Review: Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Pen Display (1440P + 100% sRGB)
The Huion Kamvas Pro 24 is the largest pen display with the highest resolution from Huion, and it's the most expensive one too, at US $899. The main selling points are the 2560 x 1440 resolution, 120% sRGB colour support and the matte laminated glass display. This is their first pen display with 1440P resolution and that by itself is a significant upgrade.
Few disclaimers first. This is a review unit provided by Huion and I do not need to return it. I'm not paid for the review. And I've featured many Huion products on my blog and Youtube channel for years.
In case you don't know, a pen display is a monitor that you can draw on, and you need to connect it to a computer for it to work. This supports Windows and Mac.
The box is massive.
Everything's well packed inside.
The pen display came in a huge zipped bag. The stand has to be fixed on by yourself.
These are all the items included.
Here are the micro-fiber cleaning cloth, artist glove, quick start guide, a card with links to where you can download the driver, and a thank you card with details on how to contact Huion support.
Power brick and cable. You get to choose the which plug if you're getting from Huion's online store.
The pen display supports DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA
The cables included are HDMI and VGA. Huion's website listed HDMI cable as an included item but not the VGA cable. I've emailed Huion support and they said VGA cable is indeed included but DisplayPort cable is not.
USB data cable to connect to the computer so that the pen can be recognised.
The stand, four screws, and an allen key screwdriver.
Pen and stand
Build quality of the pen is solid. Design looks nice and feels good to hold with its large rubber grip.
The pen supports tilt sensitivity and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. The two side buttons have nice feedback and can be customised to various mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts.
The pen stand allows the pen to rest vertically and horizontally.
Unscrew the pen stand and you'll see 10 replacement nibs and the nib remover.
This pen display looks even larger on this 80cm table. You will definitely need to set aside a good amount of table space for this pen display because you'll need space in front for the keyboard, and behind for the stand which extends backwards.
That's the protective film for the matte surface glass.
There are plenty of vents on the back.
Buttons for the OSD are on the top right.
The display can be VESA mounted. Dimensions for the holes are 10 x 10cm and 7.5 x 7.5m. The display weighs 6kg.
The ports from left to right: full size DisplayPort, full size HDMI, VGA, power, USB
It's strange to include VGA when most computer released in the recent years don't even come with VGA. USB-C would have been significantly more useful.
The stand is easy to screw on. Just make sure the latch is at the top where you can reach with your hand.
It's a stable stand with rubber feet. Together with the hefty pen display, there's minimal wobble when drawing.
That's the highest position which isn't completely vertical.
At the lowest position, the rubber feet and metal part of the stand will be in contact with the table. At this position, there's slight wobble if you draw on the display.
It's only at this angle where the rubber feet of the stand and display will all touch the table.
This pen display features 20 physical customisable shortcut buttons, 10 on each side. The pen display design is symmetrical so it doesn't matter if you're left handed.
The buttons work well, and they have indents so it's difficult to press the wrong buttons. The button feedback could more firm though as they are a slightly loose.
There are two touch stripes, one on each side. Swiping up and down can be customised to keyboard shortcuts. I personally prefer dials because you can change settings easily by turning the dial round and round. Anyway, the touch strip works so it's just a matter of getting used to it. It's intuitive if you think about it, swipe up to increase, and swipe down to decrease.
Here I've connected the pen display to my Macbook Pro using my own DisplayPort cable. I could use the HDMI cable provided but the HDMI port on the MBP is on the other side. Anyway, the cables Huion has provided are 1.5m long which are quite long.
Colours of the display look good out of the box.
I've colour calibrated the display to match my laptop and measured 99% sRGB, 81% AdobeRGB, 84% P3 and 76% NTSC. Huion's marketing claimed 120% sRGB support but my Spyder5Pro colour calibrator can't measure beyond 100% sRGB. I was surprised though that the 120% sRGB did not translate to higher AdobeRGB support.
The point is the pen display has reasonably good colour accuracy.
I measured 158 nits maximum brightness which was lower than the claimed 220 nits. It's sufficient brightness for use even in a well lit room but I wished it could be higher.
Viewing angles are good. Colours don't shift much when viewed from the side. The brightness was sufficient to go through the anti-glare as long as there isn't much white glare.
When viewing directly from the front, glare or anti-glare isn't much of an issue unless your monitor is just beside a window.
The design looks good. It's a clean and simple design. Build quality is solid.
