YET ANOTHER UPDATE as of Aug. 16th, 2017
I’ve used this tablet off and on for about 5 or 6 months now, and while my experience has been positive for the most part, I feel like I have to mark this tablet with a 3 out of 5 because of something very particular: Much like the more recent line of Intuos tablets by Wacom, this device seems to have an issue with soldering that will leave it susceptible to losing connection repeatedly. It works fine when it works, but even after such sporadic use it seems the Micro-USB port has been bent out of shape somehow. I recommend against this unit slightly unless you are the type to lay your tablet flat on the desk, and are willing to be diligent in taking care of it (tucking the cords away when not in use, being extra careful not to snag etc). It’s definitely a con, but not unlike one you’d find with more recent Wacom hardware, so I still recommend this item over the Intuos 5 or newer. The functionality is still top notch, it’s just that the connector could be better supported. Perhaps if the USB connection recessed into the tablet instead of laying on the outside of it.
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NEW REVIEW as of Mar 10, 2017
I did write a pretty lengthy review on this previously, but after rereading it I felt like it focused too much on nitpicking small things about the tablet without actually touching on how it felt to use beyond making rudimentary marks. This doesn’t do the tablet or the prospective buyer any justice, I feel, so I’d like to rewrite it in a way that will hopefully be more useful to someone considering this model.
NECESSARY LIST OF PROS:
The tablet functions reliably and lasts even very long sessions working with no real huge issues. The pen feels comfortable (even if I wish it had a bit more grip to it at times) and has a nice bit of spring when using it. The drivers install really fast and, minus having to comb your computer for previous Wacom preference files if you’ve had one installed on your system before, takes no time and doesn’t even require a restart in my experience. I do remember having mixed experience with Wacom’s drivers taking literal hours to install the drivers in the past, so it was a welcome change.
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As a bit of history: I’ve owned a Huion 580 (White) for about a year now, since February 2016. (Note that this model is listed as having been given an upgrade in the form of the K58 model here on Amazon). I purchased that unit after my Wacom Bamboo Capture (CTH-470) shorted out. I, with only 45$ to my name at the time, needed a replacement ASAP that would do the very basic job of allowing me to finish the client work I had already accumulated. Even though I purchased the 580 with the intention of upgrading back to Wacom at some point when I could better justify the purchase (particularly to an Intuos Pro), I ultimately found a lot of happiness with this brand and have since stopped considering purchasing another Wacom in the foreseeable future.
For those that want a quick summary of this review/are scared of big blocks of text: The bottom line for these tablets vs. the Intuos Pro from Wacom that I was considering, and even all Wacoms in general, is that Huion seems to offer the best price for the features and functionality you will reasonably need from a non-display graphics tablet. I cannot comment on their display models because I have never owned one from any brand – Wacom, Huion or otherwise. I do know, however, that all of my practice and learning in digital art has always been with a budget option of tablets, as they offer exactly what I need in practice as a committed hobbyist.
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As for the 1060 Plus in particular: The build is very professional and pleasant looking, although I do find it kind of wants for a wipe every other session as it can be a bit grabby on fingerprints. The glove is helpful for this, but I kinda feel weird using it and usually do not use it lol.
The smooth, matte active area is really pleasant to draw on – not to mention it is very kind to the overabundance of Huion nibs I currently posses (more on why later on). It’s a nice, comfortable upgrade from the 580, which I feel really only left me wanting for function keys and a slightly bigger working area. I do still greatly prefer a third model from Huion I owned, the WH1409 (Giano), but because that unit dwarfed my desk I forced myself to return it and will probably only repurchase it once I have a space to better accommodate it.
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The reason why I am so happy with Huion and the way it prices its units, is because I feel like I’m actually paying a price that’s in line with what I’m utilizing on the day to day. Even when I had a Bamboo Capture (Which retailed at roughly 75$ USD when it was current), I felt that between the pressure levels, the 4 function keys, and its touch input capability, that I wasn’t really getting much for what I spent, and that things like the touch and gesture input it featured by and large saw zero use in my actual daily drawing life. Even when you consider the recent Intuos Pro models, the Medium and Large of which boast "8000+ pressure levels", it comes with the caveat that the program you’re using actually needs to be able to recognize that many pressure levels in order to be relevant – never mind that I doubt I’d ever reliably notice or even use that many levels with the incredibly light touch I use in graphics tablets.
This is an issue I feel like I’ll always have with Wacom as long as they remain the sort of industry standard in drawing equipment – the fact that they spend a lot of time engineering newer and better models with a lot of features that many people will probably overlook or take for granted, if they are like me and need only a comfortable drawing surface with a reliable set of features. Huion offers what I need at a price that is reasonable and seems able to last just as well as Wacom’s options when shown proper care. Plus, the fact that there are so many models with similar specs to choose from makes it easy for someone to find something from them in the price range they can afford, while also receiving just the amount of features they’ll need for practical execution. When you compare that fact to Wacom, which has only one or two budget options and immediately jumps you up to their "professional" line of tablets that offer a lot of bells and whistles, it can be kind of hard to justify defaulting to that brand anymore after putting the time forward to research the practicality for yourself.
