Wacom Cintiq 22 vs Huion Kamvas 22 Plus Review & Comparison

If you’re not new to the digital art world, you’re probably already aware that drawing tablet with screen is a good tool for an artist.

These display tablets are unbelievably cool, allowing you to use a stylus and work directly on your artwork. Even traditional artists are surprised by how easy, nature, accurate and intuitive the process is for them.

Compared to sizes of 15.6-inch or smaller, the 22-inch gives you a physically larger drawing area that allows you to create more lengthy pen strokes and more comfortable arm movements as you draw.

If you are looking for a quality 22-inch pen display that has all the necessary drawing features you need while still being very economical, the Wacom Cintiq 22 and the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus are the two best and most popular choices.

One may be wondering which one of the two to get. For the most part, both devices are similar, like screen size, resolution and pressure sensitivity, but there are some differences here and there.

Keen on one or the other? We compared Wacom Cintiq 22 vs Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, divided all pros and cons of each model, describe all features to help you find the best device.

Brand Comparison: Wacom vs Huion

Wacom is the industry leader and standard. They have been producing high-quality drawing tablets for artists since its foundation in 1983.

If you weren’t worried about price, you’d want a wacom and you wouldn’t get remorse anyway because you’d own the best possible tablet.

On the other hand, Huion is a newcomer, founded on 2011. It is something of a market leader in terms of budget tablets, so there’s plenty to cover.

Huion tablets are certainly becoming more and more popular. They are typically much cheaper than an “equivalent” Wacom and – on paper, at least – do the same things.

Features Comparison: Wacom Cintiq 22 vs Huion Kamvas 22 Plus

For detailed information about Cintiq 22 and Kamvas 22 Plus, you can find below:

Build Quality and Design

Huion and Wacom both take quite a minimalist approach with the design of their tablets.

If we compare the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus and the Wacom Cintiq 22, we’ll see that both are mostly screen, without function buttons.

As for appearance, Both Tablets comes with a black plastic body, Build quality is solid and feels well made.

Both tablets also come with an adjustable stand that allows you to set it to your preferred height.

The Wacom stand offers angle adjustment from 16° to 82°, while the Huion stand provides angle adjustment of 20° to 80°.

In addition, With both devices, you can remove the stand to reveal a VESA mount, which gives you the option to mount an arm.

Both drawing tablets are big and bulky devices that are difficult to carry around.

But there is some significant difference in weight– the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus weighs 3.9kg including stand, while the Wacom Cintiq 22 weighs a considerably more hefty 5.9kg with its stand!

Screen Quality

Both devices offer the same screen size of 21.5-inch, as well as the same 1920 X 1080-pixel resolution.

We must say that these specifications perhaps have room for upgrades such as 2.5K or 4K resolution for a higher pixel density and clarity.

In terms of color gamut there is some significant difference – the Cintiq 22 features a color accuracy of 96% sRGB, while the Kamvas 22 Plus offers a hugely impressive 140% sRGB color gamut.

A wider color gamut will provide more accurate and vibrant colors, which is especially important for artists and designers who need to work with a wide range of colors.

This is down to Huion’s new Quantum Dots Technology of QLED Panel, which also allows the tablet to boast a hugely impressive 1200:1 contrast ratio, while Cintiq 22 has an IPS panel with 1000:1 contrast ratio.

Since Wacom Cintiq display is calibrated out of the box, so the colors looks accurate. As for Huion Kamvas, it has a relatively inaccurate color calibration out of the box.

However, you can always manually tweak the colors by going through the OSD options of Huion. And If you’re willing to do a bit of color calibration on setup, it’s absolutely class-leading.

Screen Technology

Cintiq 22’s screen is not laminated, which is cheaper to manufacture. Because there is a gap between the active screen and its top layer, this creates a parallax issue.

Kamvas 22 Plus has full lamination screen, which reduces the air gap, the parallax is minimal, resulting in a lag-free drawing experience.

Drawing Surface

The Kamvas 22 Plus uses etched glass on the screen, which is more scratch-resistant than the matte film that the Cintiq 22 uses.

Both type of textured screen is super nice and its really almost glare free and feels a bit rougher, somehwere in between glass and paper.

This texture helps give resistance against the pen while drawing to make it easier to control your strokes.

Wacom Pro Pen 2 vs Huion PW517 Stylus

For the most part, the pens of the two devices are quite similar that is thickest on the area most proximal to the tip and tapers towards the other end.

They both have 2 customizable buttons, and a rubber grip for better and comfortable use. They are both battery-free, and requires no charging at all.

However, the wacom Pro Pen 2 that comes with Cintiq 22 has an extra eraser on the top end, which allows you to switch to the eraser tool the same way you could do with regular pencils.

On paper the two pens are very similar. Both Wacom and Huion PW517 stylus boast 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and ±60° tilt detection. This assures excellent accuracy in making manual inputs.

However, and with the caveat that this is subjective, the Wacom stylus still just feels better in use, with a smoother action in the hand.

Wacom Pro Pen 2 has a lower initial activation force where it better detects the lighter pressure! Much better than Huion stylus, The tracking is impeccable, no jitter at all.

