Trackball Recommendation

[Juan T]

Any recommendation for a trackball to work best with Affinity Products?

[R C-R]

I use a Kensington "Expert Mouse" trackball with my Mac. I love the trackball but I am having some issues with the Kensingtonworks software that provides extra button & other functions. I am currently running without that software, & it still works, but the 2 top buttons are not functional, nor is the custom tracking speed+acceleration curve I would like to use.

[v_kyr]

• Logitech MX Ergo

[Juan T]

The Logitech M570 Trackball any good?

[BofG]

I've literally tried every mainstream one available (my Amazon returns must have been on the brink of being banned lol). The only one I could get along with was the Logitech TrackMan Marble. The left button sits under the thumb, easy to click and move the ball at the same time. Super light trigger on the buttons too. The one downside is no scroll wheel (the Kensington models either had an excellent "scroll ring" or a function where twisting the ball gave a scroll function complete with a satisfying clicking sound). I've gotten around this using Auto HotKey on Windows, with a key binding that sets the ball into working as a traditional mouse scroll wheel when pressed.

From my personal experience, you really need to try a few models out as it's a feel kind of thing. The top of the range Kensington was really nicely made, but for me it was awful to use. I'm sure whoever designed it found it perfect.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, BofG said:

The top of the range Kensington was really nicely made, but for me it was awful to use. I'm sure whoever designed it found it perfect.

There are several things I love about my Kensington. One is the scroll ring, which for me is easy to use with my ring finger while using my two longer fingers to move the ball & thumb for the primary button. So in the Affinity & several other apps I can zoom on-the-fly at the same time I am using the pointer.

Another is that it is extremely durable. Mine has been used daily for about 15 years & works, looks, & feels the same as the day I bought it. Some very clever engineering contributes to this. For instance, the scroll ring has a tactile 'clickiness' so it feels like there is a physical detent mechanism, but instead of using anything that would rub against it & eventually wear out, it is implemented with a magnet & an iron ring with cutouts so nothing actually rubs against anything else.

A third is that the trackball itself is fairly heavy & runs on 3 tiny low friction synthetic ruby bearings. This makes it easy to flick the ball to get it moving so the pointer can cover large screen distances without having to set it to be overly sensitive to small movements of the ball. (It is better with its software running so I can set a steep acceleration curve but still quite acceptable without it.) It takes a while to get used to this but the combination makes it easy to move the pointer precisely over small screen distances & still cover the entire screen in one quick motion.

The big downside for me is the problems I am having that prevent me from using the otherwise very useful Kensingtonworks software with it. I am not sure if that is due to something wrong with my iMac (which is 8 years old), due to some software bug that only appears with Mojave, or what. So it might not be an issue with other Macs, other Mac OS versions, or with Windows.

[BofG]

@R C-R I did try the one you are using, I loved the ball and the scroll ring, but for me the button fell in an awkward place for my thumb - it made clicking quite hard. This is why it's such a personal choice. There's no doubting the quality but if it doesn't fit the hand then that's the end. I also tried the top end SlimBlade - that was super nice, the ball is heavier still and I think it was a higher resolution. Why they ditched the scroll ring is odd though, the twisting to scroll worked, but not as well. Form over function there I think. Alas, again I found the button placement awkward, they are hinged plastic and my thumb was too close to the attached end making it stiff to click. The TrackMan just fits my hand better, and the button is super light to click, like a precision microswitch. Pity it doesn't have the the scroll ability and resolution of the Kensington range.

I wish there would be more new models made, it seems like they are all from 10+ years ago. So far there's not been a "perfect" one for me. But then again I am known to be awkward

[v_kyr]

18 hours ago, Juan T said:

The Logitech M570 Trackball any good?

You can read some reviews (https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-trackballs/), though for such devices it's always also a good idea to try and test them in reality before, in order to find out if you feel comfortable with a specific one or not. Thus I would also try the one or other out first before buying one.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, v_kyr said:

... though for such devices it's always also a good idea to try and test them in reality before, in order to find out if you feel comfortable with a specific one or not.

Or at least buy one from a source with a clear, no fee return policy. Ideally that would be from a local store so there is no hassle about shipping charges or delays & it could be returned at the store, but with the current quarantine restrictions that might be impractical.

3 hours ago, BofG said:

I also tried the top end SlimBlade - that was super nice, the ball is heavier still and I think it was a higher resolution. Why they ditched the scroll ring is odd though, the twisting to scroll worked, but not as well.

I wondered about that. If the twist-to-scroll feature was designed to somehow offer four way scrolling that might explain it. That is something the scroll ring cannot not do, at least without using the other hand to hold down the shift key to change up-down to left-right scrolling.

Also, as long as I am on the topic, I don't understand why there isn't more variety for corded USB trackballs. Since they don't need to be moved around like a mouse, the only advantage I can see to the wireless ones is they (maybe) free up a USB port (but only if they connect over BlueTooth) & there is one less cord to clutter up desks. But the downside is the wireless ones are battery powered, so the battery has to be replaced or recharged periodically, & some of them are subject to interference from USB 3 ports.

[Juan T]

 Logitech TrackMan Marble is probably the best.

[Wharse1]

I had to install a new C-drive and run into som problems afterwards with KensingtonTrackball works. It seems as som programming funktions has been taken away like " drag and hold" in The new 2.2.7 version. I have had Kensington Trackballs for many years. Im handikappad so The drag funktions are very important to me. Annyone knows hov to find an order version of Trackball Works that have The same drag and hold working in win10?

It does so I dont have to hold down The Button I just mark where I start and roll as long as needed f ex a text passage to a new position.

 

Wharse1