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I feel like a lot of people kind of go by their initial impressions of a tablet and how it feels, making a lot of noncommittal marks that are not necessarily true to how they draw normally, which can be a really really poor way of judging whether or not a model ACTUALLY performs well for you. It can be easy to play around with a Wacom’s tilt functions, eraser-enabled pen, and high pressure variance and say "wow, why would I go with anything else!" – but then when you actually use it daily, a lot of its features will probably go underutilized because they are inessential to the experience. This is what I think about when I see the price tag of an Intuos Pro being 299$ and up, or even when I see their sort of dinky budget Intuos (which let’s be real, they’re just Bamboos) with very few options compared to Huion’s line of tablets that only ever seems to be expanded upon.
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WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID, the reason why I rate this as four stars is because there are some little things that I feel Huion falls short on. I rewrote this review after I came to these criticisms over time, and after regular use that allowed me to form an opinion on the unit based on how it performs on a day-to-day basis. Before anything further: there have yet to be any issues with the tablet largely bugging out, or causing problems big enough that are disruptive to my work. I can work on this unit for hours and it will stay with me the whole way without a problem. This fact is true for every other model from them I have owned – if you find that you have issues with it, I would say pretty confidently that it’s because your model is somehow defective.
1) When the left-handed functionality is enabled and one flips the tablet to match, none of the function keys actually flip their positions to reflect the change. They all still function as if the tablet is in the default right-handed mode, which means the user will have to map each of the keys in reverse order on their driver menu. Obviously this would be very confusing and even take as much as 30 or 40 minutes to finish, and yet longer to internalize and learn in actual practice. This is almost certainly a driver-specific issue, though, and one that should be able to be fixed in a future update. If you’re willing to take a chance on them fixing it/the function keys being perfect are not a big deal to you as a lefty, it should be fine.
2) Recently when drawing, my lines will occasionally be interrupted by a skip or jump in tracking – at first I attributed this to the fact that I’ve dropped both of the pens I had been using for it, but the issue persisted when I bought a replacement. I recommend drawing in such a way that doesn’t see you rotating the pen too much, as I have noticed that the skips are sometimes preceded by my turning the pen in my fingers. Huion does not have tilt functionality anyway (which coincidentally is another feature I feel like Wacom upsells on, and very unimportant in actual practice), so it may be a good idea to practice control with this unit to mitigate this issue should it happen for you, too.
3) The last little issue i have with this unit is that the pens are, sadly, quite fragile and prone to breaking. I purchased a spare for my tablet just because I could and wanted to have a bit of a safety net while I was actively taking new client work, and sure enough one of the pens I used fell a short distance (presumably on the nib end) and ceased working properly. The worst offender for pen fragility are the P68s (the models which require a triple-A battery), so if you ultimately go with a different model Huion tablet that comes with such a stylus, I’d recommend putting a little extra money toward a P80 model pen in advance. You may remember my mentioning that I have a lot of nibs – this is actually the reason why. Although the nibs do indeed last a long time because of the tablet’s smooth surface, the pens themselves require a lot of care to match their longevity. You will probably need a new pen, before you need new nibs. It bears repeating that these issues came about from MY error in dropping the pen, though – Heck, I was hesitant to even list this as a real con at first because Wacom’s pens will do the same when dropped enough, particularly on the nib side. At worst, Huion’s pens may break a little faster if you were to compare each pen in a drop test, in my experience.
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PHEW. All of that being said, my experience with all of the Huion tablets I’ve owned have been positive. Furthermore, none of the tablets I’ve owned from them have been replaced via a need for a new tablet, or because of a malfunction of a previous model -The new purchases were spurred on purely by my curiosity and interest in trying the different features that they had, and it’s important to note that I was even able to do so because of the price! I could never do such a thing with any Wacom.
I do kind of regret not being able to consolidate this review further, but I do feel like it’s important for lots of insight and information on a new or growing brand to be given for those looking to research it so that they can come to an educated conclusion on ti for themselves. I really do mean to help you and not just preach at you ceaselessly, I promise. 😛
Despite it’s flaws and little oversights, the brand is overall very solid. Furthermore, when I was doing extensive research on the brand, I read a lot of reports that their customer service was also very good when it did come to smoothing out more serious issues. I can see this company being a really serious contender for Wacom in the market of artists like me who, even though they could potentially afford the bigger pricetag, would prefer to know their money is actually going toward netting them features and functionality they will actually use. The only thing I cannot comment on for Huion’s benefit is the longevity of their units, as I have yet to own and use a model longer than I’ve ever used a Wacom. The 580’s year-long use being very consistent is the most I can say on that front.
For the money, this brand is more than worth giving an honest try if you prepare yourself accordingly and have done your necessary research on what you need vs. what they can offer you. As long as you don’t wrongly come to a conclusion after buying one of their very small signature pads in the interest of digital art, you will probably have an experience as good as mine with them.
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