Huion Kamvas Pro 19 graphics display review – When bigger isn’t better for you

REVIEW – Last June (2024), I reviewed the excellent Huion Kamvas Pro 27 graphics display. It’s big, has a beautiful 4K screen, and it’s expensive at $2,000. However, if that price is a budget buster, there are two good choices available from Huion—the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) or  the new Kamvas Pro 19—this review. 

Because of many similarities, some of my writing will be repetitive of the Kamvas Pro 27 review. Think of the Kamvas Pro 19 as a reduced (in size) Pro 27. It’s practically a smaller twin to the Pro 27 missing a couple of features of the Pro 27. But the Pro 19 has a clever feature even my trusty older Kamvas Pro 24 doesn’t have.

What is it?

The Huion Kamvas Pro 19 is a smaller sibling to the large Pro 27. It’s a desktop monitor that can be drawn on using a stylus (pen). Like most other drawing displays, the Pro 19 is not a stand-alone tablet (like an iPad). It must be hard-wired to a PC—Mac, Windows, Linux, or Android (with restrictions)—to work.

The Pro 19 comes with an AUX port, two USB-C “blind-mate” ports (for easier connecting while not looking), plus built-in legs providing a 20° angle for drawing. A standard 100×100 VESA mount is included on the back for mounting on a stand or arm for extra versatility. Both USB-C ports are required for power and video connection (a Mac in my case). All necessary cabling is included.

The Pro 27’s 4K ultra HD screen delivers sharp details with a wide gamut of over a billion colors for accurate color work artists demand. Color gamut coverage supports 99% sRGB, 96% Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color spaces. Each Pro 19 is color calibrated before leaving the factory and a printed calibration sheet for that specific display is included in the box.

The new Canvas Glass nano-etched screen of the Pro 19 features anti-glare, anti-sparkle, full lamination, and paper-like texture properties.

As with the Pro 27, Huion provides two pens with the Pro 19. One is a “standard” ergonomic grip pen and the other is a slimmer pen for those who prefer that style. The standard pen has three programmable buttons and the slim pen comes with two. Both pens have “erasers” on the opposite end—in apps that allow it. A pen holder that holds both pens houses extra drawing nibs and doubles as a stand for the pens. Each pen supports over 16K levels of sensitivity. The pens feature Huion’s PenTech 4.0 tech featuring extra pressure sensitivity and retraction distance improvement to reduce “wobbling” while drawing, 

The Pro 19 incorporates Multitouch. It allows using the hand to pinch-zoom, swipe, and rotate (think smartphone navigation. It now works with Apple’s MacOS.

For lovers of shortcut keys, Huion includes in the box their Keydial Mini, a slim and portable mini keyboard with a rotating dial that can be programmed for various key shortcuts.

What’s included?

• Kamvas Pro 19
• Keydial Mini  
• PW600 pen
• PW600S pen
• 5 standard nibs
• 5 felt tip nibs
• Pen box
• USB-C to USB-C power cable
• USB-C to USB-C cable
• 3-in 2 cable
• Power adapter with connector
• Palm rejection glove
• Cleaning cloth
• Quick start guide
• Color calibration report

Tech specs

Design and features

When I opened the box of the Kamvas Pro 19, I noticed how my Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) only felt slightly smaller than the much more expensive Kamvas Pro 27 I had reviewed (and returned). But the Kamvas 19 feels much smaller than the Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) sitting next to it.

Unboxing the Pro 19 is quite similar to the Pro 27—only smaller. The display is still presented in an eco-friendly recyclable box. The display is as padded in foam as the Pro 27, even though the Pro 19 weighs 4 times less than the Pro 27. Thick foam securely holds the display in place as well as all included accessories. In the box is a handy quick-start guide printed on an oversized card. You can’t miss it! The instructions are easy to follow. 

Connecting the monitor was easy. Since there are only two USB-C ports, I only needed to connect both supplied USB-C cables—one to the power plug (no power brick needed) and the other to my Mac Studio. Done! There are no cables awkwardly protruding from the top of the display, as with the Pro 27. The two USB-C ports (and AUX) are the only ports on the Pro 19.

