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Huion Kamvas GT-221 Pro Review

Have Huion upped the stakes with their latest pen display tablet, the Kamvas GT-221 Pro? (Spoiler alert: yes, yes they have...)

Have Huion upped the stakes with their latest pen display tablet, the Kamvas GT-221 Pro? (Spoiler alert: yes, yes they have...)

Weve covered a number of pen display tablets recently and every review has been positive. Weve waxed lyrical about the benefits of a display tablet over a standard graphics tablet and this review will be no different. However, the Huion Kamvas GT-221 Pro raises the bar to a whole new level and we cant wait to tell you about it.

This time round Im going to avoid talking about the benefits of a pen display tablet. Just take my word for it, theyre better, will speed up your work flow and will help you break that up-tight feeling you can get when youre getting used to a graphics tablet.

I reviewed the Huion GT-220 v2 only a month or two ago and gave it 4.5 out of 5. In that review I wrote With the addition of some hot keys and a little tightening here or there this device would easily compete with the Wacom Cintiq but for a fraction of the price. When I was asked to review this device by Huion I was immediately intrigued to see if they had ticked all the boxes I was hoping that they would.

Huion Kamvas GT-221 Pro. The addition if hot keys made this a very interesting prospect

Before I start talking about it lets look at the spec and details. Immediately youll notice this device features hot keys 10 on both sides. That doesnt mean you can program 20 hot keys, but that you can program 10 and that it is useful for both a righty and a lefty, but more about that later. Another important point is its 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity. The hot keys and pressure sensitivity are very important to consider early on. The most comparable Wacom device to this is the Cintiq HD 22 which retails at $1,700. The Huion retails at $800, a huge saving of $900. However, not only do you save money, but you gain a noticeable amount of usable pressure sensitivity and an extra hot key! If this works well it is an absolute bargain!

A few of the important details

A few of the important details

I still feel that Huion has confused branding. Theyre devices are professional standard yet so much of their marketing consists of child friendly images, almost making it look like the products are toys. However the box that this device came in was bang on. It looked and felt professional. The package was secure and backed on the front and back with a sheet of wood to protect it. You can be confident that if you order one of these it wont be broken when it arrives!

The large and weighty box the device is packaged in

The large and weighty box the device is packaged in

Everything is very well packed. When you open the top youll notice a friendly Thank You card from the guys at Huion. Once you slide the insert out youll find everything is very well packaged and all the parts will be easy to identify. In fact the packaging is very well done.

The packaging is great and the device is secure inside the box

The packaging is great and the device is secure inside the box

In my last review I mentioned that they could tighten things up just a little. Well I think Huion have thought long and hard about this device and the customer receiving it. Theyve used much more attention to detail and the box the pen comes in is really nice and wonderfully presented. Youll notice the absence of a cup to hold the pen in, this is because it sits nicely in the back of the device, almost like an archers arrows. All of these little improvements are really impressive.

The pen comes in a really smart case

The pen comes in a really smart case

You still have to attach the stand to the device but it takes two minutes and is solid as a rock when its done. They even provide the screw driver for the task. Plugging it all in and installing the software is no more than a 10 minute task. If I can do it anyone can.

Attaching the stand

Attaching the stand

Before I got carried away with painting I wanted to see how easy it would be to set up the hot keys. You simply open the Huion software and chose the Press keys option. Once youve done this, click on the button you want to set and a new menu will appear. In the new menu you can simply chose the keyboard key youd like. It really is that easy.

Setting the hot keys couldnt have been easier

Setting the hot keys couldnt have been easier

Anyone thats used a tablet like this will tell you that the first thing you want to do is check out the pressure sensitivity and screen. Initially I was disappointed that the screen didnt have the glossy finish of the GT 220 V2. I had really liked painting on the glossy screen and wasnt sure if I liked the matt finish of this device. To cut a long story short I came to the conclusion that I preferred the matt finish. At times it feels like your drawing on a high quality card and its very satisfying. The color quality of the screen was every bit as vibrant as I was expecting it to be.

Pressure sensitivity is a big deal. I mentioned the comparable Wacom earlier, and you can notice the difference in pressure sensitivity. This is very smooth in the transitions between a lot and a little amount of pressure. To show just how intuitive it is I recorded the very first time I drew lines on it. Needless to say I was impressed.

This is the first time I drew on the device and the pressure sensitivity is excellent

The next thing I wanted to do was to throw myself in at the deep end and rustle up a sketch. I like to draw pirates so it seemed like an obvious choice for the subject matter a quick 10 minute pirate sketch. Its nothing special, but within those 10 minutes I had gone from not knowing the device at all to feeling comfortable drawing on it and using the hot keys. It is incredibly easy to get used to and become comfortable with.

A very quick pirate sketch

Without further ado I decided to really put the device through its paces and worked on an image from concept to completion. It was every bit as good as the previous Huion I reviewed, but the matt finish of the screen quickly became even more appealing and the hot keys really helped me to fly through processes that would otherwise mean taking my eyes off the screen. Dare I say it; I found it even better than the equivalent Wacom I mentioned previously.

My first painting using the device

My first painting using the device

I enjoyed every second of using the GT-221 Pro. This was the end result of my very first test run. Like I said, I like pirates.

The first of many pirates on the GT-221 Pro

The first of many pirates on the GT-221 Pro

So whats the verdict? I honestly cant think of one negative thing to say about this device. Okay you can get bigger devices from Wacom with cool accessories and I have no doubt they are excellent as Wacom are great at what they do. However I am not aware of anything better that you can get for this price. In fact I know you can spend a lot more and end up with something that isnt as good as this. If you are looking for a pen display device, and you can afford this, buy one and you will be impressed. I am going to love using mine for many years to come and will be telling everyone how great they are!

The Huion GT-221 Pro sitting on my desk

The Huion GT-221 Pro sitting on my desk

Alternatively you could enter Huions competition with a chance to win one of these great devices. For competition details and rules click here

Links to buy the device

North America: US, CA
Europe: UK, DE, FR, IT, ES
Worldwide: Huion Official, JP

Related links

Enter Huion's competition here
See Simon's review of the Huion GT-220 v2 here
Follow Simon on Instagram

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