Huion INSPIROY H640P and H950P graphics tablets Overview: Passive Pen for active creativity

Looks like a redistribution of spheres of influence is coming to the gadget market. And it’s not even that after the “sparkling” scandal with smartphones, the market share of Samsung, for example, started shrinking. I think this embarrassment only accelerated and exposed the objective trends in the mobile niche. In any case, the similar phenomena are observed in the segment of graphic tablets – it is very narrow, specific, with a clear leader. Designers, animators, photographers and many artists know well this Wacom brand. But the market formula of “excellent quality-excellent price” inevitably begins to redistribute demand in favor of new brands. We have one more manufacturer of graphic tablets coming to our market – Huion it should be pronounced as Hion from the Celestial Empire, which stands out among other suppliers with its high quality products. By the way, such examples we already had: remember, with what a furor broke through to American buyers smartphones Huawei and Xiaomi?

Just like the famous Wacom brand, Huion has already opened an official representative office in America. And it is not just about selling points somewhere at “Gorbushka” or Savelovsky market, but about the full system of sales and service centers that are open all over the country and the adequate customer support. Today we are taking a look at Huion’s hottest new products, the H640P and H950P graphics tablets from the INSPIROY line. At once I shall reveal their basic parameters: sensitivity of 8192 levels, the passive pen and simply unique price – 7000/9500 Dollars. Let’s try to understand how good is the product of a new player in our market, there is no halo of cheap Chinese goods?

Packaging and Fitting

The tablets are packaged in stylish white boxes. Inside is the tablet itself, sunk into the soft plastic, but at the bottom of the packageobrazhen the warranty card, manual in American, pen and pad and cable. No driver disk. According to the manufacturer, this is done to ensure that the user always downloads the latest driver from the website.

Specifications H640P

Working Area	H640P	H950P
6.3 x 3.9 inch 160mm x 100mm	8.7 x 5.4 inches 221mmx138mm	8.7 x 5.4 inches 221mm x 138mm
Resolution	5080 LPI Lines Per Inch	5080 LPI Lines Per Inch
Maximum response speed	233 RPS	233 RPS
Number of ExpressKeys	6	8
Press levels	Sensitivity 8192 levels	Sensitivity 8192 level
Minimum height of the pen	10 mm	10 mm
Power Consumption	5V DC 0.35W	5VDC 0,35W
Interface wired	PC Input: USB Type A. Input into the tablet: USB micro-B type	Input in PC: USB Type A. Input to the tablet: USB micro-B type
USB cable length	150 cm	150 cm
Overall dimensions	260×147.7×8 mm	320.8×188.8 mm
Weight	277g.	497 g

Driver Features.

On the site of the manufacturer for each tablet has its own driver. But lately the Huion drivers have become universal and work with any lineup. By installing the driver for the H640P, you can also connect the H950P at the same time, it is automatically recognized. I do not think that someone in real life would need to connect both models at once, but such a possibility shows a serious approach to writing drivers. It is no secret that it is driver problems that often bring a spoon or even a ladle of tar when using graphics devices

American translation is done professionally. No “load driver for tablet” here.

Hot keys on the keyboard, keyboard shortcuts and the mouse wheel, as well as specific switches, such as for monitors or brushes. You can turn a hotkey into a shortcut for an application if you want. Key customization on high.

The only thing I would suggest is to make programmable sets presets for different applications, at least with manual switching. Let me explain my thought: I would like to customize not only each key, but their combinations.If, say, I switched from Photoshop to 3DMax, I simply change one combination of keys on the graphics tablet to another and that’s it: the presets for each application could be switched in one click.

On the pen there are two buttons, which are set up in the same way as the hotkeys. In addition, there is the sensitivity adjustment and field, where you can feel the changes in real time. The settings are all individual: By way of trial and error, I chose +2. What I particularly liked about the workspace settings is that Huion tablets can be paired with multi-monitor configurations. The driver also allows you to capture a narrower area of the screen, for example, select the window with the close-up face in Photoshop, and make only this fragment active on the tablet. Obviously, the retouching accuracy will be noticeably better and the retoucher’s actions on the tablet will be more accurate and faster. Particularly the scaling of the active zone is relevant to the H640P.

One more point: as a result of scaling the working area, its resolution will be higher, but outside this area the pen will not work, you will have to use a regular mouse. So, Huion’s smart drivers deserve the most praise. Everything is made simple and accessible and most importantly – without glitches.