The 2560 x 1440 resolution is a significant upgrade over 1080P. Everything looks sharper and detailed because of the extra resolution. Pixelation is still noticeable if you look close but not as obvious compared to a 1080P display. The 1440P resolution is the main reason why one would consider getting this display. If you don't mind 1080P, Huion has so many other pen displays running that resolution at much lower prices.
Pixelation is very obvious on 1080P displays, and it even looks a bit blurry.
This display is a laminated display which means there shouldn't be any gap between the glass the and LCD beneath. However if you look close enough, there is actually a gap between the line/cursor and the pen tip. It could be a gap or it could be the thickness of the glass. Anyway, if you look for the gap, you'll see it. When working from one or half arm distance away, lines will appear as if they are coming out from directly beneath the pen tip.
In the photo above, I've calibrated the pen and display to show you what you can expect to see when you're drawing.
This is a huge display to draw on. It's great for unrestricted large movement when drawing. The higher resolution allows you to put more palette on the desktop, and still have enough canvas area to draw on.
The display also does not produce much heat so you can work comfortably for long periods of time with the palm resting on the surface.
You can adjust gamma, brightness, contrast, hue and saturation from the OSD. Colour temperature is just warm, cool and USER (which goes into RGB adjustments).
Driver
Driver functionality for Mac and Windows is similar except there's the Windows Ink feature which you may have to turn on or off if pressure is not working as expected.
I've tested both Mac and Windows driver and did not experience any glitches.
This is where you can customise the 20 physical shortcut buttons and the two touch stripes. That's a lot of buttons!
You can customise the buttons to any keyboard shortcut and mouse clicks.
If you use multiple monitors, there's Display Switch which allows you to move the cursor from one display to another. With Windows, the functionality of Switch Display doesn't work exactly as I expected though. When you have two displays and you activate the shortcut, you can control the cursor across both displays (just like how you would use a mouse across multiple displays), and when you activate it again, you can control the cursor on the other display, and activate it third time, the cursor returns to the main display.
Other companies have Display Switch to work on either one or the other display, not both.
Switch Display works fine on Mac.
Pressure curve can be adjusted manually for more precise adjustment.
Mapping by default is to the whole desktop. If there's parallax or the cursor strays away from the pen tip, you can calibrate the pen and display to make sure the cursor appears directly beneath the pen tip.
Drawing performance
Drawing performance is fantastic.
Lines are able to taper nice and gradually.
Line transition from thin to thick is smooth. Pressure sensitivity works great.
The pen is also able to maintain consistent pressure for a consistent line thickness.
Initial activation force is minimal however I do have to apply slight pressure for better results. It can be difficult to control the thickness of the line when drawing with the lightest of pressure, and sometimes the line breaks.
The drawing experience is good with on both Mac and Windows with the various drawing software I've tested, namely Photoshop, Illustrator, Infinity Photo, Infinity Designer, Clip Studio Paint, Medibang Paint Pro and Krita.
Krita
Tilt sensitivity works well, but performance is a hit and miss when the pen is near the sides. It's not a dealbreaker unless you're someone who always draw with tilt brushes near the side edges of the display.
Conclusion
The main selling point of the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 is the display, more specifically the 99% sRGB colour support, 1440P resolution and the matte glass laminated display. This display is what stands out among all the other pen displays Huion is currently selling.
2560 x 1440 resolution makes things look sharper and you also get more desktop space for putting extra palettes without sacrificing canvas area to draw on.
The matte surface glass is good for those who hate scratches on screen protectors.
Main downside is the brightness which could be higher. I measured 158 nits which is sufficient but it would be nicer if it could go even higher.
Ultimately, the drawing experience is fantastic. Lines come out just the way I expect them to. Line quality is consistent and predictable.
Here are the prices of various pen displays from Huion at the time of this review:
- Kamvas Pro 24 - US $899
- Kamvas Pro 22 (2019) - $799 (review)
- Kamvas 22 (2020) - $399
- Kamvas 22 Plus (2020) - $499
- Kamvas Pro 20 (2019) - $699
- Kamvas Pro 16 - $469 (review)
- Kamvas 16 - $379 (review)
- Kamvas Pro 13 - $399
- Kamvas 13 - $239 (review)
- Kamvas Pro 12 - $349
The Huion Kamvas Pro 24 is certainly pricey. You can decide whether it's worth your money based on the performance and features I've described.
