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There's some reviews and feedback on the Steelseries Kana, Kinzu v2, and Kinzu v2 Pro. I love kb and mice stuff, so I thought I would sum up what I've read in regards to those mice. The Kana is the "Mouse 1.1" where they held the color choosing contest/voting. I thought I would sum up the 35 page thread on overclockers instead of just linking you guys to the thread and making you read it yourself.
Kinzu v2
Kinzu v2 Pro
Kana
Pics, not marketing ones either.
From what it seems, there isn't many changes in the v2. All of these mice use the pixart sensor (which is different from the Kinzu v1 sensor), the v2 has teflon feet, and I think the braided cord is new. Other than that I'm just not sure.
The v2 pro has omrom switches (the best switches you can get in a mouse), teflon feet, and is glossy (personally I don't like that, but some do. I wish they had a normal grip, I'm not buying the v2 pro only because its glossy. My hands sweat a decent amount, making any mouse like that completely unusable).
The Kana uses the same sensor, but "better" (I'll explain later on about that), teflon feet, big side buttons, and is a different shape. Slightly bigger than the kinzu, slightly smaller than the xai/sensei.
Now, I'll quote what people have said about the mouse. From what I can read about, yes there's positive accel (apparently less than the kinzu), mouse prediction (very minor), and an interesting bug when moving the mouse up and down quickly. It seems to jump to the right about 10-20 pixels. Not sure if that would ever happen in any game though. The positive accel kicks in at a certain speed, I believe the malfunction speed of the mouse.
This is kim roms original post about it.
Someone had a few questions for someone that reviewed it, here's his replies. Skylit (the person answering the questions) is using (Raindrop XL, QCK, HIEN KAI.G3 RED, Talent) to test the mice.
So the Kana is better? He replies...
The bug can be seen here. It's an issue with the pixart sensor. One reviewer "derp" said that Kim Rom told him it was fixed in the final version. Derp said his updated samples still had the bug.
Some users say compared to the Avago (the good versions at least) it feels odd, or weird. Just not as good.
Here's an image of paint tests for the Kinzu v2 pro - http://cdn.overclock.net/b/bc/bcd04eb9_kinzuv2pro.jpeg
Now, you might be wondering why the Kana and Kinzu v2 use the same sensor, but have different specs. This can probably be explained by quoting Skylit.
Furthermore, you'd think reviewing these mice would be fun. He disagrees.
But lets get some other opinions going on!
The Kana?
OPINIONS
It's interesting to see how Steelseries have operated over the years. When they announced ther 7G and 6G keyboards with black switches inside of them, that definitely made me wonder. Black switches are the absolute worst for gaming, so it makes me think why a company that's so dedicated to hardware that will make you a better gamer, makes choices that create worse hardware. Blues or browns would of been much better for gaming in that keyboard (Razers Blackwidow uses blues and browns). The xai and kinzu were both a disaster in terms of performance, a lot of people had issues with it. Now with the decision to use the Pixart sensor, they still have me thinking about why they're making the decisions they are. Even not using omrom switches in the mice is a big deal. Sure that drives up the cost, but isn't that what this is all about? The BEST hardware for gamers?
I think it's beginning to turn around for them though. They released the 6gv2 keyboard with mx cherry red switches, which definitely surprised me. Those are the best switches they could of put in a keyboard, so kudos. They took some advice from people about the kinzuv2/kana, but ignored others.
For me, I'm looking to try the Kana, ONLY because the Kinzu v2 pro is glossy. My hands sweat and I can't use mice like that, end of story. If they have even one version that's a regular grip like the kinzu1 or xai, I'll try it.
Hopefully they start to re-think their decisions. They seems to get on the right track, but off of it again. They want to make themselves know as the product to buy if you want to "play like a pro", yet they make silly decisions like taking the Xai, and just adding features that don't help for gaming. Instead of letting you choose a color and customize it, they should of focused on getting or developing an actual proper laser sensor, instead of using the xais (that has tons of complaints) and making it pretty. They bash the competition for putting lights on their mice, but they go and do the same.
I own steelseries products, so I'm not anti-steelseries at all. I look forward to every mouse release from them, I've been always looking for kana/kinzu v2 news and updates.
I know ESR is waiting for that next WMO/3.0 challenger, maybe these mice are it, I don't know. We all love that microsoft sensor, and all it would take to satisfy everyone would be to make a sensor as reliable as that one, that offers a higher dpi, with two different shapes, that works with 90% of pads (I'm looking at you abyssus, work on my Puretrak talent please) and anything on top of that would be a bonus. For a reasonable price of course. I'd drop $80 on a mouse knowing it will replace my WMO indefinitely.
