Huion GT-190 review: affordable drawing monitor (Kamvas GT-190)
This Huion GT-190 review looks at this cheap drawing monitor Wacom Cintiq alternative in detail. The Huion Kamvas GT-190 is the same tablet.
Type of tablet: tablet monitor with screen, attaches to Mac or Windows computer.
Features
Display 19″
2048 levels
16:10 aspect ratio
1440 x 900
250cd/m2
5080 LPI
14.6 lbs.
17.8 x 12 x 2.4 inches
What’s in the box
Huion GT-190 Tablet Monitor
Two Pens
Pen holder (8 pen tips included)
Pen Charger
VGA Cable
Power Adapter and Cable
USB Cable
Artist Glove
Opening the Huion package, it looks like most of the affordable tablet monitors I’ve reviewed before. It’s got a solid metal build, comes with some nice accessories, and comes with a stand. The box is printed, and everything came safely packed. The accessories are sealed in plastic, and there are two pens. This one has a built-in screen protector, so it doesn’t come with a separate one. Gearbest sent me this unit for this Huion GT-190 review.
This stand arrived detached from the tablet, which is unusual; it needs to be attached. Huion thought ahead and included a Philips head screwdriver.
It comes with a VGA cable, two pens with charging cables, pen stand that holds nibs, a cleaning cloth, CD with driver, and booklet. It doesn’t come with adapters for Lightning or HDMI ports.
You charge the pen via your computer’s USB port. Charging takes about an hour. The LED light is red while charging. The pen is batteryless and lightweight. It’s thick but comfortable to hold. It’s a standard pen for this type of tablet. I’m glad it comes with two pens, since you can charge one from your USB port to use when the other one runs low.
It installed great on my Mac. With Windows, I had trouble opening the latest version. But an earlier one, the one right before the latest one installed fine and has the same functionality as the Mac. Huion told me this does not usually happen, and I haven’t seen it reported in other Huion GT-190 reviews or articles.
There’s less squeak on this one than on some, I guess because of the screen protector. The screen is not very slippery, nor is it overly reflective.
As with other similar Cintiq alternatives, the driver does only basic functions (if you’re eagled-eyed, you can spot the typo on the driver screen). You can program the pen buttons with shortcuts.
Ports
The ports are under a panel in the back, which is more awkward than if they were on top, as they are in the XP-Pen Artist 22E. The cords are secure, they won’t fall out.
The tablet is sturdy with a good, standard range of positions with the stand. The screen protector and screen offer a pleasant drawing experience. I do wish I could press less hard.
Adapters needed
The most unusual thing about the Huion Kamvas GT-190 that this comes with only a VGA/DVI port, something you don’t see much anymore. Most newer tablets have HDMI ports. If you’ve got an older computer, you’ve got it made, but if your computer is newer you’re going to need adapters. For Mac you need a VGA to Lightning adapter, and for Windows you will need an HDMI to VGA adapter.
FOR PC
The inexpensive ones I used worked fine. For my PC I used the Vic Tsing Gold-Plate HDMI to VGA for PC (VS1-VC38BVT-VD)
FOR MAC
I used the Vic Tsing Gold-Plated Thunderbolt Mini Display Port to VGA Male to Female adapter for Mac.
You can use other brands too, of course but these did the job.
Color
The color seems to change with different viewing angles. Sitting right in front of it, the color is bright and clear. It’s adjustable using the controls on the outside of the monitor.
Resolution
The screen isn’t high res. Since the screen is large, I don’t find it to be that much of an issue, since I’m sitting near it and mostly looking at parts of drawings close up. Still, it’s lower than HD. It’s the same resolution of the MacBook Air. The color is adjustable via the driver, like most of the tablets of its type.
Drawing on the Huion Kamvas GT-190
The EMR digitizer is sensitive and springy, similar to Huion graphics tablets, and pressure sensitivity works well, offering a thin to a thick line without blobbing or skips. Make sure the pen is fully charged; if it isn’t, you’re in for some blobbing and skips, but once charged, it works well. I had to press down fairly hard to get a steady line even after adjusting settings.
Drawing programs
Photoshop, Gimp, and Sketchbook Pro all work very well in Mac and Windows. Gimp on Mac was hiccuping so I couldn’t test each feature that fully (am not sure if it’s due to the driver or Gimp itself), but the other programs worked fine with line and opacity pressure. (Haven’t tested Windows Gimp yet).
There’s a slight parallax but that’s to be expected due to the thickness of the screen. Calibration works out of the box. As expected, there’s no pressure sensitivity in Illustrator or Inkscape, nor would I expect there to be, so again, to get vector art with pressure you have to use Manga Studio, which doesn’t let you export to vector, so you have to keep it as a native file type.
Pros
Affordable
good pressure sensitivity
pleasant surface
comes with two pens
comes with a screwdriver for the stand
Cons
VGA port only, leading to needing adapters
driver is limited in function; had installation issues in Windows 10 (used the slightly older version which was OK)
viewing angles not great
Not high-resolution
Huion GT-190 review verdict
All in all, the Huion Kamvas GT-190 is a decent drawing tablet monitor comparable to other affordables. The pressure sensitivity works well across drawing programs, which is the main thing. It’s best for beginners, students, and artists who don’t want to spend a lot. The VGA adapter is likely to put off some people, since they will need adapters (or older computers). I guess between the VGA and the low resolution, this probably wouldn’t be my first choice. But If you get one for a good price then go for it.
GearBest sent me this to review and you can see it on their site here.
See it on Amazon (they currently have the GT-191).