The 10 Best Tablets for Photo Editing of 2021

The hardware you use for this is important; sticking to a keyboard and mouse could be a mistake.

We know what it’s like to switch from a mouse to a drawing tablet. That’s why we searched through some of the best budget picks of 2020 in order to help you find the best tablets for photo editing.

A mediocre drawing tablet will be a waste of money that doesn’t help you retouch your photos. This list explains the features of many different drawing tablets so that you can choose the one that works for you.

Top 10 Budget Tablets for Photo Editing on the Market:

If you’re an average photo editor who’s never used a tablet before, the XP-Pen StarG640 might be very suitable for you.

What Consumers Are Saying

Consumers were very pleased with the low price of the XP-Pen StarG640. It provided them with enough precision and accuracy to enhance their creative projects. Some consumers complained that the tablet didn’t last long enough; it stopped working after a short period of time.

Conclusion

The XP-Pen StarG640 is excellent for photo editing if you’re a beginner. It satisfies artists with simple needs. Its low price makes it one of the best cheap tablets for photo editing.

Beginners will be happy with the UGEE M708. It does well enough to help you edit photos without requiring a massive investment.

What Consumers Are Saying

Consumers praised the functionality of the UGEE M708. Most of them were sufficiently pleased with its low price. Some consumers ran into technical errors and found that the tablet would sometimes stop working or fail to meet their needs.

Conclusion

The UGEE M708 may be more suitable for beginners rather than professionals. It may not be the best graphics tablet for photo editing, but it will still make the photo editing process easier.

Both beginners and professionals will reap many benefits from the XP-PEN Artist12.

What Consumers Are Saying

For the price of the XP-PEN Artist12, its quality is superb. Buyers absolutely loved this tablet. Some expected a bit more from it and found themselves disappointed. Occasional glitches and errors were mentioned, but these problems didn’t significantly change buyer opinions.

Conclusion

The XP-PEN Artist12 is an excellent photo editing tablet for Mac or PC. Its external device connection makes it a suitable computer monitor. Professionals should look at this tablet, especially if they’re on a budget.

The Wacom CTL4100 Intuos is yet another excellent option for beginner photo editors who may not have used a drawing tablet before.

What Consumers Are Saying

Many customers thought this drawing tablet was a great deal. It comes with additional software and is set at a fair price. Some customers struggled to get this tablet working with their computer due to compatibility issues. Other customers noticed wear-and-tear on their pens, but this issue did not seem to occur often.

Conclusion

The Wacom CTL4100 Intuos is fairly simple and low-priced. It’s not the most advanced tablet on the market, but it’s a suitable tablet for Photoshop editing.

With a decent amount of working space, this tablet works well for photo editing and is great for beginners on a budget.

What Consumers Are Saying

The VEIKK A30 was greatly appreciated by consumers. It’s been praised for its affordability and sufficient functionality. Some felt limited by it, especially when they were using it for advanced projects with advanced software.

Conclusion

Although this drawing tablet doesn’t have a screen and isn’t the most advanced piece of technology available, the VEIKK A30 presents some features that are normally seen in higher-end models.

If you want to take your photo-editing goals seriously without a huge investment, seek an affordable and high-end tablet like the GAOMON PD1560.

What Consumers Are Saying

Buyers saw the GAOMON PD1560 as one of the best tablets you can get in its price range. It’s considered a fantastic alternative to many other high-end drawing tablets. Only minor glitches were mentioned by consumers; no one was heavily complaining about this tablet.

Conclusion

With its excellent display and high pressure sensitivity, the GAOMON PD1560 is a perfect pen tablet for photo editing. Professionals can appreciate this decently-priced tablet for the advanced features and capabilities it provides.

For professionals with a heavy eye on detail and color, the HUION KAMVAS Pro 16 will probably be impressive.

What Consumers Are Saying

Consumers consider the HUION KAMVAS Pro 16 to be a superb alternative to other more expensive tablets out on the market. Some users reported clunkiness and awkwardness when using additional features like the express keys. However, this drawing tablet amazed most of its buyers.

Conclusion

The HUION KAMVAS Pro 16 will be a worthy choice when you’re searching through the best tablets for photo editing. Its features may stand out to you, and they are certainly worth checking out.

Professional photo editors will be very comfortable with the Wacom Cintiq 16.

What Consumers Are Saying

The Wacom Cintiq 16 impressed customers a lot. They found that the price of the tablet directly reflected its quality. Although many customers were aware of other models that had higher resolutions and more accurate displays, they weren’t pushed away from the Wacom Cintiq 16.

Conclusion

Wacom is known for producing high-quality drawing tablets. They’re usually a bit pricey, but the Wacom Cintiq 16 stands out as one of the best Wacom tablets for photo editing. It provides every feature necessary for professional work and doesn’t come with any unnecessary extra features.

With the Huion GT-191 KAMVAS, you can significantly expand your working space and see your art in detail with a large screen.

What Consumers Are Saying

The large, vibrant and paper-like display was a major factor that satisfied buyers of the Huion GT-191 KAMVAS. A few buyers were frustrated with minor technical errors and connection issues. Some were even annoyed by the anti-glare screen protector. Few errors were large enough to ruin buyer opinions.