Post your thoughts :>
Kinzu v2
Kinzu v2 Pro
Kana
Pics, not marketing ones either.
From what it seems, there isn't many changes in the v2. All of these mice use the pixart sensor (which is different from the Kinzu v1 sensor), the v2 has teflon feet, and I think the braided cord is new. Other than that I'm just not sure.
The v2 pro has omrom switches (the best switches you can get in a mouse), teflon feet, and is glossy (personally I don't like that, but some do. I wish they had a normal grip, I'm not buying the v2 pro only because its glossy. My hands sweat a decent amount, making any mouse like that completely unusable).
The Kana uses the same sensor, but "better" (I'll explain later on about that), teflon feet, big side buttons, and is a different shape. Slightly bigger than the kinzu, slightly smaller than the xai/sensei.
Now, I'll quote what people have said about the mouse. From what I can read about, yes there's positive accel (apparently less than the kinzu), mouse prediction (very minor), and an interesting bug when moving the mouse up and down quickly. It seems to jump to the right about 10-20 pixels. Not sure if that would ever happen in any game though. The positive accel kicks in at a certain speed, I believe the malfunction speed of the mouse.
This is kim roms original post about it.
Someone had a few questions for someone that reviewed it, here's his replies. Skylit (the person answering the questions) is using (Raindrop XL, QCK, HIEN KAI.G3 RED, Talent) to test the mice.
Some questions for the testers when they're available:
1. Does the Pixart sensor have any acceleration? Yes and no. It hits positive acceleration once it approaches the malfunction rate.
2. Does the sensor have any prediction or jitter? Prediction? Yes if you would like to call it that. It's lower than most early Avago based gaming sensors, but if you absolutely hate linear correction, you may get annoyed.
3. The spec list for the Kana and Kinzu state different tracking speeds, is this a typo or do they track differently? They have different variations of the same sensor. Kana was upgraded in terms of performance.
4. What kind of perfect control speeds were you getting with the Kinzu and Kana? Close to spec. 70~ and 135~ IPS. I wouldn't recommend the Kinzu v2 if you use a low sensitivity and swipe with your full arm.
5. As someone that loves the WMO but is getting frustrated with the low perfect control speed, would you use the Kinzu V2 over one? Yes and No. WMO has a higher max malfunction rate. Perfect control is slightly higher than the early intellimice bumped over 200hz.
6. I recently tried a IMO 1.1 and had problems with my ring finger hitting the right side button, do you experience the same problem with the Kana and/or can you turn off the side buttons? If you palm, you may accidentally hit mouse 5. Didn't experience any trouble clawing. Shape and size is almost identical to the WMO. Only thing "1.1" is the side buttons on each side.
7. What are your general opinions of each mouse and would you recommend them to avid WMO/1.1 fans? External build of the Kinzu v2 is like the original, but glossy. I didn't really care for the Kana's build, but I honestly don't have final samples to determine that. Internals aren't any thing special, but that's my opinion.
8. Is the Kinzu V2 Pro worth getting over the normal V2? Its up to you. Better mouse feet and Omron switches. My beta model used omron d2fc-f-7n on every switch, but that isn't likely on retail. The TTC 159 series is actually rated for 10m clicks according to their website.
9. How is the scroll wheel on both mice? What would you compare them to? Early beta samples used the same TTC encoder found in Kinzu v1. 2nd Kana sample was unmarked and felt slightly looser than the first.
10. How much force is required to use the middle mouse button, I use middle mouse on my WMO for PTT. Ehh. Medium-Heavy~. Wheel is the smallest on the Kinzu. Requires more pressure. Kana's is a little larger, less pressure.
11. Is it still possible to make Kinzuadders with the Kinzu V2? Still has a dual PCB main-daughter design, but I'm unsure if that will change with final retail models. the shell is also slightly modified for the newer PCB.
So the Kana is better? He replies...
"In terms of max IPS, it's good. I'm not really fond of the Pixart sensors though.
While it didn't bother me as much as Derp, there was a noticeable bug that would occur every so often where the cursor would randomly jump to the right. (I could feel it in game randomly) It's reproducible paint, but you have to try and wait until it kicks in. I'm not claiming anything, but it may be due to lower sensor FPS. (Older low FPS Agilent sensors used to skip fairly easily)
Is this fixed for retail? I don't know."
