Traditionally, most 3D artists use a keyboard and mouse for all their work; many also use a tablet. However, more and more people are beginning to add 3D mice to their arsenal. 3D mice offer a very natural and easy way to navigate 3D space; giving more precise control than a mouse or keyboard ever can.
Today I am reviewing three models of 3D mice offered by 3D Connexion; the Space Navigator, Space Explorer and Space Pilot Pro. Each of 3D Connexion’s models are now supported in Blender as of version 2.59.
Along with my rundown of the pros/cons of each device, below you will also find a short video overview demoing how to use a 3D mouse with Blender 2.59.
Benefits to using a 3D Mouse with Blender:
Great for showing off models by allowing easy rotation, zooming, and movement around a model
Can be used for two-handed “power-mode” while sculpting or texture painting, when combined with a tablet
Makes Fly Mode on the camera very versatile, allowing you to fly around the scene like a helicopter.
Can be used for animating the camera when combined with keyframe recording and playback
Makes positioning the camera for rendering incredibly simple when using “Lock Camera to View” or Fly Mode.
Here is another video, created by Studio Lumikuu that was presented at SIGGRAPH to better describe what a 3D Mouse actually is and how it works:
My Thoughts on Each Device
3D Connexion was kind enough to provide me with one of each of their three main models; the Space Navigator, Space Explorer and Space Pilot Pro. My first thought upon opening the cardboard box they all came in, was “Wow, nice packaging!” Each device was shipped in it’s individual packaging and is presented very nicely. Right off the bat I had the impression of a sleek, well-designed piece of technical hardware. That was enough to get me excited any day.
After unboxing each of them, I hooked them all up, one at a time and spent a while using it in Blender. In essence, they all offer the exact same core functionality, but the two higher end ones have a few extra on-board features that some people may enjoy.
Here is my impression of each version.
01. Space Navigator
This is the entry-level model; both in price point and features. The Space Navigator has the standard control knob and two extra buttons that you can configure as you wish. Aside from looking really sleek (who doesn’t like stainless steel mixed with bright blue LED lights?), the Space Navigator feels really good in your hand. It is just big enough for just about anyone to use, regardless of your hand size but it doesn’t take up much desk space. It is about the size of a normal mouse, but approximately 5-10x heavier. The weight is really good as it keeps it from sliding around your desk; even if it’s on a slick surface.
Note: the quality of the device is not reflected in my poor photography.
Pros:
- Simplistic
- Small desk footprint
- Very sleek design
- Good weight, does not shift on desk while using
- Stainless steel base
Cons:
- Only two buttons
- Buttons can be a bit stiff
02. Space Explorer
A step up from the Space Navigator, the Space Explorer offers the same core functionality (as all models do) but it also has extra buttons and includes a wrist support. At first, I would have thought the wrist support to be a bit overkill; after all the Space Navigator is already very comfortable to use. However, after an hour or two I discovered the wrist support to be a very welcome addition. It let me rest my hand slightly more comfortably over long periods of time.
The extra buttons are also a nice addition; a few of them include quick keys for changing views, easy access modifier keys and sensitivity adjustments. Having these buttons close at hand makes it easier to leave the keyboard mostly behind if you combine the 3D mouse with a tablet for power-mode (see video above). My one complaint for the buttons is that they feel quite “clacky” and stiff. They are quite loud and take far more pressure than I would have expected to press. Overall, the Space Explorer feels like it has slightly cheaper construction than the Space Navigator, but it has more features.
Pros:
- Extra button presets and customisable buttons
- Wrist support for a more comfortable experience
- Buttons are easily reachable, positioned in a circle around the knob
Cons:
- Buttons feel quite stiff
- Buttons are loud and don’t seem to be of the same quality of craftsmanship
- Has a plastic base rather than stainless steel.
03. Space Pilot Pro
The first thing I have to say about the Space Pilot Pro is “damn, that is one sexy piece of hardware!” My apologies but it really is. Similar to the Space Explorer, the Space Pilot Pro is also made primarily from plastic, but unlike the Explorer the Pilot feels very solid and well constructed. The buttons have a much lower profile and require less pressure to activate. They are still a bit stiff for my preference but definitely a step up from the Space Explorer. The Wrist support, again similar to the Explorer, is very welcome and feels great.
