3DConnexion SpaceNavigator

I use CAD software all the time and this product is an amazing tool for improving your efficiency and quality of work. It also makes the prolonged use of such software less tiring, since the workload is splitted between your two hands, instead of doing everything with the mouse. It has a learning curve before you can fully benefit from it's use; the first 2 days feel a bit weird, but once you get used to the controls everything becomes easy.Besides CAD software, i've used this for street view at google maps and works like a charm.It's only disadvantage is the price. I think that if you use 3d software for work, then this is a definately must for you, but if you only use 3d software at home, just to have fun, i believe it's a bit pricy for what you get.

I work daily with 3D models in Revit / Navisworks, saw these a couple of years ago but wasn't really too bothered. Recently upgraded by set up so thought I'd give one of these a go. Having been using it now for a couple of weeks I'm only now starting to get the feel of it. Initially it was (and still is to a certain extent) quicker to use the mouse/keyboard but I persisted with the Space Navigator and it's becoming more natural to use. Most directions and spins are fairly easy to grasp but I found the zoom (straight back and forward) to be pretty hard to nail down, a lot of times I "lost" the model and had to revert to zoom extents on the old mouse.The build quality is superb, far better than I imagined. It's very solid and heavy, the mouse bit doesn't move as much as you'd think which can take a bit of getting used to, as well as altering the speed settings.The only negative I have is that occasionally it loses the ability to spin the model horizontally in Revit, generally this is fixed by closing and reopening the model, but it can be a bit annoying.In conclusion this is a great bit of kit that takes a bit of getting used to, but once experienced navigating around models is a pleasure.

Amazon reviews here:http://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/product-reviews/B000LB7G00Used one at work for the first time using Inventor and knew had to get one for the house.Advertising blurb says using it is like "holding the model in your hand" and its true.A much more intuitive and productive way to work with your 3D models.Only downside for me (and this in only in comparison to the much more expensive models higher in teh range) is only having two customisable buttons.That said, its very handy putting the two main features you use the most in your application on the mouse.Software works quite well, no glitches on Win 8.1 with Inventor, 3DS max, Rhino or Lightwave and each application has its own "profile", so you can have seperate customised buttons for each bit of software.Works great for photoshop, able to pan and zoom around your image which is a lot better than you might imagine when you start using it like that.Great product, brings basic usability at a good price compared to the more expensive models, which really only add more buttons.

Brilliant but takes customisation and practice to get the most from it. Initially I found it counter-intuitive and nearly returned it but after a day playing with the options it was transformed (I locked the horizon in 3DS Max and found it made a big difference) The base is very heavy and grippy so it's won't slide on the desk and the leds can be turned on or off. It's very customisable (I use it for 3DS Max and Google Earth) you can change speed of movement, reverse axis, lock certain movement axis and change from object to camera mode depending on whether you want to move the cam or the object. It transforms Google Earth movement, much more intuitive. I'd recommend going to the website for software updates as they add functionality all the time, in Firefox it now comes with a virtual numberpad for putting passwords/credid card info into sites without worrying about keyloggers.All in all I'd say, pricey but worth it.

I think this a device that you either manage to master right away, or you just put it back in its box and write it off as a bad experiment! For me, it was the latter. I wanted to use it with DAZ Studio but it was insanely sensitive, even when the speed was turned down to minimum, and because of its non-linear nature (it's basically just a fancy joystick) very difficult to achieve anything close to good eye/hand co-ordination. My trackball is much better at the job and I've reverted to using that. A typical problem was that trying to move in one direction caused a tilt in another axis that spun the camera view all over the place. Basically, there are too many axes controlled by one knob! I'm sure this device does work well for some apps just as I'm sure that some people can really get along with it, but it's not for me. Unfortunately, I have to give it a one star, regardless of the build quality - which is excellent - because I cannot use it for the intended purpose.

I am Revit user ant this 3D mouse doesn't work well if your model is heavy. The 3D orbit or 2d pan is very slow and laggy.However, for Navisworks is amazing. I hope they fix the problem in Revit, I would give 5 stars.