Huion Kamvas Pro 13
The Kamvas Pro 13 is also a good entry-level to mid-range graphics drawing tablet for professional artists, and it does the job quite well. It is one of Huion’s graphics tablets with screen. The 13.3inch Full Laminated HD IPS Screen has a paper-like quality to it which makes drawing on it feel good.
In addition, the display screen is made of anti-glare glass, effectively minimizing the harsh glare to offer a fairly clear picture even under bright light. The chassis is well designed, made from aluminum alloy construction which doesn’t weigh so much, just a little over 2lbs. The bright and colorful screen boasts of 120% sRGB wide gamut coverage. The resulting picture gives better color effect to make images much more vivid and vibrant.
There are 4 express keys and a Touch Bar to map your shortcuts to for better and efficient drawing experience. The included battery-free stylus featuring 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity combined with 5080lpi resolution, allows you to draw naturally and precisely. The pen also supports tilt function, allowing you to generate differing brush stroke sizes on the go. If your nibs wear out, there’s a ton of replacement nibs to use.
This unit depends on just a single cable for connecting to the host PC, since this is not a standalone graphics drawing tablet, but depends on a PC to work. The unit also has a handy stand for holding the tab when not resting on the desk. One annoying issue worth noting is the troublesome driver issue. This happens occasionally when the isn’t recognized. You have to restart the driver to get it working again.
KEY FEATURES OF THE KAMVAS PRO 13
- Dimensions: 15.35 x 8.66 x 0.47 inches
- Weight: 2lbs
- Active area: 293.76 × 165.24 mm
- 13.3inch Full Laminated HD IPS Screen
- 120% sRGB Wide Gamut
- 8192 pressure sensitivity
- Battery-free stylus with tilt
- 4 shortcut keys and 1 Touch Bar
- 3-in-1 cable with HDMI connection included
PROS
- Lightweight
- Good color reproduction
- Added accessories
- Minimal parallax
CONS
- No touch functionality
- Not wireless
- Driver issues
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Buying Guide for best digital graphics drawing tablets
Now let’s lay down some general guidelines you should keep in mind when choosing a suitable graphics drawing tablet, whether you are a beginner or experienced artist. If you are a designer or artist, you may have used a graphics tablet at one point or the other, so whether you are familiar with a tab or not, you should bear these in mind…
Graphics Tablet types
There are generally three types available –
- Screen-less tablet type
- Screen tablet type
- Hybrid tablet type
Screen-less graphics tablets
These type of graphics tablets are the least expensive and also quite lightweight. They connect to the host PC as a peripheral, and cannot function as a standalone graphics drawing tablet. When you connect the tablet to your PC and launch your drawing app, what you draw on the tab is reflected in real time on the computer display. You just have to keep your eye on the computer monitor at all times as you draw.
Screen Tablets
These type of graphics tablets are the most expensive and have more features than the table tablet type. They also need a host PC to operate. The most striking difference is the fact that they allow you to see what you are drawing on the tablet screen while you work. They may also come with wireless connectivity which allows you to move away from your desk while drawing.
Hybrid tablet type
These set of devices have multi-purpose functions, and one of them is the ability to draw and sketch with the device. They have an operating system like Windows, Mac OS, or Android. Their greatest strength lies in their portability; you can take it on the move and draw your art, away from the office or work table.
Here’s a table summarizing the differences between both graphics tablet types.
| Screen-less Graphics Tablets | Screen Graphics Tablets |
| Cheaper | More Expensive |
| No Parallax | Has Parallax |
| Has shortcut keys | Most do not have shortcut keys |
| More durable | Prone to break |
| Active stylus | Passive stylus |
| No screen | Has screen |
| Fast to draw on | Faster to draw on |
| Needs a host PC to work | May not need a host PC |
Common Features of Graphics Tablets
Hot Keys
The hot keys or shortcut keys (ExpressKeys™ in the Wacom brand) allow you to map shortcuts such as undo, redo, eraser, etc to the programmable buttons you find on the tablet. These keys give you more flexibility and increase your overall efficiency while working.
Stylus
This is the digital pen with which the artist draws on the tablet. It may be battery-powered or battery-less. Most models are battery-free, which means you don’t have to worry about recharging the batteries. Most pens also come with replaceable nibs which is indispensable because the nibs can wear out quickly due to constant use.
Parallax
This is the distance between the pen tip and the digitizer on the screen. Laminated screens suffer less from parallax than non-laminated screens. Parallax isn’t such a big issue; at worst you get used to it with time, and won’t notice it at all.
Pressure Sensitivity
This determines the thickness of the lines the artist draws with the pen on the graphics tablet. When you increase the pressure on the screen, the lines get thicker, and otherwise when the pressure is reduced.
The industry-standard for pressure sensitivity is 8192 levels, though some models have roughly half of this. The higher the sensitivity level, the more control of the stroke thickness you have.
Resolution
This has a dual meaning in this context. One is the resolution of the tablet screen, for screen tablets, while the other meaning is the lpi density, or lines per inch capacity of the tablet.
For screen resolution, most models, especially the screen graphics tablets, feature a full HD resolution. Some models like the Wacom Cintiq Pro 16, Cintiq Pro 24, and Cintiq Pro 32 all feature up to 4K resolution (Ultra HD:3840 x 2160).
This ensures that you can use these tablets with high-resolution PC monitors because the PC monitor resolution must match the resolution of the graphics tablet.
For lines per inch resolution, this is the number of lines in a square inch which the tablet can output. The higher the lpi, the sharper and precise your strokes come off. Ideally, you only need about 1000 LPI to see high-quality results, so most current tablets already surpass this criterion. For instance, the Wacom Cintiq Pro 32 has 5080lpi resolution.
Active Area
This is the designated drawing area, which can also be likened to your drawing canvas. This is not really a big issue because the tablet maps your screen size to your tablet active area size. However, the active area must be equal to 12×12 size or more.
Anti-Glare
The anti-glare feature ensures your tablet doesn’t pick up unneeded reflections from the environment. What makes this possible is a special coating on the screen of the tablet which reduces the glare and makes is easier to work outdoors. The anti-glare feature is quite useful and you should look out for it.
Scrollers
These make it possible to navigate around your working canvas without using the fingers and stylus. The screen tablets have the added advantage of utilizing the touch capabilities for navigation, so it’s quite useful to buy a tablet with touch capabilities.
Wireless or Corded
The difference is quite obvious – it could be corded or wireless. The advantage of the corded devices is that they have better responsiveness while drawing, whereas the wireless devices have a slight delay due to the wireless signal delay. All the same, there isn’t much difference in these two, except that the wireless tablets give you more freedom, such that you can navigate around the workspace while drawing.
The hybrid tablet types are even more portable. You can take them along while traveling or leaving the office to create on the go.
Concluding thoughts
If you follow these guidelines listed above, then getting the best-rated digital graphics drawing tablets shouldn’t be such a complicated endeavor. What are your thoughts on this article? Please drop a comment letting us know. You should check out other reviews or our PC build configurations, and the ultimate guide on how to build your PC step by step.