If you have limited budget, well, Huion now has a pen display at almost every price point except for under $200. That's quite amazing. You can see all the pen displays from Huion at https://store.huion.com/collections/pen-display
Pros and cons at a glance
+ Good design
+ Good build quality
+ 23.8-inch display is massive to draw on
+ 1440P resolution is a significant upgrade over 1080P
+ More resolution means visuals, user interface elements are sharper
+ More resolution means more desktop space
+ Good colour support at 99% sRGB
+ Matte drawing surface has nice texture to draw on
+ Laminated display with minimal gap between pen and cursor
+ Matte drawing surface is glass and not a screen protector
+ 10 replacement nibs included
+ Pen does not require charging
+ Pen supports tilt and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity
+ Initial activation force is minimal
+ Very good drawing performance
+ No major glitches with drawing software on both Mac and Windows
+ 20 customisable physical buttons + 2 touch stripes
+ Stand can be deployed at various angles
+ Can be VESA mounted
+ Does not produce much heat
- Brightness could be brighter
- When display is at flat position, it rests only on the stand and is not as stable
- Inclusion of VGA port not that useful
- No DisplayPort cable included
Availability
The Huion Kamvas Pro 24 is available on Amazon and Huion web store. Direct links (affiliate) below.
Huion web store | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp
Comments
Hello Teoh, since you have
Hello Teoh, since you have experienced both XP pen 24 pro and Huion kamvas pro 24 , what do you recommend in the drawing experience section of the two. the only thing making me choose is the etched glass of huion that doesnt need to be replaced like a screen protector but i dont mind the matte screen protector of xp pen as well, even though the huion is laminated based on your review they are still neck in neck in the almost no parallax part.
also there is a sale for xp pen which is 710$ vs the 899$ of huion so should i just go for the sale of xp pen or the 899 huion for just the etched glass? or any advantage huion for its price.. Thank you for your thoughts about this since i already have enough money to buy the tablet and want to be 100% sure of my purchase.
@Alexelle Lee
In reply to Hello Teoh, since you have by Alexelle Lee (not verified)
@Alexelle Lee
Ultimately it will depend on what you value.
Both have similar drawing performance.
For comparison purposes, the main selling point for Huion is the matte screen vs matte screen protector. Some people don't mind scratches, some mind.
For the XP-Pen it's the 298 nits brightness vs 158 nits. There's also USB-C which is useful especially if you have USB-C devices.
Personally for me, I don't mind scratches and I prefer the brighter display so I'll go with XP-Pen. I don't use many USB-C devices so that's a good-to-have but not a must-have.
Hello Teoh, thanks for the
Hello Teoh, thanks for the test! One question, how far can the brightness of the Huion24 / XPPEN24 be reduced? (minimum brightness)
@Steve
In reply to Hello Teoh, thanks for the by Steve (not verified)
@Steve
I did not measure the minimum brightness, but at 0% brightness, you can still make out what's on the screen easily when viewed in a brightly lit room. Looks like the type of 0% brightness you get with LCD or OLED phones but slightly brighter.
What I need is a function
What I need is a function only wacom has, for 3 or more displays or even just 2, switch to “all screens” so one click you can control all your screens as a mouse, in Mac this doesnt work as you say but au contraire, it only works one by one screen and it sumons “contextual menu” and if the preferences didnt understand that this is no active anymore.
Deivers are faulty as always, my second try with Huion and my second return to Wacom.
other click return to main tablet. This skip the hassle to change to mouse to control all the screens.
Only reason because I return my Kamvas 24.
Are there speckled artifacts
Are there speckled artifacts from the etched glass on this huion kamvas 24 pro?
@tehu
In reply to Are there speckled artifacts by tehu (not verified)
@tehu
Yes, almost all matte surface drawing display will have that speckled artifact, except for those matte surface LCD monitors.
Hello Teoh,
Hello Teoh,
I luv all your pen display reviews. I enjoyed the Huion kamvas 24 pro so much that I bought one. I really luv the graphics tablet but I underestimated the size and it seems kind of too big. I was wondering if maybe the kamvas 16 pro would be a better fit.
So I wanted to ask your take the following based on your testing of both tablets:
1) The kamvas pro 16 display resolution due to the smaller size would handles pixels just as sharp at 1080 compared to the kamvas pro 24… relative to lets say a photoshop horizontal work area of 11 inches by 8 inches.