The Space Pilot also includes a built-in, full-color LCD screen that allows you to view settings, change email and even start your media player. However, aside from viewing the settings and receiving on-screen feedback for the tools used, I feel the email, calendar and other functions of the LCD are a bit silly. I understand that the idea was to make your regular monitor as least distracting as possible, but that’s why we have smart phones. I see no reason to include email and a calendar on a 3D mouse… That being said, the screen looks great; it’s crisp and clear with 320×240 resolution.
The only thing I have found I really don’t like about the Space Pilot, is that it shows finger prints very badly. Much of the surface has a thick glossy coating on it that really makes it shine in the light, but after a few hours of use it’s very clear that someone’s hands have been all over it.
Pros:
- Beautiful design
- Extra button presets and customisable buttons
- Built-in LCD screen to display settings and feedback
- Wrist support for a more comfortable experience
Cons:
- Large desk footprint
- Shows fingerprints very badly
Overall Impression
In the end, whether using a Space Navigator, Explorer or Pilot, the 3D mice from 3D Connexion are an absolute pleasure. I certainly consider them to be worth every penny. They make showing off models, animating the camera and sculpting in Blender a real joy. It just feels good to be able to glide through the viewport like they allow you to do. It certainly beats traditional mouse or keyboard navigation.
I am very picky with my computer hardware; for better or for worse I like things to look and feel good. Admittedly it’s one of the reasons I am a bit of an Apple fanboy, I like sleek, well-constructed hardware. If I had to rank each of the 3D mice on their construction and aesthetics I would order as such, from best to worse: Space Pilot Pro, Space Navigator, Space Explorer. That being said, all of them reach far higher standards than most computer peripherals and I must commend 3D Connexion on that.
However, on the flip side, I do feel there are a few things 3D Connexion could do better on their next iteration of the 3D mouse.
Make all buttons smoother with less resistance. Buttons should not be difficult to press or else you’ll never use them. The Apple slim-keyboard is a great example of easy-to-press keys. Razer is another brand than tends to get their buttons right.
Add a fingerprint resistant coating to the Space Pilot Pro. They show really bad.
Lose the hard, clear plastic casing that each mouse is packaged in inside of the great box. Everyone hates that stuff; put them in soft foam or something instead.
Get rid of the pointless email, calendar and media implementation on the Space Pilot. It’ll always be faster to just use your normal keyboard or smart phone for that stuff; narrow the focus back to doing what the device is meant for; navigating in 3D space.
All things considered, I had to get nit-picky with that list as most things are very well done. At the end of the day I would highly recommend each of the devices and will continue to enjoy using mine.
Each of the above models are available from http://3dconnexion.com; along with the Space Navigator for Notebooks edition.
Thanks for the review. I have always wondered about these mice. Only other question I have is about vertex modeling. Would you have to use this to navigate and then use a standard mouse to push and pull verts around? Seems a bit cumbersome.
You’d probably select the vertices, and using the buttons on the 3D mouse change modes, and just twist the dial – my guess anyway.
The higher-end models will be more customisable, and therefore you could probably end up doing without the keyboard and usual mouse for most of the work; as he mentioned.
Awesome hey!
Very nice write up, and thank you for that.
It’s good to hear your thoughts on 3D mice, especially after using them. They look so darn cool (and *ahem* sexy).
Ever since I saw an example of one being used a little while ago, I knew that it would be an extremely useful technology.
I agree with the calendar and other features; get rid! Don’t want an MP3 player in my mouse, right? lol
Wish I could afford one. Just can’t put the money aside right now. Someday, I will have one!
hmmm ive wondered also… but what i would really like is how you set up your naga razor… as i have one also… i find it amazing for working with blender just out of the box, but its taking me time to really get the settings all kicked up
Nice report.You forgot to give the price range,maybe they asked you not to print it.Should your brain ever loose the ability to understand 3 dimensional space I think you’d make a fine door to door salesman Jonathan.Now tell me,what need have you now for 3 3D mice.I’ll forward a mailing address to you.I’m not picky,anyone will do.:D
It in the vid if you go full screen, but I’ll tell you anyway;
1: Space Pilot Pro: $399
2: Space Explorer: $299
3: Space Navigator: $129
Cheers!
