Huion H610 Pro review
As promised, I will be making a review on the H610 Pro tablet from Huion.
I want to preface this by saying that:
This will be own input and hopefully this will help budding digital artists to choose a tablet they can start out with.
I want to preface this by saying that:
In anyway, I am not affiliated with the company so the tablet shown here is bought and not sent by Huion for me to review.
Now, onto the review!
To start off, I bought this tablet as an upgrade from my almost 6 year old Wacom Bamboo Create Pen and Touch tablet that I've been using since I was in 6th grade. Originally I intended to save up and purchase the Intuos Pro Small but I decided against it because it was WAY out of my budget knowing Wacom and their pricey products.
This is where I discovered alternatives for a graphic tablet and honestly, I'm glad that Wacom is getting competition in the graphic tablet industry.
I thoroughly searched for cheaper alternatives, reading every website for reviews of different alternative brands (Ugee, XP-Pen, Turcom, Parblo etc.) until I decided to settle on the H610 Pro by Huion seeing it was cheaper and there were many positive reviews including Amazon itself.
I dived into the world of Wacom alternatives and purchased the tablet sometime around April since it's the month of my birthday and during that month I managed to save up. I ordered from Lazada which was priced around 3,5k PHP at that time when I bought it. Last time I checked, it was priced around 3.1k but I'm not too sure about right now's price.
Tablet specifications:
I thoroughly searched for cheaper alternatives, reading every website for reviews of different alternative brands (Ugee, XP-Pen, Turcom, Parblo etc.) until I decided to settle on the H610 Pro by Huion seeing it was cheaper and there were many positive reviews including Amazon itself.
I dived into the world of Wacom alternatives and purchased the tablet sometime around April since it's the month of my birthday and during that month I managed to save up. I ordered from Lazada which was priced around 3,5k PHP at that time when I bought it. Last time I checked, it was priced around 3.1k but I'm not too sure about right now's price.
Tablet specifications:
- Technology: Electromagnetic digitizer
- Active area: 254 x 152.4 mm (10 x 6.25 in)
- Express Keys: Yes, 8 hard keys + 16 soft keys
- Pressure levels: 2048
- Wireless support: No
- Weight: 635g
- Resolution: 5080 lpi
- Report rate: 233 rps
- System requirements: Windows 7, 8 or 10 / Mac OS X 10.8.0 or above
The box the tablet came in.
The packaging was promising. Though, there were very small dents on the box it's not really noticeable and the unit itself was protected.
The inside of the box.
The contents of the package is what you would expect whenever you watch those unboxing videos on Youtube. It came with the disc which is useless as the driver that the disc contains is outdated so you have to roll over to Huion's website to download the updated version of the driver. Though, mine didn't come with a thank you card seeing I didn't purchase this tablet from the official reseller on Lazada but the tablet itself still came from an overseas seller so I waited for a month for it to arrive.
Of course, aside from the disc, warranty card and instruction manual which was hidden under the tablet, there's the charging cord for the pen, the pen holder with a nib remover and four extra pen nibs for the pen, the tablet unit itself and the USB cord that connects the tablet to the computer.
Hidden under the tablet is the pen itself and the cap.
Unfortunately at this point, I do not have anymore pictures to showcase but in the end of my review I will be showing some of my artwork that I've made with the tablet.
To start off, the tablet has a big working area of 10x6 inch which is a big bonus for me as I prefer working in a big enough work space for me to move my hand around without feeling so cramped up. The tablet surface is also smooth and not a matte or textured surface unlike those from Wacom. I have no personal preference but as I've grown to use this tablet throughout the year I received it the more I prefer working on a smooth surface. I love the feel of how the pen glides over through the smooth surface. The tablet has 8 express keys on the side; the undo button, the brush and eraser button, the zoom in/out that forms like a yin/yang, buttons used to adjust the brush sizes and the move/hand button. The keys are responsive and make a noise upon clicking but I don't like the fact that they require a bit of force to press but that's just my personal preference. There's also 16 soft keys on the top of the tablet's workspace but I find them useless and they get in the way when activated. Luckily, you can disable them through the settings in the driver.
