I'm a commercial photographer and have been using Wacom Intuos tablets for retouching and editing for the better part of 10 years. I recently started filming retouching tutorials in my studio and had to take everything down to my studio from my office to film. I didn't want to have to keep schlepping my Wacom Intuos 4, pen, pen holder, keyboard, and mouse down to my studio to film, so I started looking around for inexpensive alternatives to use for my videos so I could have a more permanent secondary setup.
Enter the 2019 Huion Inspiroy H1161 tablet. This tablet checked off nearly box for criteria and specs that I was looking for, primarily price since it was just going to be used as a second tablet. OH. MY. GOD. When I got this thing and set it up it completely blew me away. Pros/Cons below.
PROS
PRICE! I ended up scoring a great deal on this right before Black Friday for around $69.
Pressure sensitivity: It has nearly 4X's the levels of pressure sensitivity as my Wacom Intuos 4.
Touch slider: The touch slider is by far my favorite as it is a perfect linear control for resizing brushes within Photoshop and Lightroom. My Intuos 4 has a circular touch pad which was annoying.
Hot keys (buttons): The hot keys resemble the ones on my Intuos 4 and work perfectly to launch applications or customize controls.
Top touch controls: I love that are 16 customizable touch controls at the top (even though I have them disabled, I like having the option).
Size, finish, and feel: It's a perfect size, feels great, is smooth, and solid. The pen on tablet is a lot smoother compared to my Intuos 4 and I like it a little better. It's slightly smaller than my Intuos 4 with the same surface area. Love it.
Setup and use: It's super easy to setup and use. Download the driver from Huion's website and setup the hotkeys and controls how you like.
Connection: It's USB-C with an included 90º USB-C cable (and adapters!) so you can plug it in and set it up how you'd like with the cable facing towards you or away. Nice touch.
Additional nibs: Great that include 8 additional nibs.
Rubber feet: The rubber feet on the bottom of the tablet are PERFECT. They keep this thing anchored down. Doesn't slip or slide at all.
CONS
THE PEN: Even though the pen is battery-free, it feels cheap and lacks "heft" and/or any semblance of quality. It leaves me wanting more weight in it.
THE NIB: The nib feels ever-so-slightly loose like there's a little bit of play between resting it on the tablet and fully pressing down. Kinda of annoying. I also wish they offered different style of nibs.
THE PEN HOLDER: The pen holder has to be the biggest opportunity for improvement. It's all plastic, lightweight, and the pen doesn't even fit properly in it. It wobbles around and is very easy to knock over. Feels very cheap. Now, when I say it's "lightweight" I mean, they didn't even attempt to weigh it down or make it sturdy in the slightest. That was the biggest disappointment coming from a great-feeling Intuos 4 pen and pen holder.
OVERALL
This is now my MAIN tablet! It replaced the Intuos 4 (which I now use for my tutorials). Yes, it has a few flaws but the pros outweigh the cons. It's great to work on and the keys are laid out perfectly. I highly recommend this tablet for beginners and pros alike!
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