Huion A4 Lightpad review

[Faeleia]

A review I promised @patweecia  . It's the same one Annie bought, but I thought I'll go into more details to make it a proper review:

I was pleasantly surprised when I first took it out. It's so incredibly light! And beautiful.. The workable areas are larger than the paper size.

Pros:
- Adjustable brightness levels, remembers last brightness setting
- Easy to use. One plug and it's ready to go.
- The USB head matches plenty of devices (non Apple). It works with my portable generic charger as well as my S3.
- Ruler guides. Useful for centering stuff. Although I haven't tried.
- Light, slim and portable. It's even thinner than your regular CD!
- Generates no heat whatsoever, ensuring prolonged use.
- Very bright. It can let you see through about 4 -5 100gsm papers, and 7 regular copy papers. (Note that it will not shine through dark papers)
(See image for comparison of its transparency through 70-80gsm copy paper and 100gsm ones vs coloured construction paper. Black is completely opaque, but I suspect any lightbox won't save you with this, because what colour guide could you possibly use to shine through black?)

Cons:
- The one touch brightness may be confusing, but once you get the hang of your favorite setting, there's really little need to fiddle with it.
- Perhaps slightly pricey, but if you compare prices with competitor lightboxes, it's a strong contender.
- Flat base, (with foam pads) but it doesn't have an incline. Should you require inclined angles, prop it up with something that won't shift around, like foam.
- Try not to stare into the light too long.. I tried to write copperplate, but apart from my not very good skills, my left eye was twitching up a storm.. and I rushed through the rest

[patweecia]

Thank you thank you felicia!!!
I was thinking of this or the crayola light pad for kids haha
But thank you!

[Alexiz]

Thanks so much for this!

I ordered one after reading the previous thread. Should be getting mine tomorrow

[Moya]

Thank you Felicia!  I think I need one ...

[SueL]

Thanks for the review, Felicia. I wonder if it'll work for envelopes. Probably not, huh?

[Faeleia]

Light coloured envelopes, it works, but not if the inside has a dark coloured liner, or if it's black or dark navy..

[AmyNeub]

I just ordered one earlier today, before I read this. I was worried you would give it a bad review.

Yay, I am glad you like it.

I am glad there isn't heat. My old one I would start sweating and then I would drink my tea. Yikes!

[elsa.d]

Thanks for the in depth review!

[Alexiz]

Just a heads up to everyone (if you're ordering from US Amazon). There are few variations of the A4 out there. The A4 I ordered was $69 and was stated to be the "BRIGHTEST" of the 17.7 line. 4800 Lux. I figured, brighter is better. But my only caveat is that it doesnt come with a MicroUSB plug like the other two versions, the LS4 and the LB4. It comes with a DC12V charger that is very short Also for whatever reason Huoin has two different listings for these lightpads on amazon, and on the two different listings prices vary by a few dollars and it looks like "what's included" varies depending on which amazon listing you choose.

I have a kindle cable that I was planning to use with it thats 5feet long, but alas no MicroUSB on the A4 version.

Basically the 17.7 Huion Lightpad lines rolls out as follows:

The A4 Model
$69
Brightness of 4800 Lux (The Brightest)
DC12V Charger that doesnt have a very long cable

The L4S
-$42
-Brightness of 1100 Lux
-Micro USB Charger (No wall adapter)
-Comes with some 5 sheets of tracing paper, and a Recycling Non-woven Bag.

The LB4
$84
-Brightness of 1500 Lux
-Micro USB Charger w/ wall Adapter
-*RECHARGEABLE* So you can charge it and it will hold a charge for 1.5 hours. Nice portability option.
-2 little Rubber ball stands to prop up the light pad at a slant.
-10 sheets of tracing paper, and a Recycling Non-woven Bag

So I guess there are pros and cons to each. The $84 LB4 sounds like the best deal since it comes with extra goodies and its rechargable. But the $69 A4 Lightpad is 3 times as bright but you just might have to order a longer adapter. I'll see how "Bright" this A4 is when I get home and let you know.

Hopes this helps anyone that was a little confused by all the variations like I was.

[patweecia]

Oh wow! Thank you for this info alexiz. 

[AmyNeub]

I just used my Huion A3. I love it. So light and I bought the 23.5" because of space and doing large 11"x14" + sized lettering. It's less than an inch thick too.

Only minus is the plug adaptor is like 3'. Oh well, it reaches my table ok.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=3KJWMJJ67346K&C=3TG14KBDH777U&H=L8H7UZSJ4NRTPKVNGMG5B6YMFEOA&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fsmile.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB00IZQZXTE%2Fref%3Dpe_385040_30332190_TE_dp_1

[Faeleia]

I just used my Huion A3. I love it. So light and I bought the 23.5" because of space and doing large 11"x14" + sized lettering. It's less than an inch thick too.

Amy, doesn't the glare from the lightpad tire the eyes out? I find that if I'm working on smaller pieces, I have to cover the sides, or the reflected light will be too much for my eyes..

[Alexiz]

I just used my Huion A3. I love it. So light and I bought the 23.5" because of space and doing large 11"x14" + sized lettering. It's less than an inch thick too.

Amy, doesn't the glare from the lightpad tire the eyes out? I find that if I'm working on smaller pieces, I have to cover the sides, or the reflected light will be too much for my eyes..

Loving the new lightpad too! Felicia, I have to cover up the sides as well when its cranked up because its is REALLY bright. I find myself adjusting the brightness so I'm not squinting from the light.

[AmyNeub]

I just used my Huion A3. I love it. So light and I bought the 23.5" because of space and doing large 11"x14" + sized lettering. It's less than an inch thick too.

Amy, doesn't the glare from the lightpad tire the eyes out? I find that if I'm working on smaller pieces, I have to cover the sides, or the reflected light will be too much for my eyes..

No, I guess I must have the lighting lower. I like that you can adjust the lightening. Super cool

[Faeleia]

I just used my Huion A3. I love it. So light and I bought the 23.5" because of space and doing large 11"x14" + sized lettering. It's less than an inch thick too.

Amy, doesn't the glare from the lightpad tire the eyes out? I find that if I'm working on smaller pieces, I have to cover the sides, or the reflected light will be too much for my eyes..

Loving the new lightpad too! Felicia, I have to cover up the sides as well when its cranked up because its is REALLY bright. I find myself adjusting the brightness so I'm not squinting from the light.

Yeah I try to have it at the lowest setting possible and still enough to let me see the guidelines. Alexiz, I think the lightpad's design looks so fitting with your current cool looking workspace!