Review - Huion Kamvas 22 Plus

After using the iPad Pro 2020 as my art device exclusively for some time now with mixed results, I've finally made the switch back to drawing on desktop with the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus display tablet! This post isn't sponsored in any way, I just wanted to give my thoughts and comparisons to the iPad for anyone potentially interested in investing in a display tablet like this in the future.

Background

I have quite a bit of drawing tablet experience dating back to when I was in middle school, and have more or less gotten my hands on every notable type and brand of tablet at some point, both the display type and traditional type. But up until college I had only ever owned a traditional, non-display style of tablet myself. After that, I was in need of a computer so I bought an HP Spectre x360 laptop, which came with a touch screen and Windows Ink capabilities. I bought a Wacom Bamboo pen to use it with and used that as my primary drawing "tablet" til after I graduated. (Loved the laptop, but on the whole would not recommend as a drawing experience since the pen sucked SO bad)

Around late 2019, the HP Spectre x360 started to die on me so I decided to make the switch to iPad. I was pretty broke at the time so trying to replace both a computer AND a drawing device in one go was not in the cards at the time, thus I settled on the iPad. The Spectre and iPad Pro 2020 were around the same size, the iPad being just a few inches smaller, and I could at least temporarily use a tablet as a catch-all for both my drawing and computer needs until I had the funds to buy a better desktop.

The iPad has served me well since I got it, and really there's very little to complain about aside from a few annoyances (mostly trying to get Apple and Windows to play nice with each other). But ultimately, I found myself pining more bigger drawing real estate and the comfort of a display tablet once again. I had started doing comics more regularly and the tiny window I had been drawing on just wasn't cutting it. Plus, having such a tiny drawing space for years made me develop some bad posture habits, and I was fed up with the back-and-forth of constantly transferring things from my iPad to my computer. 

As a Google Drive user, I also found it very frustrating that the iPad version of Clip Studio Paint did not allow direct saving to the Google Drive, meaning I had to save copies of my work to the iPad and then reupload them manually to the drive - and if I ever needed to reopen those files on the iPad, it'd download yet another copy, leading to me often having multiple copies of large files that I had to keep purging. It just felt very unintuitive and frustrating, and I wanted the ease of my desktop while drawing again.

The Tablet

After doing some comparisons between the different models of display tablets on the market, I ultimately ended up choosing the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus. This tablet is 21.5 inches wide, which is a staggering but welcome jump from the tiny 11 inches I had gotten used to on the iPad. It lacks any express keys and is pretty much just a giant screen, which I don't mind because I use a bluetooth remote for my shortcuts. Out of all of Huion's current offerings, this display stood out to me for having the most appealing specs for the price - it was around $550 USD at the time I purchased it, which is a steal compared to similarly-priced Wacom Cintiq's (which isn't saying much since Cintiq's are quite overpriced, but that's common knowledge at this point), and it offered better specs than similar XP-Pen models in my opinion. 

The tablet was very easy to set up, just followed the basic instructions to install the stand on the back and hooked it up to my computer with the included 3-way HDMI cable. I ended up having to buy an HDMI to USB adapter since one of the two HDMI ports on my desktop didn't work for whatever reason, but it was fine in the end and now I can use both the tablet and my monitor together. The tablet is actually a couple inches wider than my monitor and has more vivid colors, so I see no reason why someone couldn't just buy one of these to use as their primary monitor AND as a drawing device (aside from maybe burning it out faster). The display actually has multiple screen adjustment settings dedicated to watching movies, playing video games, etc., so Huion clearly recognizes that the display can be useful for more than just drawing. Its default angles on the built-in stand might be awkward for everyday use, though, so if you wanted to turn it into a regular monitor when not drawing I'd suggest buying a monitor arm to reposition it upright.

So far, I've primarily used the tablet with Clip Studio Paint EX, and it works flawlessly. Pen pressure and tilt both do their job as expected, and I haven't experienced any lagging or anything crazy. The parallax on the screen is VERY tiny and not noticeable.  I'm also really enjoying the slightly paperlike feel of drawing on the screen. I was never a huge fan of how slippery the iPad felt to draw on, but also didn't want to damage my nibs by buying one of those paper screen covers. This feels like the best of both worlds since display tablet nibs are going to break down and need replacing anyways (and it actually comes with proper backups, unlike the Apple Pencil).