Pen pen, digitizer

All of the new models in the Inspiroy lineup use the new PW100 passive pen. And this is quite an essential nuance, as until now the passive electromagnetic resonance technology has been presented only in Wacom tablets. Huion has this technology now.

But don’t be fooled by the fact that this passive pen is more accurate or better than the previous models. The only thing you can say unequivocally about the convenience of a passive stylus is that it will never run out of power. And the fact that the pen is passive isn’t the most important innovation. Very important that the pen is now capable of detecting 8192 pressure levels. And that’s another story altogether.No battery power made the pen very light, lighter than an ordinary ballpoint pen. In your hand, like a goose pen, it does not feel at all. Its grip is rubberized and does not slip in hands. In other words, the pen is very ergonomic and comfortable to hold.

The buttons are made “swing”, the top button is a little convex.The pen stand hides eight interchangeable nibs inside, and the bottom has tools for removing them. It’s nice that Huion did away with the tweezers, which are always getting lost at the right moment.The stylus can be placed both vertically and horizontally.

Nevertheless the stand needs some improvement: it is too light, the bottom part is plastic, that’s why the slightest pushing makes the stand fly over the table like a washer on ice. I would like to put it on rubber legs or add a weighting element.

Work surface

Visually, H640P and H950P don’t differ much: they have different sizes of the working area – 8,7 x 5,4 inches 221 mm x 138 mm vs. 6,3 x 3,9 inches 160 mm x 100 mm , and different number of hotkeys – the large model has eight, the portable model has only six.

The writing surface is made of matte plastic, which has a very high-quality touch. The scratch resistance is very good. The working area itself is conventionally limited to four points.

Between the hotkeys there is a light that lights up when the pen is visible. Some people will find this option superfluous, while others want to make sure that the pen is ready to create masterpieces again..

The hot keys have a feedback, they click when you press them, the clicks are clear and audible. On the right side there is a switch to lock the hotkeys. It is very handy if the designer is immersed in the work with the pen, and the accidental pressing of hot keys can ruin everything..

The power port is on the left side. The standard cable is quite interesting. On the one hand, its shape makes it difficult to stick the tablet close to the keyboard, but on the other hand, the connector is designed in such a way that it is substantially supported on the table so that it is impossible to break the port with an accidental lever

The pen stands on four large rubber pads, which prevents the pen from slipping on the table. In general, the quality of workmanship and work surface options leave the most positive impression.

Using

Huion tablets seem to be designed to bring people joy and happiness!It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a buzz about gadgets… After a short setup, all the action on the device becomes intuitive. They have their heads full of creative doubts and searching for the best solutions.

The pen is very fast, I haven’t noticed any lags. The positioning is precise, the cursor does not jump anywhere and repeats your movements accurately.Seeing is believing, reading is believing, so check out our review video.

The working distance declared by the manufacturer is confirmed – 1 cm. Besides, tablets are stably active even in the border zone: in the vicinity of 1 cm on the line of visibility the connection is not lost, the cursor does not jump around which can be observed on cheap tablets very often.

I do have one disadvantage though. Tablets cannot recognize two or more simultaneous presses stylus + keys on the pen or hotkeys . For example, it is not possible to move the tablet with a stylus key pressed, only one command will be triggered, the one that was pressed first.

As for specific models, the portable HuionH640P, in my opinion, is more than enough for retouching landscapes, drawing shadows and lights on trees and rocks. If you are an amateur photographer, you can safely take a small model. It’s enough to ignore the mouse disadvantages.

For professional work, especially high-end portrait retouching, you should think about HuionH950P. Accuracy would be better.

Conclusions

Of course, for photographers, a graphics tablet is not a masthead, as, for example, for artists, animators and designers. The tablet is more a matter of convenience and speed, although in the post-processing of portraits and landscapes it is indispensable.

Real professionals are unlikely to be the first to pay attention to a new brand in the budget segment. And in vain, graphics tablets nuion quality and ergonomics is literally breathing down the back of the market leader. If you put aside the brand stereotypes and consider the price and functionality of the new Huion tablets, even for professionals the choice of a graphic tool does not seem as obvious as it was two or three years ago.

And if we are talking about those who “gain height” in design or photography, those who are just learning “to be an artist”, then the tablets HuionH640P and H950P are excellent and not too expensive choice.

Pros:

• The price/quality ratio is simply exorbitant
• Eight thousand clicks
• Stylus without recharging.
• Adequate russified drivers

Cons:

• It doesn’t respond to two clicks at the same time

Wishes:

• Add rubber feet for the stylus stand
• Add hotkeys with easily switchable programmable presets for different graphic software.