3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition) 3D Navigation Device USB ( 3DX-700029 )
by 3Dconnexion
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition) 3D Navigation Device USB ( 3DX-700029 )
Customer Review: Moves around a bit . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
This controller has six degrees of freedom, and that's almost too much. So far I've tried it in Google Earth and Second Life.
It truly changes the experience; in both programs it was as if I was in a dreamlike state where I was flying. Somehow, after a few moments fumbling around with the controller, all of a sudden my hand was just making the right movements as if by itself. I've used joystick, three types of mouse, a graphics tablet and a friend's Wii controller - but none of them even touches the flexibility and intuitive power of this.
One small nit I have to mention; the only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars was because the controller will sometimes move as I'm using it - normally moving forward/backward or left/right, where you press on the control button from the side.
Despite the weight on the bottom of the 3Dconnexion and the grip of the rubber feet, that particular motion causes some sliding on my desk.
This is truly a new way to interact with your computer, and if you have any of the compatible programs you need to have this controller.
Customer Review: Vista and Photoshop CS3 Compatibility Fixed
Summary: 1 Stars
Update on the situation: Recently 3dConnexion released a driver update for the SpaceNavigator. The update fixed the compatibility issues with Photoshop CS3. Anyway, I now give the product five stars and find it very valuable when navigating extremely large images. It's also quite a good deal at $59 MSRP for the PE version. Unfortunately, there's no way for me to update the number of stars on the review.
I purchased this product exclusively to use with my Vista Home Premium PC and Adobe Photoshop CS3. I had no problems for the first 20 days or so. Now everytime I attempt to pan an image in Photoshop using the SpaceNavigator, Photoshop crashes and any unsaved work is lost. I downloaded the latest drivers, uninstalled and reinstalled, and even posted a blurb on their support forum to no avail. Nothing changed on my PC's configuration. I would return it to Amazon except I just recycled the cardboard packaging this morning and it just stopped working this evening. Nice concept, but it still has some serious software implementation issues and bugs.
Customer Review: Great peripheral for Photoshop, Google Earth, and Google Sketchup!
Summary: 5 Stars
This USB tool is incredible! At first, I had difficulty using it, but now I wish I could use it in all my programs! I love using it in Photoshop, since you can zoom and pan in one tool. I find it most useful for navigating around when creating vector shapes, since you can easily zoom in and out, and pan around the image. It also has two programmable buttons on the side, and I have one set for Save, and the other for Undo.
The first time I used it in Google Earth, it was like the first time I had used Google Earth. I just wanted to explore all over again, because this amazing tool just redefines navigation in Google Earth. It really is a 3D tool, in a 3D interface! Truly amazing!
I bought this on a whim, since it was only $50. A great buy! I will probably upgrade to the larger models, with more programmable buttons.
My only complaint is that it isn't heavy enough, but that is not enough to bring down my rating. I will probably just use an adhesive to make it stick to the table.
Customer Review: Small and Heavy and Accurate
Summary: 4 Stars
The unit is small, which is good because I'm a student and need to take it to school and back every day.
The base is heavy, which is good because it doesn't go sliding around while I'm trying to use it.
The accuracy is very good, which helps when I'm trying to find the right angle to continue modeling.
Also, it looks really cool.
The cons:
No support for programs outside of what is listed in the official compatability chart.
The sensitivity takes some getting used to and tweaking to get it right.
Notes:
The control only moves less than a centimeter in any direction. The motion is NOT continuous.
I went cheap ant got the little one with only 2 buttons that are hard to press without accidently moving the handle. Any serious modeller will most likely want the ones with 20+ buttons so that you don't have to switch hands to the keyboard as often.
Software used to test: Solidworks 2008, Pro/E Wildfire 4.0.
Customer Review: Absolutely Amazing
Summary: 4 Stars
A coworker got one of these and let me play with it because I develop 3D applications. All I can say is wow! It was a little bit of a pain to develop for because it's treated as a joystick, but I absolutely love playing around with it. It deffinately takes some getting used to, since moving it forward tends to also tilt it down and etc. Since movement is like a joystick (ie, holding it in a direction means contant movement in that direction), it's really nice being able to continue in the desired direction without having to play the mouse shuffle (drag, move back, drag, move back...) Using this in something like Google Earth is like playing a flight sim.
The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I wish they had made the knob a little bigger, more like your standard mouse. I think that would have made it a little easier to control and prevented more accidental movement on the wrong axes. But other than that I love it. I'm gonna have to get one for myself to play with at home! =D