3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition) 3D Navigation Device USB ( 3DX-700029 )
by 3Dconnexion
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: 3DconnexionAudio: English (Original Language)
Platform: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
Model: 3DX-700029
Color: Black
Product features:
- Advanced 6 degrees-of-freedom optical sensor
- 2 programmable function keys
- Fly through Google Earth and 100+ 3D programs
- PE model includes non-commercial use license and online tech support only
- Ideal for 3D designers, students, artists and enthusiasts
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to A-Female Extension Cable (3.3 Feet/1.0 Meter)
- AmazonBasics Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable Braided (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters) [Supports 3D + Audio Return Channel]
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to B-Male Cable (6 Feet / 1.8 Meters)
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to A-Female Extension Cable (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition) 3D Navigation Device USB ( 3DX-700029 )
Customer Review: Excellent hardware with very poor documentation & training
Summary: 4 Stars
Here's my evaluation of the Space Navigator which I purchased to use with DAZ Studio, an incredible "free" 3D Poser-like application from DAZ3D.
The hardware is first class, solid heavy duty unit sits on the desktop beautifully and is a joy to view and manipulate.
The configuration/setup is very poorly done. It is really confusing and does not allow you to actually interact with the controller in order to decide and then immediately set whether you want normal or the inverse directional setting. The number of motions/directions are poorly illustrated and explained. This is not a trivial point, because not having this done right means wasting a lot of time once you understand what you need to do and what works for you. If you do not have patience you will most likely give up in frustration.
The control unit consists of a heavy metal base in which a concentric central control knob (with concave sides) "floats". The term "float" is an attempt to explain that the central knob is free to move a bit in all directions (parallel to the plane of the base of the unit, as well as turn/twist, and tilt a few degrees. Spring action returns the central knob to the center when you release it.
The big problem is that if you just push or tilt the controller knob you don't necessarily get clear motion control along 1 of the 6 different possibilities which are:
Looking down at the control unit I'm going to use North South and East West as direction indicators. Name enclosed in parentheses is Space Navigator Name for motion control.
Rotation
1 Tilt control Knob North-South - Rotation about the X axis (TILT)
2 Tilt control Knob East-West - Rotation about the Y axis (SPIN)
Panning
3 Move Control Knob North-South -Move along Y axis (PAN Sideways)
4 Move Control Knob East-West -Move along X asix (PAN Up/Down)
Zoom (you can configure inverse direction action)
5 Push st. down on Control Knob Zoom In
Pull up on Control Knob Zoom Out
6 Twist /Rotate Control Knob (ROLL)
This does not do anything in DAZ Studio
The Panning motions are the most difficult to achieve. If you don't already know how to do these you will get Panning along with some Rotation and Spin.
How to get "pure" panning motion (moving along X or Y axis) is not clearly explained, so I am going to describe precisely how it needs to be done:
You must grasp the Space Navigator control unit with 2 fingers on the concave side surface of the central "floating" knob, with thumb and middle finger, making sure you rest the bottom edge of your fingers on the top edge of the outer base, and anchor your hand on the desktop to provide a firm anchor and simply move it East-West or North-South, without tilting or pulling or pushing the center knob (you must restrict movement to the lateral plane parallel to desktop, hence the need for resting on edge and anchoring the plam). This is how you get a pure lateral motion (Panning). I will repeat again, this is never properly explained or illustrated. The other manipulations such as tilting, or pushing or pulling the central knob are not complicated and thus quite easy to accomplish to get pure motion constrained in one of the 4 remaining modes.
It is absolutely crucial that you ANCHOR your hand to the surface the Space Navigator rests on, in order to get the purely lateral movement to work properly. If you are not properly anchored and get even miniscule tilt or push pull, will result end up with unintended and hence "confused" motions of the target figure.
The configuration/setup and various guides fail to explain this, or do so very poorly. I had to figure this out purely by trial and error.
A popup comes up everytime you open Photoshop and there is no easy way to tell it not to do that. I bring this trivial matter up simply to show another instance of how the lack of attention to the user's comfort.
In summary, this is a Superb 3D Controller, hobbled by an unforgiveably poor SOFTWARE for Configuration/Setup. It's a terrible shame. If you are willing to waste more time than you should figuring it out it is a very useful tool.
PS for anyone who already has the unit and uses DAZ Studio I ended up choosing to invert the default direction for Pan (both L/R and Up/Down) and Tilt because it worked better for me. This is done in the Advanced Tab of the of the 3D Connexion Control Panel pop up window.
More 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition) 3D Navigation Device USB ( 3DX-700029 ) reviews:
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Description of 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition) 3D Navigation Device USB ( 3DX-700029 )
PERSONAL USE LICENSE. Is working in 3D frustrating? Feel like you can't get the model in the right orientation or move the world to the right location? If only you could put your hand straight into the display and directly interact with your 3D design. 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator lets you come as close to that experience as you can get without actually putting your hand in the display. Push, pull, tilt or twist the SpaceNavigator's controller cap to interact with your 3D world or model with ease. SpaceNavigator PE supports over 100 popular 3D apps including Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor and lots more. Work in 3D as it was meant to be. SpaceNavigator PE is meant for non-commercial use and includes web based support.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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