Things to Note

- The color calibration out of the box is way off. Things were looking VERY saturated and blue-toned. I ended up checking the Huion Reddit page and found someone who graciously wrote out their correctly-calibrated color adjustment settings, so I copied those to my own device and then made a few tweaks so it'd match my iPad and desktop monitor as closely as possible. 

- Sometimes when I use a brush with a high stabilizer setting I get some random tiny jutting lines here and there that I have to erase, but it's only sometimes and doesn't affect the majority of my brushes so I don't mind it personally. If you are someone who heavily relies on the stabilizer, though, that might be something to keep in mind.

- The huge size of the screen plus the lack of express keys means you may need to invest in a bluetooth remote of some kind if you like using shortcuts. This thing eats up a ton of desk space, so if you're like me and intend to put it down in front of your regular desktop setup, anticipate that it may block your access to your keyboard or require some rearranging to use. I've started putting my keyboard off to the side of the tablet, which still allows me to type and use my mouse as normal, but admittedly it's still an awkward position and I may rearrange my desk some more in the near future to compensate.

I've tested a few bluetooth remotes here and there, and they all pretty much do the same thing so it's mostly a matter of preference what you'd end up choosing. Right now I'm actually using a tiny Switch controller set to keyboard mode as my bluetooth remote, since I like it being small enough to fit in my palm while I work. I used it with my iPad setup too, so I'm glad to see it works on Windows just as well.

If you're curious, here's a little shortcut diagram I made for myself:

(Yes, I hold it vertically like a TV remote LOL)

- Not really a pro or con, but the pen is REALLY lightweight. Like probably the lightest tablet pen I've used - it feels like just a plastic shell with a microchip inside. I wouldn't necessarily say it feels cheap since the pen itself is comfortable to use, but it does kind of lack that weighted quality feeling I was used to with the Apple Pencil and Wacom Bamboo pens of yore, and I find myself missing it a little. 

The pen also boasts no batteries or recharging, but I honestly have no clue how it actually works because the information isn't listed anywhere on their site or on other sites' listings for both the tablet and just the pen. Definitely not complaining though since I hate having to waste money on tiny batteries (looking at you, Wacom Bamboo pen).

I also reprogrammed the two side buttons to more convenient shortcuts for my use in CSP - the smaller one closer to the nib right clicks and toggles the Eyedropper, and the bigger one toggles the Hand tool so I can drag my canvas around. One of the big adjustments I've had to make from the iPad is not being able to pinch and zoom or tap to undo, so I've tried to make these shortcuts as close as possible to that experience on the display tablet.

- The display is 1080p, which is lower compared to some of the more expensive models. When holding it side by side with my iPad, there is more noticeable pixelation on the Huion's screen, whereas everything on the iPad is smoothed out because the PPI is higher. Truthfully, though, when working at such a huge size I don't really find this is an issue. It's probably just because I've spent so many years drawing on tablets that I've come to expect a little pixelation, and it doesn't affect the artwork much so it's something I can easily ignore. But I can understand why the slightly lower PPI might be annoying to some. Some of the other newer Huion models boast 4k resolution with similar specs to the 22 Plus, so if the lower PPI is a real deal breaker for you then you may find something more to your liking with Huion if you're willing to spend a little extra money to get it.

Final Thoughts

I've had this tablet for over a week now and will continue to test it going forward, but at least for right now I can say confidently that I love this thing and am really glad I bought it! It feels great to draw on desktop again. Huion really has risen to the top as one of the best display tablet makers on the market right now, and for the price I can't complain. 

If you're in the market for a display tablet, have a good amount of desk space, and don't mind getting your own bluetooth express keys remote, then you'd probably really like the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus!

In the future I may purchase and try out a few different express key remotes to see which I find the most useful, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in seeing!