Review: GAOMON PD1561 pen display

Review unit provided by Gaomon

The Gaomon PD1561 is a 15.6-inch FHD pen display with stylus support for tilt and 8K pressure sensitivity. I did a search online and it seems this pen display was released in 2019.

Price of this at the time of review on Gaomon's online store is USD 250.

Video review

Bottom line

The pen performance is excellent. Display has good colour support (measured 100% sRGB) but visual quality is affected by the matte screen protector can look washed out in a bright environment due to the anti-glare. The matte screen protector is also quite susceptible to scratches, or maybe it's just me who's too careless. Measured brightness is a low 117 nits which means this display is best used with curtains in your room.

Specifications

• Panel type: IPS Panel
• Size: 15.6 inches
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9)
• Color Gamut:100% sRGB, 72% NTSC
• Display Colors: 262K (6bit)
• Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
• Brightness: 220cd/m²
• Viewing Angle: 89° horizontal / 89° vertical
• Working Area: 34.4 x 19.35 cm
• Response Time: 25 ms
• Accuracy: ±0.5mm (center); ±3mm (corners)
• Resolution: 5080 LPI
• Report Rate: 266 PPS
• Pen: Gaomon Artpaint AP50
• Pressure Sensitivity: 8192 levels
• Tilt Support: ±60°
• Press Keys: 10 programmable press keys
• Interface: HDMI/DC/USB
• OS Compatibility: Windows 7 or above / macOS 10.12 or above
• Dimensions: 45.24 cm x 25.2 cm x 1.95 cm
• Weight: 1.583kg

Things included

• Pen Display PD1561
• Digital Pen AP50
• 3-to-2 Cable
• Adjustable stand with screws and screw driver
• Glove
• Pen holder
• Replacement pen nibs
• 12W power adapter
• Quick start guide

That's the Gaomon AP50 pen that supports tilt and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. The pen is not powered by battery so no charging is required.

The pen has a silicone grip which attracts dust too easily. The two side buttons are customisable. There's no eraser button. The pen tip has slight movement when in contact with the drawing surface.

8 replacement pen tips are located in the pen stand. Nib remover is underneath the pen stand.

There's a big felt sleeve for storing the pen display.

Installation of the included stand onto the 7.5 x 7.5cm VESA mount is quite straightforward. Just make sure the latch is at the top so that your hands can reach the back. It is possible install the stand upside down for left handed users so that the hotkeys are on the right.

There's only rubber grip on the two feet of the stand. When the stand is low, the pen display is on top of the stand and there isn't much grip on the table, so you may want to buy some rubber bumpers to paste where they are needed.

Design

Design of the pen display looks alright. Build quality is solid enough even though the body's made with plastic.

10 customisable hotkeys are located by the side.

The pen display comes with a screen protector already applied. The screen protector is more on the glossy than matte side but it does provide subtle tactile experience while drawing.

The photo above was taken in a bright room and the anti-glare can be glaring due to the diffused reflection. The diffused reflection will affect contrast and cause the visuals to look washed out. Ideally, you'll want to avoid having reflections on the display, so it's best to use curtains or not have the display face any light source.

The screen protector seems to be susceptible to scratches. I already have four scratches within the first week. But that could be because I'm careless to place the display facing the table while installing the stand. You may want to put it on the felt sleeve case.

The side ports are for USB-C and mini HDMI. See how the ports are recessed into the body? That means cable connection will be very secure but it also means when you need a replacement cable, you have to buy it from Gaomon.

This pen display does not support USB-C video connection so you will have to use HDMI. The 3-to-2 cable also has to be connected to the 12W charger.

I'm using the Gaomon pen display with a 4K display by the side and there was some UI scaling (above) and colour calibration issues for the Gaomon. For colour calibration, I had to disable my 4K display first, and then enable both displays. For UI scaling, I had to test different HiDPI settings when looking at the properties (right click) of the app.

I measured colour support for 100% sRGB, 81% NTSC, 83% AdobeRGB, 92% P3 and a maximum brightness of 117 nits out of the advertised 220 nits. Even though the colour support is good, the overall visual quality is affected by the matte screen protector and low brightness.

The display is laminated so there's almost no gap between the line and pen tip. However the glass does have some thickness that contributes to the gap, which is not really an issue after pen calibration.

Driver

I've only tested the Windows driver version 16.1.0.111. There are also drivers for MacOS and Linux.

You can create keyboard shortcuts for the hotkeys or choose from the pre-programmed shortcuts.

Mapping can be left as default. If there's cursor misalignment, you can calibrate the display and pen here with Screen Calibration.

The pen side buttons can be customised. I've Switch Display set to one button and it works well.

The Windows driver works fine.

Line tests

Line tests below were created with Medibang Paint Pro.

1. Initial activation force is low so thin lines can be drawn easily even with a thick brush selected. There's minimal diagonal line wobble or jitter.

2. Lines are able to taper quite smoothly and sharply.

3. Line transition from thin to thick and back is smooth. This is also a diagonal line and diagonal line wobble and jitter is not that noticeable.

4. Line width can be maintained consistently by applying consistent pressure.

5. Dots can be drawn easily.

6. I was able to join separate lines without gaps and lines overshooting. Cursor misalignment is not an issue, and cursor tracking is quite accurate even at the edge of the display.

This is a sensitive and accurate pen. The pen performance is consistent, predictable and definitely good enough for creating professional art.

Drawing experience

This is a simple sketch drawn with Medibang Paint Pro. I did not encounter any issues and the workflow is smooth.

The 15.6-inch is a good size to work with. You can have tools and palettes by the side and still have a good amount of space to work with.

I was able to get the lines to come out exactly the way I expect them to. The pen is sensitive and can draw thin and thick expressive lines easily. You can also draw with a light touch for quick sketches.

Latency performance is actually better than I expected. The company listed 25ms response time but it definitely felt faster than that. There is latency but latency is not really an issue I would be concerned with or think about while drawing.

Conclusion

You can expect excellent pen performance with the Gaomon PD1561. While the colour support is good, visual quality unfortunately is affected by the anti-glare of the matte screen protector and low brightness, so this pen display is best used in a room that's not too bright.

This pen display was released in 2019 which is almost 5 years ago. It's difficult for this to compete with other newer pen displays in the market. Having said that, Gaomon has also released newer pen displays that you can check out from their online store.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Good size to work with for drawing
+ 10 customisable hotkeys
+ Has drivers for Windows, MacOS, Linux
+ Excellent pen performance
+ Stand included
- Matte screen protector can be scratched
- No rubber feet beneath the pen display
- Matte screen protector affects visual quality of the display
- Low display brightness
- No USB-C video support

Availability

The Gaomon PD1561 pen display is available from Gaomon online store, Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | JP

If you're interested to buy this pen display, consider using the affiliate links that I have above to support my blog. I get to earn some commission but at no extra cost to you, and your support allows me to put out more reviews like the one you've just read.