Customer Reviews

Logitech NuLOOQ Navigator (965162-0403)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am a professional photographer, & graphic designer. I recently purchased the Nulooq Navigator and really hoped to use it as my new control set. The Nulooq is a toy of a device, it is fun. it acts like a limited use joystick. On a PC you can program the nulooq to perform 7 different functions. 5 buttons, and two twist dials. The Tool dial software was only created for the Macintosh, and has been discontinued during version 1. The tool dial software will never be created, or released for the PC says a customer service rep. It seems like Logitech is regretting this device and is going to phase it out. The lack of this interface severely takes away from any usefulness this device might have had. Material wise it is built well, and feels sturdy. It weighs in at about a pound so that it's not so easy to push the device around your desk while your working on it. In regard to performance speed. If you use any products from NIK software, then you can forget using the nulooq as it errors out and disconnects when you try and use NIK filters and the Nulooq. The top dial is easy to use, but jumps around quite a bit. I try to increase the size of the brush, and I just sit and twist my finger around this disk, like an I pod, but it is nowhere near the quality of a ipod, nor as accurate. The device is not saving me time, as limited as it is I can not use it. Keyboard shortcuts are the only way to go. If your not a power user, or not doing this professionally, or are new to photoshop, then the tooldial could be for you. If you are a MAC user the tool dial is better then it is on a PC due to the tooldial software. $64.00 is a pretty good price for what this thing does, I would have tried to market it for under $50.00. Last thing, the Nulooq driver disconnects often, and you either need to restart your computer, photoshop, or hot swap the USB connector, then relaunch photoshop.

This device is OK. It's fun. Not for pro's, I gave mine to the dog to chew on. For $64 the dog is getting some good use out of the device.

I don't own a commision based web site, or a magazine, that force me to be kind. You can read all the good reviews you want, but after you buy, you'll be sad.

This product was not the godsend that everyone made it out to be at first (the tool dial software has been discontinued because it was not what people expected and not nearly as efficient as it was initially made out to be), but it is a very handy tool that can really streamline your workflow and keep you from having to constantly switch from keyboard to mouse to pen to mouse to keyboard etc. I use it all the time with my graphics tablet and pen. Using the pen to do the editing and this to do the navigating (zooming in and out, scrolling around, changing brush size, navigating history states, etc), I can remain more focused on my work.

This is not a revolutionary way to work, but it does help to increase efficiency and speed up workflow.

If you are a Windows user you should be prepared to download the drivers from Logitech, since the last I heard it was still being shipped with Macintosh software only.

I have a windows xp machine, and this nulooq was not that easy to set up on it. I had to unplug it and put it back in, because it kept scrolling downward. In photoshop CS2, it worked okay for panning and zooming. The brush adjustments for the touch-sensitive tool tuner at the top was not working. The little dialog would come up while in photoshop, that displays the brush size. It would change as I tune the dial, but the brush itself doesn't change. Also, the buttons along the top are very firm, not easy to push, and make a loud click sound when they engage.

I bought the 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator around the same time, but it didn't have Photoshop support, until now.

I recommend the latter product because has more functionality (more application support), whereas 8 months later, the NuLooq still hasn't released any additional support for 2nd and 3rd party applications. The 3D SpaceNavigator has CS2, CS3 support, as well as a windows picture viewer extension, an Acrobat extension, and along with support for many 3D apps. Plus it supports Macro programming, Nulooq doesn't.

I was more than pleased with the operation of this device with Photoshop CS2. I just upgraded my Photoshop to CS3. Now the Nulooq device no longer works. I called Logitech about the problem. I was informed that Nulooq does not work with Photoshop CS3. A fix is in the works with no expected delivery date. A there is not beta software at this time. If you are used to using the Nulooq with Photoshop, I recommended not upgrading to CS3 until Logitech has a fix.

I love my tooldial and its' software. My only complaint is that you must have a very large proccessor to run it effectively. I frequently find that it gums up photoshop and in-design a little. Overall great product and I expect them to have some updates to work out the bugs. Works very well in tandem with a WACOM tablet.

There are items that come along and just make a dramatic impact on how you work, and this happens to be one of them. I spend a great deal of time on my computer creating and working on layouts, manipulating graphics and images, on digital video projects, with email, surfing the net, you name it. With all this, having a larger monitor or two, is a must. And with that, I spent a lot of time dragging my mouse all over the monitors to get work done. Going from here, to over there where the menus and toolbars are, back over to here where the image is... is time wasting and exasperating.

With the NuLOOQ software and controller I don't have to do all of that anymore. I can now bring up easily customized menus...by a click of my mouse...while working in the applications themselves...that put the tools, commands, files, and folders that I need, right at the tip of my cursor. So, very nice.

This is a gem of an input device if your expectations include programmable functionality across programs but you don't need an advanced graphics program controller. The NuLooq is a departure from much of the crap that's on the market that don't offer a leap over the flimsy keypads and wowie-zowie mice out there that are so early 2000s.. Instead, it's a flexible, alternate-hand device that actually DOES add functionality to your setup. Right out of the box, the heft of the unit distinguishes it from much of the other stuff.
The key, though, is to invest the time to program it, and then to actually use it. It's great for keyboard shortcuts, and if you invest the time to uncover them for each of your most-used programs, you'll be happy you did. Tip: log your settings in a table or text file, as I did, which serves as both a user reference and a backup in case you lose your preference file. The programming interface (for Mac at least) is well-designed.
I would buy this product again in a second.

I'm long time, serious amateur photographer and use Photoshop heavily as digital dark room. Besides this product I as well use Wacom tablet. Although I use Photoshop I never got too much into remembering keyboard short cuts and loved the offer that I can zoom in & out, scroll with my free hand. Change tools without without removing my eyes from the keyboard. NuLOOQ successfully does that but being a PC user it lacks the navigator screen available for Mac users. I just hope that they'll one day provide NuLOOQ Tooldial software for Windows platforms as well. The tools price is bit too much for what it offers for PCs but I do not regret that I made this investment.

a) the product AND software AND support are ALL discontinued.
[...]

b) does not work in any way shape or form in CS4

c) the tool pallette was never even released fo windows

DO NOT BUY IT.

I started using the NuLooq a few weeks ago. I was very interested in using the product in an attempt to speed up my workflow. Although I thught it would take a while getting used to, I figured it was worth a shot. I was shocked to find that I was comfortable with the NuLooq within the first hour I used it. I can zoom in, zoom out, change the opacity of brushes and diameters without ever moving a hand. Not to mention the screen real estate it freed up, when using the Tooldial. My workflow time has dramatically decreased which is exactly why I purchased the NuLooq. As an added plus, the NuLooq allows me to do things I never could, like increasing or decreasing the size of a brush while using it!

In one phrase, The NuLooq makes key commands seem like the long senic route opposed to the shortcut they used to be.

Aaron Mischel, Owner, Pixel Planet