Programmable Buttons

As mentioned above, neither the Cintiq 22 nor the Kamvas 22 plus comes with programmable shortcut buttons.

If you are someone who uses a keyboard for in-application shortcuts, this is not really a big deal .

If you want button control, you can pick up a Wacom Expresskey Remote for the Cintiq 22, which gives you 17 programmable buttons and a touch ring.

It connects wirelessly via 2.4Ghz to the computer and can work for around 160 hours on 2 hours of full charge.

The Kamvas 22 Plus also have a comparable accessory, the Huion Keydial Mini K20, which includes 18 programmable buttons and a mechanical dial.

It feature with the Bluetooth 5.0 wireless function, And Its 1200mAh battery ensures continuous working for about 100 hours.

Note that both Expresskey Remotes are not included in the box and needs to be purchased separately.

Connectivity

Both tablets are not a standalone drawing tablet, so they needs to be connected to a computer.

Cintiq 22 connects to a computer via 3 separate cables for power, USB, and HDMI connections.

The Kamvas 22 Plus comes with a somewhat interesting power cable which Huion calls the 3-in-1 cable.

The cable comes with a USB-A, HDMI, and a port for the power supply which all converge into a single USB-C input plug for your computer.

Another difference to the Cintiq 22 is the addition of a USB-C to USB-C cable so you can attach your compatible android phone or laptop.

Compatibility

The two devices in this comparison can work seamlessly with devices running on Windows, or macOS, and supports various mainstream drawing and designing software.

However, Wacom Cintiq 22 lacks the Android connectivity that Huion offers on its Kamvas 22 Plus tablet, so if you use Android devices, this is worth bearing in mind.

Drivers and Software

Before drawing on the screen, you need to download the drivers from their official website, install them and then you are good to go.

The tablet driver software interface will detect the pen display and open the available options for you.

Wacom drivers are more stable and a bit more “plug-and-play” in terms of setup, with more options to speed up and simplify your creative experience, including customizable pen gestures and on-screen pen and touch controls.

Huion drivers may encounter more issues, and not as well as wacom in quality. But it still allows you to adjust your personal preferences on pressure sensitivity, tilt, and button mapping, all of which required only a few minutes of effort.

Accessories

Despite being cheaper than the Cintiq 22, the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus comes with more accessories, such as extra black artist drawing glove, pen nibs, etc.

The Kamvas 22 Plus comes with a circular pen holder. It can hold your pen in an upright or flat position.

The pen holder also doubles up as nib storage, which houses 10 spare pen nibs. This can last you quite a while.

The Cintiq 22 comes with a simple fabric loop to hold the pen. The loop is attached to the side of the tablet. It also houses the 3 extra pen nibs.

Price

Price is one of the main reasons why so many artists are excited about the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus. It will cost you $549.00.

Compared to Kamvas 22 Plus, the Wacom Cintiq 22 is 1.2 times more expensive at $1299.95. But it still has the lowest price Wacom has ever offered for a drawing display of this size.

Additionally, If you can tolerate a non-laminated display, narrower 120% sRGB color gamut, a matte screen film instead of etched glass, then you can save extra $100 on Huion Kamvas 22 (basic, non plus version).

Conclusion

Both the Cintiq 22 and Kamvas 22 Plus are good drawing device for those who want a large screen at a budget-friendly price.

Wacom Cintiq 22 is more expensive, but still has the best pen and drawing experience. For most artists, Wacom’s main feature is longevity and dependability.

But if your budget is tight, get a Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, It’s more budget-friendly and offers great value for the price.

You won’t go wrong with any of them, as they offer all you need to create good artworks. All depends on your levels of skill, preference, needs and budget.

FAQs

Can you use Cintiq 22 or Kamvas 22 Plus without computer?

Both cintiq 22 and Kamvas 22 plus are not a standalone tablet, essentially an external monitor,  so you need to connect them to a computer to work.

If you want a standalone tablet that will let you draw and do email and access the internet, look into the Wacom MobileStudio Pro or Huion Kamvas Studio.

Can you use a Cintiq 22 or Kamvas 22 Plus as a main monitor?

Cintiq 22 or Kamvas 22 Plus can be used alone as a main monitor or with another display as an extra monitor.

Due to 60Hz fresh rate, It doesnt work well for things like gaming, but as an extra monitor for having browser tabs or discord open its pretty good.

With a matte screen surface, the colors don’t appear as alive as with a glossy screen. But your poor eyes also don’t need to put up with stressful reflections and tiresome glare.

Is Huion Kamvas good for professionals?

Huion Kamvas pen display tablets are much more affordable than their counterparts from the likes of Wacom Cintiq, and are well worth looking into if you want a professional-level tool for a budget price.

What is the best drawing software to purchase?

If you have the money to subscribe, go for Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.

Furthermore, Clip Studio Paint, Artrage 6, Sketchbook and Paint Tool SAI are good options without breaking the bank since they are budget-friendly with an one time payment.

If you are looking for a free drawing software, Krita, Firealpaca, Gimp, Mypaint or Medibang Paint would be a good fit.