Drawing tablets have become super affordable. More and more premium tablets are being released at affordable prices. With that said Huion has recently come with their Kamvas pro lineup, which may be the best drawing tablet you can get right now.
The 16 inch Huion Kamvas comes in two variants – Kamvas 16 and Kamvas pro 16. So what is the difference between both these tablets and which tablet should you get as you next drawing device?
In this review, we are going to take a look at all the features both these tablets have to offer. By the end of this review, you would know exactly which tablet you should get.
Let’s find out.
Unboxing – What you get in the box
Both the tablets come in a well-protected premium looking package. Here is the list of everything you will find in the box.
- Drawing tablet
- Stylus
- 3 in 1 Cable
- Drawing glove
- International power adapter
- Microfibre cloth
- Pen stand(not available with Kamvas Pro 16)
- Shortcut stickers
- User manual
Huion Kamvas 16 and Kamvas Pro 16
  Kamvas 16
by Huion |
|
|
| CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
  Kamvas 16 Pro
by Huion |
|
|
| CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
Design and build quality
Speaking of design, both tablets look a little different from each other. The Kamvas 16 comes in a dark grey color whereas the Kamvas Pro 16 comes in black.
They follow the classical tablet layout. The drawing area is present at the right, whereas the buttons are present on the left-hand side.
The Kamvas Pro has a brushed aluminum body which overall feels hefty and premium. The corners are round and curved and you have sufficient space around the display which works as a palm rest.
Display – Resolution and features
- Huion Kamvas Pro 16
The screen is one of the major focal points of the Huion Kamvas Pro 16. It is one of the few budget tablets in the market which comes with a fully laminated display. It has a 15.6 inch 1920 x 1080 p FullHD display. The display is bright and vibrant with excellent viewing angles.
It has a 120% sRGB color support, combined with good contrast levels. It produces very accurate colors which is perfect for personal or professional usage.
The screen has an anti-glare matte screen which makes the screen easy to see in bright environments. The matte screen has a special coating that does not distort the colors and the vibrancy of the screen is maintained.
- Huion Kamvas 16
Now the Kamvas 16 comes with the same screen size of 15.6 inches along with the same 1920 x 1080 p resolution. The difference between the screens of the pro model and the normal model is – the Kamvas 16 does not come with a laminated screen.
Kamvas 16 has a 100% sRGB color gamut, It falls slightly behind the Pro model which has 120% sRGB support. In real life though – the difference is not noticeable in most cases. The top surface has the same anti-glare matte finish glass.
What is a laminated screen
As you have learned above the Kamvas Pro has a laminated display, but what is a laminated display and what effect does it have on the tablet.
The screen of a drawing tablet has three layers. The bottom layer is the display unit followed by the pen-enabled touch layer and the protective top glass. In older displays, three layers are stacked on top of each other leaving a thin layer of air between them.
In laminated displays all the layers of the screen are fully laminated, leaving no space for air. It helps to reduce parallax (distance between the cursor on the screen and the point where the pen actually touches). In addition to parallax, it also makes the colors of the screen brighter and vibrant.
for more details check out laminated vs non-laminated displays.
Battery-free digital pen PW507 – Stylus overview
Huion had some consistency issues with their older stylus in their last release. Since then, they have really focused on perfecting their stylus and have 100% succeeded.
Now they have one of the best stylus in the market which gives very comparable performance to the Wacom’s Pro pen 2.
Pen – design and build quality
The stylus is made of plastic but has rubber grips at the front which gives it a comfortable grip and a nice feel. It has a wider diameter at the front which gradually tapers towards the back. The pen is lightweight and has a balanced feel in hand.
There are two buttons on the side of the stylus which has raised the dotted structure to feel the buttons without looking. The buttons can be set to a different shortcut in the pen settings. The stylus has no eraser at the back.
Features – pressure and tilt
The stylus comes with pressure sensitivity of 8192 levels along with ±60° of tilt sensitivity. Huion PW507 is a passive pen which means it does not need any charging. Which is a great advantage over its battery-powered counterparts.
Stylus Performance – is it better than Wacom Pro Pen 2
As we mentioned earlier, Huion has done a really good job of perfecting the stylus. The pen is well calibrated and shows a smooth transition between thick and thin lines. The strokes properly taper towards the end and have no weird pressure bumps, line wobble or other inconsistencies.