Ha I don’t know about the door-to-door salesman! I think I’d opt for custom construction work
-Jonathan
Being that I am a long time unemployed construction manager I strongly recommend you give that one a rethink:)Thanks for your response Michael.I’ve actually been unable to view the videos here in full screen lately.While the video will expand,the resolution does not change and I’m left looking at a big blur.Is anyone else suffering from this?
I have owned a space navigator for several years and like it. I use a number of other 3D modelling programs. Anything that reduces the number of hotkeys I need to remember is gold.
My navigator stopped working after Blender 2.49 and waited till 2.59rc for support to finally be re-installed. This is a good article. I think that more people would use these devices if they knew they were available.
Hmmm, nice vid! Makes me think of saving up to buy one….
Its nice to have support back for these. I picked up the explorer some time ago and enjoyed how well it worked with 2.4 series. (I’m also glad that after almost two years of not being used. It picked up right where it left off.)
Good article. I always assumed they made the buttons that stiff so you didn’t accidentally press them.
Hmm! That Space Navigator and tablet duo seemed nice! Might pick one up.
The space navigator is completely affordable. Good for rotation, pan, orbit and zoom. As Jonathan notes, it only has two buttons on the side. That means you get to map these two buttons to commonly used functions – 4 or 5 more buttons would be nice. I used the 3D mouse along with a Wacom tablet.
My space navigator failed about 2 years ago. I put a note out on the 3DXConnection forums about it. The moderator of the forum asked for my name and address and sent a replacement one – totally free!!!! These guys are high on customer service.
very good review and they look like some very nice devices. I am a newbie to Blender, but not to modeling and animation. I started out with Autodesk 3D studio way back when (pre Max era) and one could do that in the last version of 3D Studio. I cannot recall the version number of the program now, 6.2 maybe, no, it was 4.9, which was all DOS. but the Blender foundation could indeed incorporate this feature within the program itself. Anyway, thanks for the review, done very nicely, but I won’t pay 300 bucks for a mouse just like i did not ever upgrade to Max.
Woooo! They have a beta Mac OS X driver! I’m putting one in next year’s budget =D
*dance*
Anybody tested this on a mac yet? Does it work in blender on a mac as well?
Thanks,
Tassilo
It works very well on a Mac! I have been using mine on my iMac on a daily basis now.
-Jonathan
Great! Thanks, Jonathan.
Hi – I saw you comment and I was wondering if the 01 Space Navigator above would be able to compensate the fact that mac mouse doesn’t have 3 buttons. I am working on a mac setup and I would like to explore some possibilities with MAC environment.
any light on this direction will be very helpful,
Thanks in advance.
Mat
Hi MM,
The Space Navigator is really not a mouse, but rather an additional peripheral that can aid in viewport navigation. For your mouse, you can enable “Emulate 3-button mouse” from Blender’s User Preferences > Input. This will allow you to substitute ALT+LMB for the MMB.
OK Thanks a lot for the clarification. I am trying to set a good working env with my mac and thought about having a tablet like intous5 to replace the mouse and the Space Navigator… do you think it would work?
Many thanks in advance.
Matteo
I have a Space Explorer and a Intuous tablet, along with a regular 3-button mouse. I switch between the tablet and the mouse constantly, depending on what I’m doing.
Thank you for this review. I use these daily at work (CATIA) and was wondering about the interface and how it would be used.
I know where I will be going this weekend.
Mike
Just a quick correction – Ndof does not actually stand for nine degrees of freedom – It’s ‘N’ degrees of freedom. It’s a variable that can be filled in with a number. So a 6 degrees of freedom device (which these are) would be 6DoF. Check out this page if you want to know more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_freedom.
N is a variable often used by computer scientists and programmers. I would venture it relates back to measuring run speed of algorithms aka N Time or log(N) time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTIME).
Thanks for the review, but to be honest they all look very uncomfortable to use compared to a traditional mouse. I wish there was someway to try before you buy so I could decide if they are indeed worth it…
If someone knows a USB Hub with more than 7 ports, let me know.
