MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.
Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1496181
What's in the box? • Pen tablet • Pen • UsB-C to UsB a power cable • Pen holder • 10 nibs Design and features As I said earlier, there are almost too many drawing tablets to choose from. It can be confusing at best. And Huion isn’t helping matters. They offer 17 different tablets—and that doesn’t include the ones with built-in monitors! Hopefully, this review will help illustrate (pun intended) if the Inspiroy Dial 2 is the choice for you. The Huion Inspiroy Dial 2 Pen Tablet is 10.5 x 6.56 inches and .3 in. thick. It’s an optimum size for desktop digital illustration or photo retouching work. It performs much like the venerable Wacom Intuos Pro tablet. Its black surface is slightly etched for a more paper-like feel when drawing or writing. The tablet is light at 1.5 lbs. That—and the fact that it’s wireless—makes it perfect for carting around in a student’s backpack on campus. Note that the Inspiroy Dial 2 can also be powered by the included USB-C cable which will also charge the tablet as it’s being used. There is no noticeable lag while using Bluetooth vs. wired. The surface does not have a built-in monitor. It requires you to look up at a separate monitor as you draw on the flat tablet surface. This disconnect between hand and eye can require a bit of a learning curve, but it becomes second nature with practice. In fact, some artists prefer this method over the more expensive monitor drawing tablet. I prefer larger monitor tablets myself, but I appreciate the ease of use using pen tablets. The Inspiroy Dial 2 is a somewhat attractive pen tablet. The two dials and buttons give it a less sleek look, but they are functional. The surface is easy to draw on. It has light gray corner markings that indicate the drawing boundaries. The base of the tablet is plastic but has a brushed aluminum look. The programmable buttons have almost infinite settings. The dials’ choices are a bit more restrictive. I had one of the dial settings set on zoom (in Photoshop). I couldn’t get a smooth zoom. It defaulted to a set number of zoom increments. The same was true with scrolling. It’s a downside to an otherwise good experience. The pen is identical to the pen that came with the Huion Kamvas 24 Plus Pen Display I reviewed. It’s a light (a bit too light for my tastes) pen that’s easy to maneuver. Weight distribution is good—not too top-heavy as some pens can be. The two programmable buttons on the pen require just the right amount of pressure reducing unintended button pressing. I’ve had to disable pen buttons with some other tablets because of touch sensitivity. The pen’s 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (with tilt support) are now fairly standard. It’s enough sensitivity to easily draw a thin-to-thick line (or thick-to-thin) in a single stroke. Tilt support is great for more realistic brushwork in apps that support