XP-Pen Deco 02 review:the best budget drawing tablet for beginner
Are you unsure about buying budget drawing tablets? While it’s nice to pay less, the fear is you will have to sacrifice a lot of quality for the price. Many cheaper tablets can be smaller, slower, and quite buggy.
The XP-Pen Deco 02 is a different story.
It’s a real drawing tablet at a budget-friendly price. This XP-Pen Deco 02 review will confirm that you don’t need to be rich to get a decent pen tablet.
Cheap drawing tablets owe their low prices to a cheaper overall design. This sometimes means that they don’t perform well or lack features you may take for granted if you’re used to high-end brands like Wacom.
If you’re used to Wacom, the pen may feel a little bit limiting. Otherwise, there’s nothing to really complain about. On their own, XP-Pen tablets are solid options and their best-selling products work really well.
It’s always little things like these that you should look out for before buying drawing tablet.
Weighing these factors against the great price is how you determine whether a budget graphics tablet is worth your money. And in this case, I’d say it is.
Technical Specs
- Active Area: 10″ x 5.63″
- Resolution: 5080 LPI (Lines Per Inch)
- Report Rate Speed: 266 RPS
- Keys: 6 customizable shortcut keys
- Pen Type: free buttons
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8192 levels
- Interface Support: USB
What’s In The Box
- XP-Pen Deco 02 tablet
- P06 Passive Pen
- USB Cable
- Green Stopper
- Pen Holder with 8xReplacement Pen Nibs
- Black Drawing Glove
- Quick Guide
The XP-Pen Deco 02 offers a surprisingly good value. It has all the important features you could expect of a graphics tablet, it handles well and it doesn’t lag.
To put it simply, I think the XP-Pen Deco 02 is an amazing option for beginners and hobbyists because it’s both affordable and easy to use.
Overall Build
The XP-Pen Deco 02 has a surprisingly solid build. Nice and sturdy for a budget drawing tablet.
Since the XP-Pen Deco 02 doesn’t come with a stand, creative solutions like a book or lap will be useful. the Deco 02 is only 9mm thick ,the light weight makes it easy to set up and use anywhere, and really easy to bring with you even in a regular backpack or brief case.
Drawing Surface
Historically Wacom is credited for the most natural drawing surface with near perfect texture. But the texture on Deco 02 is equally good. I pulled out my Wacom tablet and Xp-Pen Deco 02 for side by side comparison. What I found is the texture feels and sounds slightly different in both devices. But, in my opinion, it all comes down to personal preference, no tablet could be called better over the others.
With an active area of 10 x 5.63 inches, drawing feels natural and unrestrained. That’s a little bigger than an A5 paper. You’ll find it easy to use with monitors up to about 20 inches.
The Pen
A Pen is the most important piece of hardware which determines your decision of getting that pen tablet. in this case, they have created a extremely well-performing pen.
XP-PEN new advanced P06 passive pen was made for a traditional pencil-like feel! Specially designed for the Deco 02. Comfortable grip and high efficiency! A unique hexagonal design, non-slip & tack-free flexible glue grip, the pen comes with a single button on its side and eraser on the top
The pen comes with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and works without any battery with the help of EMR (electromagnetic resonance).
The various texture and the matte black finish works really well and it is pleasure to hold in hand. Apart from the physical feel, it performed great in various digital painting software. Its pressure sensitivity was on point, and there were no wobble and jittering in fast as well as slow movements. The transition from the low pressure to high very accurate and on point with no traces of pressure bumps.
Overall the pen was a very accurate and capable. I can happily recommend it to anyone.
Shortcut keys
Deco 02 Graphic Drawing Tablet comes with 6 customizable buttons arranged in two groups of threes, in-between which sits a rolling wheel. All the shortcut buttons are placed on the left side of the device which is an ideal position for your hand to rest naturally.
Buttons
The buttons are circular in shape and made of plastic. They sit pretty snugly with no wobble or vibrations, giving it a premium feel. The quality of the buttons is great as they make a crisp click sound with good feedback.
With the help of the driver, you can reprogramme any of these buttons to perform any shortcut for any software. Other than that you can also assign application-specific shortcut which automatically changes the buttons as you switch to other application.
Rolling Wheel
The rolling wheel is one of the highlights of the device as it has not been seen in any other tablet at this price range. At default settings, it is set to perform three tasks which include Zoom, Scrolland changing the Brush size.
With the help of the driver, you can change these default settings and add two extra shortcuts.
The tablet comes with a green rubber disk which sits on top of the roller. Its main use is to cover the hole and provide a rubber surface to hold instead of metal.
Driver
Installing the drivers is quick and easy.
XP-PEN driver supports Windows 10/8/7, Mac OS versions 10.10 and above. Also compatible with many major designer software such as Photoshop, SAI, Painter, Illustrator, Clip Studio, and more. Deco02 drawing tablet suitable for Drawing, Image Editing, Industrial Design, Game, Cartoon Design, Sketching, Signature, Online Education and Play Games.
You can adjust the active area to better fit the size and shape of your screen. Adjusting the pen sensitivity curve is also easy. It grants a smooth and responsive drawing experience overall, with no notable lag or jitter.
Pros
- Large Drawing Area: You can create without unnecessary restrictions.
- Price: It’s a great deal.
- Build Quality: Sturdy for its price range.
- Left-Handed Support: Just flip the tablet and start drawing
Cons
- Pen: there are no special nibs.
- No Wireless: If you like to sit further from your screen, this is a challenge.
Summary
When it comes to cheap drawing tablets there are a lot of choices in the market. But with all the other devices, you get some and you lose some (features).The XP-Pen Deco 02 Graphic Drawing Pen Tablet has a lot of features that aren’t common on affordable tablets. With its amazing price-to-value ratio, Making it one of the best drawing tablets in the market.The drawing tablet gives you professional grade digital paintings, the XP-Pen Deco 02 is a great option for both beginners and experienced artists with a smaller budget.
if you are interested in it , you can visit their official store here: https://www.storexppen.com