For the pen, it comes with a cap and it is battery-powered which is a drawback because while the battery lasts for 800 hours, it may run out when you're in the middle of drawing which I've had it happen quite a few times. But the good thing is, you can use the pen while it's charging with the charging cord but in my opinion, I find it a nuisance to draw with as I cannot move the pen around properly like how I usually would to make my drawing experience comfortable. Due to the charging port at the back of the pen, the eraser is removed which is a HUGE con for me as it gives me that pencil and paper feel but overtime I've grown to tolerate it. The pen as well (like any other pen in the graphic tablet industry) has two buttons for shortcut purposes.
As for the pen holder, the bottom portion of it stores the four extra nibs and nib remover (which I find useless as I can easily remove the nib with just my fingers). Unfortunately, unlike Wacom's pen holder wherein you can position your pen vertically, you can only position your pen horizontally which in my opinion doesn't feel safe as the pen can easily be knocked over by accident which I had it happen a few times already because I'm clumsy. But luckily, I work on my bed so I don't have to worry about dropping the pen and breaking it in the process.
The four extra nibs at first feels quite lacking but due to the smooth surface of the tablet, the nib doesn't wear down quickly. Before switching over to the XP-Pen Artist 10s (which I will be reviewing soon), I was still using the nib that came in the pen.
Compatibility wise in regards to drawing programs, the ones I'll be mentioning are the ones I've tested it on:
Paint Tool SAI - my main program and the tablet works without issue.
Photoshop CS5 - works well but with the slight issue of jitter when drawing a straight line slowly, and yes I've used a ruler when trying this out but it can be fixed if you download the Lazy Nezumi Pro plugin.
Medibang Paint Pro - works well without issue.
Krita - works well without issue.
Clip Studio Paint EX - works well without issue.
Autodesk Sketchbook 2018 - works well without issue except the shortcuts in Sketchbook are programmed differently.
Flash Macromedia 8 - works well without issue.
GIMP - works well without issue, though you may need to fiddle with the settings to get the pen pressure working.
Pros:
+ Big active area, good enough for me to draw around.
+ This is my personal preference but I like the smooth surface.
+ Shortcut keys are responsive.
+ Pen is lightweight and has a rubber grip.
+ The build is sturdy.
+ Works well with most drawing programs
+ Has extra 16 soft keys so it may be useful to some if you feel like 8 isn't enough.
+ Tablet is on a thin side and lightweight so you can carry it with you around if you're traveling.
Cons:
- Pen lacks an eraser
- Pen is battery-powered, but thankfully can be used while charging
- Pen is fragile, so you have to be careful not to drop it.
- While express keys are responsive, I just don't like the fact that you have to put a bit of force in order to press them.
- USB cord feels flimsy as I've noticed that it's prone to disconnecting the tablet even with a small nudge.
- Pen can only be held horizontally on the pen holder which doesn't feel secure.
Overall, using this tablet was a treat. It gives me more control on my linework compared to my old Wacom tablet. Due to the tablet's smooth surface, the nib doesn't wear out very quickly.
To conclude, I don't regret purchasing this tablet and I recommend it to any artist who is looking to upgrade but lacks the budget to buy an expensive Wacom tablet.
Hidden under the tablet is the pen itself and the cap.
Unfortunately at this point, I do not have anymore pictures to showcase but in the end of my review I will be showing some of my artwork that I've made with the tablet.
Size comparison of the Huion H610 Pro with my Wacom Bamboo
Create Pen and Touch tablet.
Create Pen and Touch tablet.
