Are 3D mice really that useful?

yep!

Navigating a 3D space with a 2D mouse has its limits because there are only two things that can be done at one time (left-right, up,down). Going in and out of an image requires clicking something else to change one of the directional components.

A 3D mouse allows all directions in one controller and movement is more natural. In real life, we move in all three dimensions, not just two at any one time.

Make sure that you buy a 3D mouse that's supported in Poser. As far as I know, the Space Navigator is the only one that is directly supported. I've seen articles by people trying to hack a WII controller to work in Windows, but haven't followed their progress.

And actually the space navigator is of even MORE use in photoshop.. I can;t imagine not having it for my photoshop work now!

Quote - Make sure that you buy a 3D mouse that's supported in Poser. As far as I know, the Space Navigator is the only one that is directly supported.

I saw the Space Navigator at Amazon.com.  The product info is what prompted me to inquire further.

Thanks, to everyone, for your input.  I appreciate it.  I'll order a Space Navigator when I buy Poser 7.

One caution about the Space Navigator: It has a very small range of motion.
It's not like a joystick or a mouse; rather it depends more on pressure than actual motion. 
I bought one and tried it for a while, and just couldn't get used to the feel.

If you're accustomed to a pressure-type control, you'll like it.

The Space Navigator gets big thumbs up from the Poser crew here at Smith from the buzz I've heard...

One tip I've heard the guys give at trade shows over and over when demoing with the Space Navigator is...be patient when learning it, and once you get the hang of it, you'll never want to let it go...

I know better than to link, and we don't host it on CP, but you can find it in the Smith Micro webstore for roughly the same price as Amazon.

There is also the housemouse at DAZ3D, with hamstermorphs, clothes and poses and other attributes...

  ...just in case you were looking for a 3D-model of a mouse :lol: and not some fancy gadget.

Bopper.

Another thing to keep in mind about the Space Navigator is that it is not a mouse replacement. The mouse is still being used to select things with one hand while the other hand moves the Navigator around inside the preview window.

One of the utilities with the Navigator allows configuring the amount of pressure required to move in each axis. I forget exactly what I changed, but it improved how well it works by adding pressure to axis movements I didn't want so that I wasn't accidentally banking when I was trying to move along one axis.

I hadn't even considered using it in Photoshop, but I suppose moving and zooming in on a large image could be easier.

Quote - Another thing to keep in mind about the Space Navigator is that it is not a mouse replacement. The mouse is still being used to select things with one hand while the other hand moves the Navigator around inside the preview window.

Amazon has pics of both the Navigator and a traditional mouse being used in tandem.  Being able to move freely within a 3D space, while doing the actual posing and other work with a regular mouse, strongly appeals to me.  I just wanted to make sure the Navigator really works and isn't just another gadget to waste money on.

If you get used to it, it's great. I would say, it behaves a bit like a trackpoint, which you have on some notebooks.

What is a 3d mouse? How does it differ from a 2d (standard?) one?