The bug can be seen here. It's an issue with the pixart sensor. One reviewer "derp" said that Kim Rom told him it was fixed in the final version. Derp said his updated samples still had the bug.
Some users say compared to the Avago (the good versions at least) it feels odd, or weird. Just not as good.
Here's an image of paint tests for the Kinzu v2 pro - http://cdn.overclock.net/b/bc/bcd04eb9_kinzuv2pro.jpeg
Now, you might be wondering why the Kana and Kinzu v2 use the same sensor, but have different specs. This can probably be explained by quoting Skylit.
"The initial Kana would have likely launched with the PAW3305DK + 1.0x lens (68 IPS) and plastic feet. I tried making it clear that a lot of people would find the max tracking rates a tad low even coming from an Intellimouse or WMO. Thus they swamped out the PAW3305DK, for the PAW3305DK-H and gave it a 0.5x lens.
In doing this, the max CPI range of 3200 wouldn't be possible. I suggested interpolation as it wouldn't have mattered. Tracking beyond 1600 CPI @ 1.0x got really bad. The 0.5x lens @ the 3200 CPI registry value (1600) isn't that great, but I was waiting for a "finished" mouse to make judgements."
Furthermore, you'd think reviewing these mice would be fun. He disagrees.
"I regret even getting involved with these mice at this point."
But lets get some other opinions going on!
"This is not true. Avago 3060/3080/3090 are not inferior to 3668/3888. The only advantage DA has is the lack of prediction, which the 3090 is also capable of. Let's not forget it took Razer many years to make DA the mouse it is today. As a personal opinion, the A3090 in the Zowie AM is just as good and could be much better if they put more effort into testing/firmwares. The way is see it they prefer to focus on adding more DPI to those flawed laser sensors and pretty lights. The "raw material" is there, but their priorities changed drastically."
The Kana?
"From what I've gathered, the sensor had a few bugs, but they seem to have been fixed in the kinzu v2 retail version, so expect them to be fixed in the kana as well. And I think it was skylit who said that the build quality of the kana was pretty bad. But since that was a beta version, I'm sure they have fixed that as well, since steelseries does pretty well when it comes to build quality."
OPINIONS
It's interesting to see how Steelseries have operated over the years. When they announced ther 7G and 6G keyboards with black switches inside of them, that definitely made me wonder. Black switches are the absolute worst for gaming, so it makes me think why a company that's so dedicated to hardware that will make you a better gamer, makes choices that create worse hardware. Blues or browns would of been much better for gaming in that keyboard (Razers Blackwidow uses blues and browns). The xai and kinzu were both a disaster in terms of performance, a lot of people had issues with it. Now with the decision to use the Pixart sensor, they still have me thinking about why they're making the decisions they are. Even not using omrom switches in the mice is a big deal. Sure that drives up the cost, but isn't that what this is all about? The BEST hardware for gamers?
I think it's beginning to turn around for them though. They released the 6gv2 keyboard with mx cherry red switches, which definitely surprised me. Those are the best switches they could of put in a keyboard, so kudos. They took some advice from people about the kinzuv2/kana, but ignored others.
For me, I'm looking to try the Kana, ONLY because the Kinzu v2 pro is glossy. My hands sweat and I can't use mice like that, end of story. If they have even one version that's a regular grip like the kinzu1 or xai, I'll try it.
Hopefully they start to re-think their decisions. They seems to get on the right track, but off of it again. They want to make themselves know as the product to buy if you want to "play like a pro", yet they make silly decisions like taking the Xai, and just adding features that don't help for gaming. Instead of letting you choose a color and customize it, they should of focused on getting or developing an actual proper laser sensor, instead of using the xais (that has tons of complaints) and making it pretty. They bash the competition for putting lights on their mice, but they go and do the same.
I own steelseries products, so I'm not anti-steelseries at all. I look forward to every mouse release from them, I've been always looking for kana/kinzu v2 news and updates.
I know ESR is waiting for that next WMO/3.0 challenger, maybe these mice are it, I don't know. We all love that microsoft sensor, and all it would take to satisfy everyone would be to make a sensor as reliable as that one, that offers a higher dpi, with two different shapes, that works with 90% of pads (I'm looking at you abyssus, work on my Puretrak talent please) and anything on top of that would be a bonus. For a reasonable price of course. I'd drop $80 on a mouse knowing it will replace my WMO indefinitely.
Post your thoughts :>
Edited by Gillz at 21:13 CST, 20 December 2011 - 40049 Hits
