3DConnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless is a professional mouse equipped with all the comforts and accessory tools to make the life of a designer easier, facilitating work from many points of view.
The company is so attentive to those who design that it has decided to propose the same model both in the right-handed version, subject of this test, and for left-handed people, with the same functions, options and costs, which is no small feat in a world in which often those who use the left at the computer have to settle for universal products.
3DConnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless, the review
The dress that makes the monk
Let's say it right away, it is basically wrong to judge a product by its appearance, just as it is wrong to judge a man by how he is dressed, but sometimes we allow ourselves to be influenced because as in this case the appearance is truly impeccable.
The market is typically business and vertical on those who draw (but we don't want to close the point of view too much) and consequently 3DConnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless dresses up.
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The upper surface is in black rubber, with a slightly satin-finished silver metal belt, as are the finishes on the wheel.
The package contains the MicroUSB / USB-A cable, the USB antenna for wireless connection (although, as we will see shortly, it may not be needed) and an elegant semi-rigid black case with zip, excellent for travel.
Class is not water and here is all: on the other hand 3DConnexion had already pleasantly surprised us with the Space Mouse Enterprise and here it consolidates its position, even if the market is niche, as a leader in the sector.
The only flaws, venal, emerge from the fact that the rubber of the upper coating gets dirty easily if you don't have white hands (so no chips for lunch, but they can be cleaned with the same ease) and that a pocket for the USB antenna is missing. the trip (luckily the antenna is replaceable).
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The premise, a little help
The mouse test was accompanied by the 3DConnexion CadMouse Pad test mat, a semi-rigid model with a dark gray sandblasted rough surface at the top, while the bottom is a sticky viscous rubber mat.
The mat, which measures 35 × 25 mm (and scarce 2 mm in height) is obviously not necessary for the correct functioning of the mouse but it is a great convenience, especially for all desks that have surfaces that are too shiny or not homogeneous and in any case , given that it is an optical mouse, a great help in accuracy.
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Very high values
3DConnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless has a 7200 dpi optical sensor with variable sampling frequency from 90 to 1000 Hz according to the type of connection: values that bring it to the top in the professional sector (where only a few models exceed 4000 dpi and very few have frequencies so high) and able to compete even with the gaming sector, even if it is not in its DNA.
The built-in Li-ion battery can reach three months of battery life (which is a miracle considering the chip on board) wirelessly, but the good news is that the mouse can operate in triple mode.
2.4GHz Wi-Fi with a USB-A antenna (very small), via Bluetooth Low Energy or via MicroUSB cable on the front, a mode that can be used during charging.
Compatibility is very high and speaks of macOS 10.10 and Windows 7 SP1 (only via cable or Wi-Fi) or later but the use of all functions and connections requires Windows 10 or a more recent version of macOS.
The use of the mat is not mandatory, of course, but it is strongly recommended because, being a mouse optical, is subject to disturbances due to the different homogeneity of the surface, hence the facilitation given by the mat
How it works
The mouse weighs 140 g: in all honesty above the mat they seem less, because the mouse base glides very well during movement, although precision has never been lacking. The best operation is via cable, more than anything else to take advantage of the 1000 Hz sampling (practically the number of times per second in which the mouse talks with the computer, the higher the better the fidelity of the movement tracking. ) but considering that the mode for which it was born, the design, is not subject to time, even via Wi-Fi the functioning is not bad.
Without the driver the mouse appeared a bit unmanageable and here and there unbalanced, but once the drivers were installed (on macOS 10.14) everything changed and the evening dress showed itself in all its power.
The mouse has 7 buttons, two of which are side, a wheel, a top button (which we'll talk about shortly) and three front buttons.
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The three front buttons are a novelty in the industry, and can be programmable at will, but basically the button in the middle serves to replace the click with the wheel in the 3DConnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless, done in this way more gently and more immediately. For those who are more traditional, the second and third buttons can be used in the same way without problems.
The upper button instead opens a small overlay virtual pad that opens to more options, all programmable: for example, it is possible to zoom in on a detail on the fly and then return to the previous view, or activate third functions.
A small numeric pad, perfect for those who draw with precision, which can be recalled via a key
On Adobe Illustrator we opted for some functions such as magnification, wireframe display and the activation or deactivation of the bounding box, quite common operations that in this case you can perform without having to move your hands from the keyboard or (worse) go to call up the item from the menu, as here you just need to click on the appropriate item in the radial menu.
The solution, just to make a comparison, we had already seen it on Wacom tablets, here brought on mouse is a great convenience.
The quality of the drivers is excellent, probably the best seen on Mac so far by the writer, who can boast of having seen and tried most of the mice on the market today: even if for some Apps such as Illustrator the software installs (on request) additional plug-ins, where they are not present, it is possible to act by interfacing everything with pre-recorded commands or via AppleScript.
THE radial menu that can be activated with the upper key, which offers interesting programmable shortcuts
Considerations
This review was a little longer than we had planned, but in all honesty we are faced with a product that, wherever you look at it, has no obvious defects (if not some venial sin) and indeed raises the bar for the whole category. of professional mice.
Excellent from the point of view of construction and software support (also for Mac, not to be underestimated), it offers an enviable balance considering the power, the elasticity of the connections and the battery life (a factor that is held in high regard by those who design ), in an aspect that, like James bond, stands out in excellent discretion.
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The price, 141.00 Euros (to which we recommend inserting the 35.00 Euros of the mat), seems to us perfectly in line with the capabilities of the product (among other things available in a version for right and left handed): there are many other mice at lower prices , of course, but none with the same skills.
You can fit an inferior mouse, of course, but after trying the 3DConnexion CadMouse Pad Wireless it honestly seems very difficult.
The CadMouse Pro Wireless, here accompanied by the Space Mouse Enterprise, which we reviewed not long ago
Pros:
• Professional design • Many keys, programmable • Software functions designed for CAD or vector App • Excellent hardware performance
Cons:
• USB antenna drawer is missing • Not a gaming mouse
Price:
• 141.61 Euro (CadMouse Pro Wireless) • 141.61 Euro (CadMouse Pro Wireless Left) • 34.51 Euro (CadMouse Pad) • 22.61 Euro (CadMouse Pad Compact)
Readers can purchase 3DConnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless directly from the parent company's website: alternatively it is also available through the Amazon.it pages in the right- and left-handed version, as well as the semi-rigid mat.
