Choose windows-compatibile stylus alternative to Apple Pen 2

Tech Support Basics & Interface
1

Hi,

I am a complete beginner - in search of a windows-compatibile stylus alternative to Apple Pen 2.

The setup I am planning to use is:

  • Krita 5.1.5 installed on a desktop with Win 11 Home 21H2 (Lenovo IdeaPad S145 - not a touchscreen)
  • a second portable touchscreen monitor (ViewSonic TD1655, NOT a tablet or drawing tablet or anything like that - it is simply an extended display but with touchscreen functionality)

I’ve already tried running Krita like this - and it works, but the passive stylus I have is of course not adequate for painting, shading etc.

I am not worried about the price range and am ready to invest. The stylus should have pressure sensitivity, tilt sensitivity and all of the wonderful things that e.g. Apple Pen 2 has.

But - it must work directly on Windows, without any special tablets on the side. I am able to install drivers and configure Krita if necessary - just need to know what to do and where.

I have tried googling - and am completely overrun and overwhelmed by the choices, compatibility options etc… So far I’ve managed to dig out https://www.sonarpen.com/shop/ .

Thanks in advance for any help!

2

:slight_smile: Hello @LadyBathory, and welcome to the forum!

It looks like you have found the solution that fits your setup with that portable monitor you bought, so the sonar-pen. Unfortunately, the sonar-pen is a wired solution, if I’m informed correctly about this piece of hardware. So, there will always be a little amount of drag on the top end of your pen, something I would avoid, like the devil avoids holy water, even if it is minimal.
It probably would have been better to buy a normal pen display (graphics tablet with its own screen), since you would then have a hardware combination that was explicitly built for collaboration.
The Sonar Pen is what I would call a stopgap, you can draw with it, it also has pressure sensitivity, though at least one review wrote this would “stutter” at times, and whether the available pressure levels compare to those of today’s pen displays, I can’t say.
But, okay, you made this decision before you asked here, so you’ll probably have to stick to it.

Let’s see what other users think about your solution or what they would prefer.

Michelist

3

Hi Michelist,

Thanks for the quick reply! As for the SonarPen - I am not at all determined to buy this, and am with you on the not liking the wired aspect of it.

Regarding the “normal pen display” - yeah, that much I have also figured out hehe :slight_smile:

It is just that I have my laptop+monitor setup from before (had to buy for work as I travel a lot but I need a second screen), and am looking for ways to expand from there if possible…

4

I had suspected something like that. Sometimes you are subject to external constraints.
If money is no object, then there are even pen displays with touch functionality in the size of your monitor. Huion and Wacom even offer pen displays with integrated PC, but they have a price tag that can’t be overlooked. :wink: Really hefty!

Michelist

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Does the “and” mean that the Apple Pen 2 has more than pressure and tilt sensitivity, e.g. rotation sensitivity.
Also, does it have many buttons and an ‘eraser end’ on the ‘back tip’?

6

Hi AhabGreybeard,

I have no idea!

As far as my good friend Google tells me - pressure and tilt sensitivity would be most important for me, and Apple Pen 2 seems to be the leader for digital artists - that’s why I made parallel to it.

I know it has one action button which is configurable - e.g. it can be an eraser.

7

I believe the repertoire of special pens from Wacom is the best you can currently get. Pens with pressure, tilt and rotation over the long axis plus an eraser tip at the end, or an airbrush like pen. Pens in different thicknesses for different hands (but I’m not sure if one of these series is sold out). As far as I know, Wacom is the only manufacturer to date offering such pens.
Just having a crazy price tag, like the Apple Pen, and screaming fans swooning when the Apple gurus introduce a new product doesn’t make a good pen, it’s the features that count.

I’ve avoided looking at the Wacom catalog for a long time because these pens are out of reach for me and my wallet, and I don’t want to lie in my bed crying because I want them without being able to afford them. The stylus with rotation is 5 times worth of my graphics tablet, if not more in between.

Michelist

8

A small Wacom Intuos is about $50usd on Amazon, there may be comparable prices for various counties. … My first Wacom was a small one and it worked great for years. It just takes a little getting used to. :+1:t2: :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yes, the small Intuos is currently about €55 because it is on rebate, usually it is about €80 in Germany. Wacom has without question something like a budget line, but they make their money with the Premium Products.

I’m talking about Wacom’s premium pens, the pen with rotation or the airbrush pen, these had a hefty price tag. The pens with different diameters, because user A likes thin and user B likes thick pens better, were not super expensive, but also not cheap.
Not long ago, I heard about Wacom-pens imitating chalk or coal, but I didn’t look them up, so it is hearsay, maybe they don’t even exist, but if, innovation costs.

Michelist