesn't make me look cool and high tech, but that's the least of my worries



Again, I am not trying to be snarky here, and sorry for derailing the thread a bit. It's just that if one considers getting a device for art practice on the go, a clipboard really is a better investment than a Surface or a Companion. Just something to keep in mind !