Since the Pro 19 is a smaller display, I placed it at the side of the Kamvas Pro 24 (my main monitor). The Pro 19 comes with two built-in 20° folding legs—which I don’t use. I used the VESA mount and attached it to an ST100 Huion VESA stand left over from a previous Huion tablet. It’s a better solution for my use. Huion makes the ST500 Desktop Arm ($140) which would be a good solution for a stand, but it’s in use on the Kamvas Pro 24 (4K). If you’re getting confused by all the Huion display names, so am I. 😉 

The interesting feature mentioned earlier is Finger Touch. Yes, both the Pro 27 and Pro 19 have always had Finger Touch—for Windows only. Now Huion has released a “beta” update to its driver that allows Finger Touch for MacOS. I got it to work, but as with beta software, it’s still glitchy for me. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I’m not worried because Huion is working on this, and it’s only a matter of time before it works out. This is good news for Mac users.

As with most newer drawing displays, there are no shortcut buttons on the display itself. Huion includes a handheld shortcut device—the Mini Keydial KD100 shortcut keyboard with many programmable keys and a rotating dial. The rotating dial can be programmed to perform zoom, scrolling, or other functions. The keys can be configured to almost any function you wish to perform depending on the app being used. Once set up, the Mini Keydial KD100 can be a productive time-saver—except I don’t use it. I learned shortcuts on a standard keyboard and can’t “unlearn” them. However, I do see an advantage to using the Mini Keydial if you’re starting out or less stubborn than me.

I am not an illustrator, but I use a pen display every day for design and Photoshop manipulation. The Pro 19 is a good size for drawing—as a secondary monitor. It feels too small to be the main monitor for the work I do. The Pro 19 is still large enough to show a full-size working canvas with room left over for app palettes—especially in full 4K resolution.

Keep in mind that 4k natively reduces the overall size of anything you see on screen. However, because of the 4K’s increased number of pixels per inch, the resolution can be adjusted to make images, text, palettes, etc. larger while holding sharpness. Here’s the math part: The Pro 19’s resolution is 3840 x 2160 ppi. If you enlarge the resolution to—for example—2K (2560 x 1440 PPI), the screen pixels are physically larger—so everything will look larger. But with 4K, it will still be a better quality than a native 2K display because of the 4K’s increased pixels per inch. If that seems confusing (because it is), just know that a 4K monitor will always be sharper than a 2K and noticeably sharper than an HD display—no matter what resolution is used. 

Using either pen provides an effortless connection with the display. The laminated screen exhibits no parallax (the nib aligns with the cursor on the screen) and drawing lines or using brushes in painting/photo apps is a joy. After using both pens, I prefer the standard over the slim pen. It just feels more natural. It’s nice that Huion provides a choice. I also prefer the felt nibs. They give a more “paperlike” feel to drawing. While the new PenTech 4.0 is nice, I can’t feel any difference between it and the previous PenTech 3.0. 

The Huion Kamvas Pro 19 display sells for just under $1,000—half the price of Huion’s Pro 27—a huge difference. Yet, even when compared to the smaller Wacom Pro 17 ($2,500), the Kamvas 19 becomes a bargain.

If you are a professional who needs super-accurate color at the highest resolution and cannot justify $2,000 for the Kamvas Pro 27, the Pro 19 will give you almost everything the Pro 27 provides at half the cost. It’s a smaller screen to be sure. If that’s too small, there’s Huion’s excellent Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) at only $170 more than the Pro 19. That small price difference could make for a difficult decision.

What I like about the Huion Kamvas Pro 27 graphics display

• Effortless drawing feel—with either pen 
• VESA compatible
• Great color
• No fan = no noise
• Only a USB-C connection is necessary
• Wireless mini keyboard shortcut keys included

What needs to be improved?

• Stand is an extra-cost option
• The price is quite close to the larger Kamvas Pro 24 (4K)

Final thoughts

The Huion Kamvas Pro 19 is a great display that is larger than the Wacom Pro 17 and yet much, much less expensive! That’s real competition for Wacom. The only issue with the Kamvas Pro 19 comes from Huion itself with its only slightly more expensive Kamvas Pro 24 (4K). These are interesting times.

Price: $1099.00
Where to buy: Huion and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Huion. Huion did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.