The tilt sensitivity of the pen also works smoothly as you would expect them to, with no sign of glitchiness. The initial activation force required to draw a line is slightly higher in comparison to Wacom stylus, but it is easy to get used to.
This pen is really close or maybe equally good as Wacom stylus in terms of design, accuracy and overall pen performance.
Pen stand and nib storage
Although the pen holder does not feel as premium as something you get with Wacom tablets but considering the price it gets a pass.
Nib Storage and Nib remover tool
The pen stand also doubles up as nib storage. Opening the top lid you can find the hidden storage compartment. There are a total of 10 extra pen nibs that are securely stored in padded compartments.
The storage also contains a metallic nib remover tool that pulls out the nib from the stylus.
Huion Kamvas 16 and Kamvas Pro 16 – Shortcut buttons
Normal Kamvas 16 comes with 14 shortcut buttons. You have a set of 5 buttons on the top and bottom followed by two rounded buttons. Some of the buttons have raised dots and arrows to identify them without looking.
The placement of shortcut buttons is really great in Kamvas 16 whereas you have the power button in very close proximity of the shortcut button in Kamvas Pro 16. Which makes it very easy to trigger accidentally and turn off your monitor.
Touch bar
Both the tablets come with a touch bar that is present on the left side – between the shortcut buttons. The touch bar is by default set to zoom but it can also be used to change the size of the brush and eraser.
Tablet Stand – Official stand for Kamvas 16
Using a drawing tablet flat on the tablet is not the most ergonomic position. You will need a strong tablet stand with multiple adjustment angles for a comfortable drawing experience.
The cheaper Kamvas 16 comes with a tablet stand pre-included in the box. Whereas the more expensive Kamvas pro 16 does not comes with a tablet stand. Huion recommends to use their official stand with their pro tablet, you can Buy it on Amazon.
The tablet stand has a metal construction. It has a very sturdy build quality that can easily handle the weight of the tablet. There are rubber pads on the front face of the stand which helps to avoid scratches and hold the tablet in place.
The stand has a total of six adjustment angles which gives an ample amount of working positions. The stand folds up in a very slim profile making them easier to carry.
Check this list of drawing tablet stands for more alternatives.
Driver and tablet settings
The operating system of your computer does not necessarily understand the pen and pressure data. A driver is software that helps to communicate between the computer and the drawing tablet. It also gives you additional flexibility and settings options to customize your tablet.
Using the driver settings you can change the default expresskeys to the shortcut of your choice. You can also customize the pen pressure and change the side button of the pen.
Other settings include changing the screen brightness and color as well as importing/exporting the custom settings. The driver is not included in the package and needs to be downloaded from the Huion official website.
Connectivity – how to connect the tablet with the computer
The tablet connects to the computer using a 3 in 1 cable and a power adapter. The 3 in 1 cable simplifies the connections and minimizes the cables running on the desk.
It consists of a round power connector a full-sized HDMI plug and a USB connector. On the opposite side, you have a single L-shaped USB type-c Connector.
The power adapter from the wall outlet connects to the circular connector. The HDMI and USB cable connects to the computer and the USB Type-c cable, on the other hand, goes in the tablet.
Overall you get a single wire coming out of the drawing tablet which does not protrude in your working space. The image above is just for illustration purposes, the cables are much longer in real life.
Final thoughts/ Summary
Both Kamvas 16 and Kamvas Pro 16 are very comparable to each other. They are one of the best tablets in the market right now. With Huion Kamvas 16 (Amazon), you essentially get a premium technology and performance in the budget price range.
The Kamvas Pro 16 (Amazon) model really steps up the game. It is totally worth to spend a little extra cash to get the pro model instead of the normal Kamvas 16.
You get a laminated display that was only seen in tablets which costs north of 1000 bucks and a metallic body which makes a really big difference in the feel of the tablet and sets it apart from all the competition.
Where to buy
Huion Kamvas 16: Amazon
Huion Kamvas pro 16: Amazon, Huion store
Related:
Huion Kamvas Pro 16 vs Xp Pen Artist 15.6 Pro comparison
Budget drawing monitor for artist