2) With the kamvas 24 pro I don't use the full size of the cavas is photoshop, in fact maybe just half of it. Perhaps a smaller screen would be better. So based on your reviews of boths tablets what is your take drawing on each tablet size not consider… such as drawing strokes, display of pixels, color display?
I really would like a smaller display of the kamvas 16 pro but dont want to sacrifice much on the innovation of the kamvas 24 pro.
However, if they perform similar and the display is about the same (based on the lenght of a sheet of paper) and color are just as rich and vibrant then it will help with my decision of size vs confort.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Any information you can provide would be really really appreciated.
Best regard.
@omar
In reply to Hello Teoh, by omar (not verified)
@omar
Since you've already bought the Kamvas Pro 24, are you going to return or sell it?
Kamvas Pro 16 is definitely a more manageable size to work with. I find the size still comfortable to work with. 24 is definitely very spacious by comparison. Brightness is actually higher on the Kamvas Pro 16 compared to Pro 24.
You can see my full review at https://www.parkablogs.com/content/review-huion-kamvas-pro-16-pen-displ…
Actually the main selling point of the Kamvas Pro 24 is the extra resolution. 2560 x 1440 vs 1920 x 1080 is a very significant upgrade. The size increase is nice for those who need it, but the resolution increase is really the selling point.
I did return it. I checked
In reply to @omar by Teoh Yi Chie
I did return it. I checked your review on the 16 pro version and ordered that one.
The speckled artifact was way less pronounced and less distracting maybe my glasses has too much magnification and can see the pixels on the 24 pro. The 16 pro size was more manageable on my table in fact I just close my macbook pro and place the 16 pro on top of it and use a wireless keyboard. The 16 pro is brighter and almost matches the retina display from my mcbook pro when it comes to color and resolution display.
All in all, the 16 pro matches my especific work flow and eyes confort. Thanks to your great reviews I was able to find a tablet suited to my needs. Again, thank you so much :)
Hello!
Hello!
I recently bought this one. I try to connect it with my pc via displayport. I bought a generic cable, but the screen on Huion blinks. Do you know why is that? Maybe the cable is not compatible, or it's just a configuration error.
Or maybe the cable is broken and I have to ask for a refund xD
@Joaquín Ángel Ponce Vives
In reply to Hello! by Joaquín Ángel … (not verified)
@Joaquín Ángel Ponce Vives
Not sure why the DisplayPort for yours is not working. Have you tried the HDMI cable included?
It's difficult to know if it's the cable fault. If HDMI works, then it could the the DisplayPort cable.
Hello. I've been considering
Hello. I've been considering the Kamvas Pro 24 after waiting months for a new stock of the v.2019 Kamvas Pro 22 to arrive. My current tablet is the GT-221. So any new tablet would be an upgrade.
The issue I have with Huion's claims on 120% to 140% sRGB is what is hardware possible vs. graphics software. From my own experience with the GT-221 I could make it look like it's more than 100% sRGB on screen. But once I save an illustration with the sRGB profile it's desaturated on a properly calibrated sRGB PC screen. So I wonder if the Kamvas Pro 24 has overcome that hurdle some way. (I haven't tried saving any files in an AdobeRGB profile since I don't have any monitor that can view the difference.)
@BernieB
In reply to Hello. I've been considering by BernieB (not verified)
@BernieB
You'll also need to look at the file using a browser that can actually read the colour profile. Otherwise, the colours will still look different from your software.
The 120 or 140% sRGB is just for marketing purposes. The more useful number is the % of AdobeRGB support.
Hi,
Hi,
Thank you for all your help.
I have just purchased the Huion
Pro 24 . I have a 2015 MacBook Pro 13 inch Retina display with 2 thunderbolt , HDMI and 2 USB C ports.
Which is the best way to connect to get optimal performance from the Pro 24 ? Does it matter if it’s HDMI to HDMI port or would thunderbolt port to display port of the Huion be better ?
Also, how can I calibrate the colours for use with this Mackbool Prp ?
Thank You in advance.
Levent
@Levent
In reply to Hi, by Levent (not verified)
@Levent
There's no difference between USB-C and HDMI in terms of visual quality. The main thing to check, using System Profiler, to see if the 1440P is running at 60Hz.
Unless you have a colour calibrator, there's no way to colour calibrate the display accurate by eye. So I would recommend just leavin the Huion at its original settings.
Because when you colour calibrate, you also have to calibrate your MBP display so that the two displays can show the same colours.
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