Conclusion

For a very affordable tablet with such a large screen, the Huion GT-191 KAMVAS is a great drawing tablet for photo editing. It provides all the features you need to edit your photos flawlessly and professionally.

The Simbans PicassoTab is a very unique and portable tablet that stands on its own.

What Consumers Are Saying

Consumers considered the Simbans PicassoTab to be a great gift or a casual art tool to keep around. Its lack of professional functioning was somewhat irritating to certain customers. Overall, its performance wasn’t too disappointing and the tablet made most of its buyers happy.

Conclusion

The Simbans PicassoTab is better for casual artists rather than professionals. Its standalone operating system doesn’t make it great for photo editing because you can’t connect it to devices that are able to run advanced programs like Photoshop. Of all the Android tablets available, the Simbans PicassoTab is still one of the best for photo editing.

Tips on Choosing the Best Tablet for Photo Editing

It may not be instantly obvious that a drawing tablet would serve you well in the art of photo editing. Many photo editors become stuck in the habit of using their keyboard and mouse. Old comfort can prevent you from seeing the hidden benefits of a drawing tablet.

Any drawing tablet has the potential to be a great photo editing tool. Drawing tablets increase the speed of your workflow. Line strokes are made faster and more precisely on good tablets.

The process of retouching can be finished in much less time because a drawing tablet is usually more accurate and controlled than mouse input.

You must consider the features and specifications of your drawing tablet before making a purchase. Your ability to finish projects faster will hinge on your device’s features.

For detailed work, consider the display resolution. Seeing every detail is key for professionals, and not every tablet will provide that option.

The pressure sensitivity of your drawing tablet will impact how much effort you put into every stroke. Pressure sensitivity is essential to pay attention to when you’re retouching images.

Erasing edges or covering up unwanted areas will require a lot of precision, and this can be taken care of with a highly sensitive display.

If you focus on recoloring images and photographs, the color gamut of your tablet’s display will be another crucial element to focus on.

The higher the tablet’s color gamut, the more colors can be displayed. You’ll typically want to seek high color gamut if you’re a professional with a keen eye on detail.

Pay attention to the programs compatible with whichever drawing tablet you want.

Some drawing tablets do not have drivers that work with important photo editing programs like Photoshop. Some programs also cost a lot of money, so make sure you have a way to acquire them or find decent alternatives that are cheap.

If the tablet is a standalone product, you may not be able to use advanced software like Photoshop. The best tablets for Photoshop will need to connect to external devices. Drawing tablets with their own operating system are usually not capable of managing this.

Although a drawing tablet can help in every area of photo editing, it’s best to become aware of what exactly you’ll be doing.

If you aren’t going to spend time retouching your photographs or cleaning up details, a drawing tablet might be a waste of money. Simple rearrangements and color changes can be achieved with a keyboard and mouse.

Both beginner and professional photo-editors will see a lot of value in a drawing tablet, especially if they use one for more than a week. If you’re used to using a mouse and keyboard, a drawing tablet may seem uncomfortable at first. However, many photo editors attest to the fact that acquiring a tablet significantly improved their productivity.

Photo Editing Tablets FAQ

What is the best photo editing software?

The answer to this question is going to rely a lot on what you intend to do with the software. If you plan on making basic changes to your photos, you don’t need something advanced and expensive.

If you intend on making detailed edits and heavily retouch an image, programs like Photoshop may be essential. There are other alternatives and some of those are free. You’ll find a program that works best with your needs and your particular creative style.

Remember not to jump on the bandwagon by buying Photoshop immediately. Take your time to search through other options and consider that many high-quality photo editors cost nothing.

Why is photo editing important?

Most photographs don’t come out the way you intend. Sometimes, the coloring is extremely off. Sometimes, blurs or smudges appear out of nowhere. You may even want to completely erase a part of the image.

Photo editing is completely needed to reverse these issues and transform your photographs into something more ideal. The technology and skill used to do this will significantly impact your results, and that’s why some people hire professionals to do their retouching.

Is it worth editing photos on mobile phones?

This ties into your choice of photo editing software and your particular needs. Today, many mobile phones are so advanced that they can run powerful photo editing applications. Basic errors are automatically removable with the touch of a button.

Despite the fact that this is extra convenient, this is not a cure-all solution. Some problems will be ever-present until you have them professionally taken care of.

Professionals do not use their mobile phones to make changes. Drawing tablets will help make detailed edits in ways that mobile phones cannot.

Making the Decision

An unsightly photo can be significantly improved with just a few changes made in a photo editing program. Drawing tablets speed up this process and increase the quality of the final product.

The best tablets for picture editing will have screens so that your pen strokes will be accurate and easy to control. A good tablet to choose would be the GAOMON PD1560 because it provides every feature found in good tablets without having a large price tag. Alternatively, the Huion GT-191 KAMVAS might be suitable for photo editors interested in a large working space.

Rather than messing around with a clunky mouse and keyboard, speed up your workflow with a drawing tablet. Remember to search for tablets that meet your needs without providing extra unneeded features. Photo editing can be challenging sometimes, but that challenge will be reduced if your hardware is good enough