Overview

13" pen displays very popular, often representing great choices for beginners. In this document I compare some popular options in the market in 2023.

• Huion Kamvas 13 (GS1331) - (user manual | product page | model year 2020)

• XP-Pen Artist 13 GEN2 (CD130FH) - (user manual | product page | model year 2022)

• Wacom One 2019 GEN1 (DTC-133)

Summary

These are very, very similar tablets. There is NO CLEAR winner - each has positives and negatives.

• Huion Kamvas 13

  • slightly less pointer lag (GOOD)

  • slightly more more anti-glare sparkle

• XP-Pen Artist 13 GEN2

  • a tiny bit more pointer lag

  • less anti-glare sparkle

Evaluation notes

Testing Setup

• Driver versions used

  • Huion: 15.6.2.80

  • XP-Pen: 3.4.0

• Operating system of test machine

  • Huion: Windows 11

  • XP-Pen: Windows 10

• Specs

  • The tables of specs come from the Huion and XP-Pen websites. For some specs, I did some testing to come up with the numbers.

• Variances

  • Please remember that how tablets work can vary even with tablets that have the same model number. I cannot guarantee everyone will experience what I encountered.

• Pen labeling

  • I used gaffer tape to identify the pens. Green = XP-PEN, Red=Huion.

Pens

• X-Pen Artist 13 GEN2 - X3 ELITE

• Huion Kamvas 13 - PW517

• Wacom One 2019 GEN1 - CP-913

Center versus Corner accuracy

Accuracy in both tablets is very good for a pen display

In my testing

• Both have similar center accuracy. I agree with their listed specs of ±0.5mm

• Both have similar corner accuracy. I measured at ± 2mm

Diagonal wobble

Both tablets have excellent diagonal wobble (i.e. very low amounts of diagonal wobble) with both slow and fast strokes.

XP-Pen Artist 13 GEN2 (CD130FH) wobble

Huion Kamvas 13 (GS1331) wobble:

Compare it to the most expensive pen tablet wacom makes the Wacom Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860):

Both the Huion and XP pen are on par with

Anti-glare sparkle

Both tablets exhibit some anti-glare sparkle. Ideally tablets should exhibit no sparkle.

• iPad -> no observable sparkle

• Wacom Cintiq Pro -> very low sparkle

• Wacom One -> low sparkle

• XP-Pen Artist 13 (2nd gen) -> On the low end of moderate sparkle

• Huion Kamvas 13 -> moderate sparkle

For both tablets you'll notice the sparkle if your eyes are close, at a normal drawing distance I don't notice it.

The XP-Pen tablet is clearly the winner over the Huion tablet for AG sparkle.

Drawing Experience

Both tablets handle these cases well

• drawing lots of dots

• drawing many small quick tiny low pressure lines - hatching

• keeping pressure constant

• moving between high and low pressure smoothly

• Tapering - typical for every pen display I've seen.

Overall drawing experience is very good for both tablets.

Pressure range

• Remember: Pressure is detected by the pen, not the tablet.

• The lower bound on the pressure range is called the Initial Activation Force.

• To test this I hung each pen from a string and dragged the tip of the pen across the surface. The goal is that the minimal weight for the pen will draw a continuous line. Here's how they ranked:

  • XP-Pen Artist 13 2nd Gen -> made no marks whatsoever

  • Huion Kamvas 13 -> half the time made a mark. if pen moves slowly mark is captured usually but if there the pen is moving a little faster the mark is not registered.

  • Wacom One -> about same as the Huion Kamvas 13

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860) -> draws a continuous line

  • Huion Giano (G930L) -> draws a continuous line

• Between the two, Huion is the clear winner with its lower IAF.

Pointer lag

Both Huion and XP-pen models tested exhibit the typical pointer lag present with all pen displays. The lag is comparable to the Wacom One pen display (DTC-133).

Manufacturers don't publish lag numbers. So, this is subjective:

• The Huion has about the same amount of lag as the Wacom One

• The XP-Pen model has a bit more more lag than the Huion model

Both tables can be successfully used for creative applications. But Huion is the winner here over the XP-Pen model.

Parallax

Thanks to their laminated displays both have very good parallax. They match that of Wacom One.

Below is a parallax photo for several pen tablet models. The XP-Pen parallax similar to the picture of the Wacom One and Huion model in the photo.

Connecting with a 3 in 1 cable

Both tablets come with a 3-in-1 cable.

The end that goes into the tablet is USB-C.

The other 3 ends are:

• HDMI - connect to computer

• USB-A for data - connect to computer

• USB-A for power - this cable is colored red.

  • if your computer can provide enough power you can plug the cable into the computer

  • Or you can connect to a USB power adapter. Neither tablet comes with a USB power adapter.

Connecting with one USB-C cable

For both tablets, I was able to use a single USB-C cable to connect them to the computer. More here: Connecting a pen display with one USB-C cable

Overview

As of June 2024, there are three 22" pen displays to consider buying. All three are acceptable choices depending on your budget.

