I have been creating digital artwork for about ten years now. Until recently, I was not even aware such inexpensive tablets existed! Nor was I aware just how great a cheap tablet like this Huion 580 could be. I decided it was high time to ditch the mouse and get the tablet I've always wanted but thought I could never afford. I debated for some time between various Wacom, Monoprice, and other tablets in the < $100 price range. This seemed the right choice for me. I'm incredibly happy with my decision!
SIZE: This tablet seems to be the perfect size. Not too big, not too small. It's just right. Any larger, and it would take up too much space on your lap or desk. Any smaller and you might find it restrictive. This really depends on your drawing style. I tend to draw in detail and use smaller, tight strokes. So I've actually adjusted the settings to shrink my drawing area down to about 7" x 4.5". Great option. This tablet works great for people who are used to medium to small hand movements, as it can be easily adjusted down in size.
SENSITIVITY: I haven't had any complaints about the sensitivity of this tablet. It takes some adjusting to tweak the settings, but you'll quickly figure out what settings work best for you. It easily picks up light, subtle strokes and increases steadily with pressure. Works great!
QUALITY: Everything seems to be of decent - good quality. I wouldn't say high quality... It's rare to find HIGH quality from a China-made product. However, this is made quite well. The tablet itself looks and feels solid. The connecting wire between tablet and PC is thick and sturdy. The pen feels a little cheap, but not ridiculously so... It just doesn't feel like it's incredibly high quality. The nib does wiggle around a bit, but I haven't found that it affects my artwork at all. The pen itself is very lightweight. Without the battery, it weighs next to nothing. So, you're really only holding the weight of one AAA battery in your hand while drawing.
SOFTWARE: I had issues trying to install the drivers on the CD. The installation program is lacking... It started up right when I inserted the disc, but I had to hunt for the appropriate setup file. There is a choice between two folders. Choose the one that says 580/680S because this is the Huion 580 model (had to use the magic of Google to figure this out). I kept receiving an error when trying to install any driver from the CD, so I went to the huion-tablet website and downloaded it directly from there. The tablet worked and responded immediately after installing the downloaded files and restarting my computer. Works great now. Just be aware that if you're "computer stupid", there is next to no support available for this product. You're kind of on your own to figure out how to get it working if you're having trouble getting it installed.
COMPATIBILITY: So far, I've only tested it on my HP laptop with Windows Vista. Will install & test it on the newer Asus with Windows 7 as soon as I get the Asus fixed... Runs just fine on Vista. I use old Photoshop 6.0 and it still works great! I've also used it to browse the web in Google Chrome and it performs very well.
QUIRKS: Just one small, personal issue. The pen's buttons (substitute for a mouse's right- and left-click) are situated right where I want to place my thumb. Sometimes, I inadvertently click while drawing. It bothers me that I can't rotate my grip on the pen; I have to hold my fingers in the same place every time I draw, which wears down the nub unevenly. I would love to find a pen without the little buttons. But, for such a great tablet, it's something I'm willing to ignore since it doesn't bother me much at all.
WHAT'S INCLUDED:
+ Huion 580 Tablet (8" x 5" drawing space)
+ Pen with two programmable buttons
+ USB cord
+ Pen rest... cup... thing. Works well.
+ 1 AAA battery
+ CD-ROM with installation software / drivers
+ Owner's Manual (not very helpful though)
VERDICT: I can't compare this to other tablets, since this is my first one. What I can say is, as an artist, this suits my needs and makes creating art faster and easier than I could possibly manage with a mouse. I am in love with this thing! My digital colouring looks 5x better, thanks to the great pressure sensitivity of the Huion 580 tablet. This won't be up to par for a professional artist, but even for someone with a serious digital art hobby like myself, this tablet will work wonders. It's the best you can get for under $40!
UPDATE 07/06/2013:
Seven months in and I'm still very happy with my Huion tablet. =) Haven't had any compatibility issues and no trouble since the initial installation. The pen and tablet still look new and aren't showing any signs of wear, aside from the pen's nib starting to wear down some from all the colouring I've been doing (have I mentioned how much I love my tablet?). The nib has plenty of life left, but it does have a distinct angled edge to it now.
I don't really have much else to add aside from mentioning how much having a drawing tablet has increased the quality of my digital artwork. It's also decreased the amount of time it takes me to finish a piece. It used to take two weeks of outlining and colouring off and on to achieve something I was satisfied with. Now I can finish a piece in a day or two. So much faster!
| Standing screen display size | 8 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 4000 |