To start off, the tablet has a big working area of 10x6 inch which is a big bonus for me as I prefer working in a big enough work space for me to move my hand around without feeling so cramped up. The tablet surface is also smooth and not a matte or textured surface unlike those from Wacom. I have no personal preference but as I've grown to use this tablet throughout the year I received it the more I prefer working on a smooth surface. I love the feel of how the pen glides over through the smooth surface. The tablet has 8 express keys on the side; the undo button, the brush and eraser button, the zoom in/out that forms like a yin/yang, buttons used to adjust the brush sizes and the move/hand button. The keys are responsive and make a noise upon clicking but I don't like the fact that they require a bit of force to press but that's just my personal preference. There's also 16 soft keys on the top of the tablet's workspace but I find them useless and they get in the way when activated. Luckily, you can disable them through the settings in the driver.
For the pen, it comes with a cap and it is battery-powered which is a drawback because while the battery lasts for 800 hours, it may run out when you're in the middle of drawing which I've had it happen quite a few times. But the good thing is, you can use the pen while it's charging with the charging cord but in my opinion, I find it a nuisance to draw with as I cannot move the pen around properly like how I usually would to make my drawing experience comfortable. Due to the charging port at the back of the pen, the eraser is removed which is a HUGE con for me as it gives me that pencil and paper feel but overtime I've grown to tolerate it. The pen as well (like any other pen in the graphic tablet industry) has two buttons for shortcut purposes.
As for the pen holder, the bottom portion of it stores the four extra nibs and nib remover (which I find useless as I can easily remove the nib with just my fingers). Unfortunately, unlike Wacom's pen holder wherein you can position your pen vertically, you can only position your pen horizontally which in my opinion doesn't feel safe as the pen can easily be knocked over by accident which I had it happen a few times already because I'm clumsy. But luckily, I work on my bed so I don't have to worry about dropping the pen and breaking it in the process.
The four extra nibs at first feels quite lacking but due to the smooth surface of the tablet, the nib doesn't wear down quickly. Before switching over to the XP-Pen Artist 10s (which I will be reviewing soon), I was still using the nib that came in the pen.
Compatibility wise in regards to drawing programs, the ones I'll be mentioning are the ones I've tested it on:
Paint Tool SAI - my main program and the tablet works without issue.
Photoshop CS5 - works well but with the slight issue of jitter when drawing a straight line slowly, and yes I've used a ruler when trying this out but it can be fixed if you download the Lazy Nezumi Pro plugin.
Medibang Paint Pro - works well without issue.
Krita - works well without issue.
Clip Studio Paint EX - works well without issue.
Autodesk Sketchbook 2018 - works well without issue except the shortcuts in Sketchbook are programmed differently.
Flash Macromedia 8 - works well without issue.
GIMP - works well without issue, though you may need to fiddle with the settings to get the pen pressure working.
Pros:
+ Big active area, good enough for me to draw around.
+ This is my personal preference but I like the smooth surface.
+ Shortcut keys are responsive.
+ Pen is lightweight and has a rubber grip.
+ The build is sturdy.
+ Works well with most drawing programs
+ Has extra 16 soft keys so it may be useful to some if you feel like 8 isn't enough.
+ Tablet is on a thin side and lightweight so you can carry it with you around if you're traveling.
Cons:
- Pen lacks an eraser
- Pen is battery-powered, but thankfully can be used while charging
- Pen is fragile, so you have to be careful not to drop it.
- While express keys are responsive, I just don't like the fact that you have to put a bit of force in order to press them.
- USB cord feels flimsy as I've noticed that it's prone to disconnecting the tablet even with a small nudge.
- Pen can only be held horizontally on the pen holder which doesn't feel secure.
Overall, using this tablet was a treat. It gives me more control on my linework compared to my old Wacom tablet. Due to the tablet's smooth surface, the nib doesn't wear out very quickly.
To conclude, I don't regret purchasing this tablet and I recommend it to any artist who is looking to upgrade but lacks the budget to buy an expensive Wacom tablet.
Here are some artworks I've created using the tablet.
Links on where you can buy the H610 Pro:
Additional info: Huion has an upgraded version of the H610 Pro model that now supports up to 8192 of pressure sensitivity and a new pen holder where you can now place the pen vertically.
Next blog post, I will be talking about my journey as a digital artist.
wowwww amazing :D
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