• Wacom Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227)

  • If you want the same Wacom drawing quality but are willing to use an older device consider the Wacom Cintiq 22 (DTK-2260).

• XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus (MD220FH)

• Huion Kamvas 22 Plus (GS2202) -

Ranking

Note: I personally own all three of these tablets

• #1 Wacom Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227)

• #2 XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus (MD220FH)

• #3 Huion Kamvas 22 Plus (GS2202)

The Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-227) is the clear winner on almost every level. However it is expensive.

If the Cintiq Pro 22 is out of your price range I would pick the Artist 22 Plus over the Kamvas 22 Plus. but to it having a better pen than the Huion and simpler cabling.

Display specs

Pens

• The Pro Pen 3 is clearly the superior pen.

• The X3 Pro pen is a big improvement from previous generations of XP-Pen pens. The X3 Pro pen is also better than the Huion PW517 pen.

Pixelation

• Cintiq Pro 22 - very hard to notice pixels

• The Artist 22 Plus - pixelation obvious

• Kamvas 22 Plus - pixelation obvious

Noise

• Cintiq Pro 22 - SOME NOISE - has a fan that is constantly on. It's not loud but it is audible and could be an irritation for some people.

• The Artist 22 Plus - SILENT

• Kamvas 22 Plus - SILENT

Diagonal wobble

• Cintiq Pro 22 - EXCELLENT

• XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus - EXCELLENT

• Huion Kamvas 22 Plus - EXCELLENT

Tilt compensation

• Cintiq Pro 22 - VERY GOOD

• XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus - VERY GOOD

• Huion Kamvas 22 Plus - I didn't measure yet

Edge and corner accuracy

• Cintiq Pro 22 - EXCELLENT

• XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus - EXCELLENT

• Huion Kamvas 22 Plus - OK-ISH

Pointer lag

• Cintiq Pro 22 - TYPICAL for a pen display. When using 120Hz visual effect of lag only slightly improves (maybe 10%).

• XP-Pen Artist 22 Plus - TYPICAL for a pen display

• Huion Kamvas 22 Plus - TYPICAL for a pen display

Notes on 3-in-1 cable

The Kamvas 22 Plus uses a proprietary 3-in-1 cable. And now matter how you try to conenct it, this 3-in-1 cable must be used.

Overview

Large pen tablets have an active area diagonal size of about 15".

Key considerations

Using a large tablet is very different from using a medium size tablet. There are many things you have to adjust to. More here: Using large pen tablets

Large tablets in market as of May 2024

• Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860) - my notes on this tablet

• XP-Pen Deco Pro XLW (MT1592B) - my notes of this tablet

• Huion Giano (G930L) - my notes on this tablet

Ranking

In terms of drawing performance the best of the three is the Intuos Pro Large (PTH-860).

Second is the XP-Pen Deco Pro XLW GEN2 (MT1592B). The things to note about this tablet is the excellent design and vastly improved pressure handling coming from its X3 Pro pen.

Third, the Huion Giano overall is very good. It's a very close third to the XP Pen Deco Pro XLW GEN2 because the PW517 pen does not handle pressure (smaller pressure range for example) as well as the X3 Pro pen.

Basics

Product pages

• Intuos Pro Large - https://estore.wacom.com/en-us/tablets.html#wacom-intuos-pro-link-anchor

• Deco Pro XLW GEN2 - https://www.xp-pen.com/product/deco-pro-gen-2-series.html

• Huion G930L - https://www.huion.com/products/pen_tablet/InspiroyPro/inspiroy-giano.html

Active Areas

None of these tablets have an exact 16:9 (1.78) aspect ratio.

So, you should ensure you match aspect ratios with your monitor before you start drawing.

Pen pressure range info

The Wacom Pro Pen 2 is the clear winner, but the XP-Pen X3 Pro is good. The Huion PW517 is just OK.

In my experience I see that the PW517 units vary quite a bit in their maximum pressure. The average of my tests is about 200gf.

Considerations

Tablet age - don't let the fact that the Intuos Pro Large was released in 2017 dissuade you. It's still better than the most recent tablets put out by the competition

Pen replacement cost - Keep in mind the Pro Pen 2 is very expensive ay $80. It's a significant cost if you need to replace it. The PW517 is $50 and the X3 Pro is $40.

Nib wear - the Intuos Pro comes with a surface that (at least initially) has a lot of texture and can wear down nibs fast.

Wireless - All three support Bluetooth wireless connectivity

Touch - only the Intuos Pro supports touch.

Auxiliary inputs

• Intuos Pro Large - 8 total buttons

• Deco Pro XLW GEN2 - no buttons

• Giano G930L - 6 buttons

Remotes

• Intuos Pro Large - no remote

• Deco Pro XLW GEN2 - comes with remote

• Giano G930L - no remote

Diagonal wobble

• Intuos Pro Large - Low (good)

• Deco Pro XLW GEN2 - some wobble at slow speeds OK

• Giano G930L - Low (good)