Jonathan, how does the space navigator feel when modeling? Especially since Blender’s strength is the keyboard shortcuts? Is it annoying to constantly move the hand from the 3D mouse to the keyboard?
In the Video you used the space navigator, right?
To sum things up: Which one do you use/ would you recommend? Are the extra buttons worth it or would you never use them really?
I don’t think you mentioned that the 3D Connexion devices require specific application support for them to work (like Blender). I have an old Griffin Powermate (about to be replaced by a Contour Design Shuttle) because both these devices can be programmed to control *any* software. For this reason, they make excellent Blender controllers (any version), whilst being useful for all your other applications too. It’s a huge shame 3D Connexion didn’t take this approach – their devices could have been so much more useful if they had.
[EDIT:] Since writing the above, it has been made clear that 3D Connexion are, after years of waiting, working on making their devices fully universal, configurable devices. The drivers are in beta at the moment.
hi Reaction I have a space controller and although i can get all of the buttons to work I can’t get the actual controller bit to work can you help?
Hi Mark,
Try loading factory settings and then seeing if it works. If you have older, custom keymaps set these can conflict with the 3D Mouse initially.
-Jonathan
Hi Reaction, John from 3Dconnexion here. Just a quick response to your comments. There was never a decision to require software manufacturers to support 3D mice. The reality is that 3D mice are not supported by default in the O/S so applications need to integrate 3D mouse code before the 3D mouse will work. It’s not an ideal situation but it’s not of our making
It’s also why we have more software engineers than hardware engineers (i.e. it’s a big overhead to encourage / work with software developers to integrate 3D mouse support). We’re proud that the majority of 3D applications now support 3D mice and the few exceptions (e.g. Modo, Zbrush) are being worked on 
Regarding using the 3D mouse in “any application”, our latest driver (3DxWare 10) allows just that. It’s in beta at the moment (Mac and Windows) but the bottom line is that you can map any keyboard, mouse or joystick command to the 3D mouse axes (with or without modifier keys like Ctrl, Shift etc). We developed this driver to satisfy our users number 1 demand (being able to use the 3D mouse outside their core 3D applications). I’m pretty confident that you can get a 3D mouse working just like a shuttle device, plus when you start using your 3D application, you’ll have all the beauty of simultaneous 6-degrees-of-freedom navigation! More info here: http://www.3dconnexion.com/anywhere
I applied a patch by Rainer Wahler to trunk. This patch adds separate axis inversion in trackball mode. A patch by the same author is waiting for my review and inclusion to enable the same for turntable mode (settings accessible through context menu in default mapping).
If you have the SpacePilot PRO (I have one) you’ll be able to map functions you use a lot, for instance different sculpting related operators.
I have found this to be really nice to use and makes sculpting a real bliss.
I am really looking forward to that Nathan! Off to go grab the latest trunk to test now
-Jonathan
Just have to say that quite a few of us have been waiting a long time for 3D mice support to be restored. I am grateful.
Great overview/review! I can’t wait to get one of these controllers
I am grateful too! But in 2.4 series I was able to pan, zoom and rotate in normal view and now I only can zoom and rotate. Do you know if we will be able to pan again?
Actually you can pan while holding down Shift. This method doesn’t seem nearly as fluid as before and I’ve already brought it up to Mike Erwin. He said he would look at making some adjustments soon.
-Jonathan
I hope he can get get implemented in Blender 2.6. Assigning a shift key to the right button of the Space Navigator and trying to pan makes for a very awkward experience.
When will there be a 3D Version of the 3D View ? That will be fun.
this looks like a very good tool. I will save up to one of these.
Nice. I may just have to save up for one of those
Just 1 question:
Is the Space Navigator wireless??
Would be very cool tool and motivation to start sculpting.
Space Navigator is a usb-connectioned device
Two questions
Is the space navigator wireless?
and with 3D connexion do they ship/mail to Australia?
Hi there, at the moment, none of our 3D mice are wireless (because they have historically been used in large engineering companies where wireless is often specifically not wanted (also, the 3D mouse doesn’t move on the desk so the wire isn’t annoying like it can be for a 2D mouse).
However, some people are clearly interested in a wireless 3D mouse. The 3Dconnexion product team is aware of this
For now, people in Australia can contact http://www.tip.com.au for pricing and availability.
Thanks for the review. Something that can speed things up. Very cool.
If you can qualify as a student, you can get a discount
http://www.3dconnexion.com/index.php?id=203
When I read “3D Mouse” I thought of something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_1UIovqKc&feature
This is looking more like a navigator or joystick form me…
I actually bought a SpaceNavigator based on this review
But it is not working as I expected :S When I am in, let’s say texture painting, I can’t pan and rotate at the same time which ruins the point of this device! The device usually only rotates and if I hold down shift it only pans. How can I have both activated at the same time? I can’t have to move my hand to shift every time I wanna pan. This unfortunately makes this peripheral useless.
Help is very appreciated!
Hi Gustav,
Easy panning is not yet implemented in Blender but I have spoken with Mike Erwin, the developer responsible for adding NDOF support, and I believe he plans to implement panning without the need for holding Shift.
-Jonathan
Wow, that was a quick answer!
Thank you very much!
Okay, that sounds great
Really hoping it gets implemented sometime in the future. But I don’t really have to doubt about that, the Blender developers are awesome!
LOL, here this is the fix in java, not practical, but its ridiculous that this wasn’t implemented with the original code (which I will be taking a look at, wish me luck compiling a large project like Blender) I’ll hopefully make this hack only activate when the Space Nav. But for now this proves that its not a technical issue, just one of those things that constantly gets left out of open source projects because of loss of focus of which I’m extremely guilty of as well.
BlenderHacks.java
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.Robot;
public class BlenderHacks {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
Robot r = new Robot();
while (true)
{
Thread.sleep(20);
r.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_SHIFT);
Thread.sleep(20);
r.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_SHIFT);
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
}
}
}
I just fixed this from Blender source and compiled successfully.
Its one single method that can be replaced.
static int ndof_orbit_invoke(bContext *C, wmOperator *UNUSED(op), wmEvent *event) in /source/blender/editors/view3d_edit.c
Just merge with the Panning code from ndof_pan_invoke below
If you want assistance at getting Blender compiled with this fix email me at brant at bitbased dot net
Based on this review I am trying to find my Spacenavigator back.
So how does one configure the 3D Navigator in/for Blender. Very few of the axis are applied correctly in the view – ie they don’t work.
Hi David,
Try loading the factory settings and see if that works. Sometimes older keymap configs conflict with the space navigator.
-Jonathan
hey in blender 2.60 i cant use left right in space pilot pro! but with shift its working, how to change this option to work perfectly like in 3ds max is working?!
I just thought I would let you know you can buy a space pilot pro for £245 inc uk vat and postage from http://www.studica.com/ or even less if you are a student or teacher. I am not associated with this company I have just been searching for the best price for weeks.
Thanks I’ve had these on my “must buy” list for a while and have been recently debating which one to get. I must say, the reason I haven’t just gone “whee… top of the range” is because of the email, calendar, etc. I don’t need the LCD for “extra stuff”. I think I’ll go with the simple navigator, even though the wrist rest sounds nice. Cheers!
If you’re stuck between the too I would actually recommend the Space Explorer. The extra buttons are nice
-Jonathan
Don’t forget the educational discount. I suspect some of us are students ( I was a teacher).
Hi there! Do it work like that on texture paint mode? Can you paint and rotate object at the same time like you show on sculpting?
Does anyone have a good OSX setup for this?
Was about to get one until I converted it to the European site and for some reason it is €474.81 and that immediately put me off it. I did the calculations and if the website had scaled the prices accordingly with each exchange rate I would at most would have had to pay €375 / €376. Disappointed. :/
The magical of VAT and customs
The lowest price is including vat
I’m back on Blender 2.65/Win 7 and using my Spacepilot Pro again. I’m trying to get it to Pivot around an active object after I hit FIT. The selected object does fill the screen, but it’s not the pivot center. In the Blender Object Mode view, I’ve selected Pivot center for rotate/scaling, and I”m on the Global Transform option. I hope there’s a setting I’m missing in Blender somehow; not seeing it tonight.
I think I found it; Rotate Around Selection under the User Interface