ZSA voyager REVIEW - lightweight and very easy to configure

Рет қаралды 2,863

Күн бұрын

The voyager by ZSA is a lightweight split ergonomic keyboard that has many properties to like. The software is outstanding and there are many little design details to appreciate that appear immediately when you open the box.
00:00 Shape
01:14 Switches
03:04 Keycap Trick
05:41 Tenting
09:04 Oryx Software
12:24 Advanced Settings
15:54 Branding
16:57 Possible Downsides
20:02 Summary
If you want to learn more about the keyboard, go here:
www.zsa.io/voyager

Пікірлер: 32

@user-zc3ec2fb3l 4 күн бұрын

Great idea - this pinky nib really makes homerow feel even more like "home"

@calmcode-io 3 күн бұрын

Totally! I may even want to add one on the thumb key.

@AdrielVelazquez 19 күн бұрын

Great review. For context for people switching from Staggered to Ortholinear, it took me about 5 days practicing for 1 hour a day, and forcing my way through normal usage to get back to my typing speed.

@calmcode-io 19 күн бұрын

That's relatively quick! It certainly took me a fair bit longer and it wasn't until I used the Glove80 where I was really able to nail it.

@AdrielVelazquez 15 күн бұрын

@@calmcode-io I somewhat mispoke. While I did go back to my typing speed, my coding speed is stilil horrible, and I've been making a ton of revisions to how I access special characters

@billyclabough9835 5 күн бұрын

FYI, if you get the optional magnetic tripod connectors, connect them to a tripod before attaching to keyboard. The magnetic connection is really strong and almost impossible to remove without the tripods leverage.

@calmcode-io 3 күн бұрын

Very true!

@Richard0503 17 күн бұрын

This video was really well made - thanks!

@calmcode-io 15 күн бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@DygmaLab 19 күн бұрын

Great review. We also agree on the palm pad thing! We tried it with the palm pads of the Dygma Defy and it improves a lot! Also, we think that having 3 thumbkeys on each side could be better.

@calmcode-io 19 күн бұрын

Thanks. Some of this could be personal but I think that for now I have settled on a "one button per thumb is maybe fine" philosophy. I will make a video about this later because the reasoning is that this allows me to have on configuration that will basically work very comfortably on any board that I might try. Even the ones with a mere single spacebar. Any extra keys are nice for common shortcuts, but I have found that I can also easily manage without them. These extra keys are convenient, but I value being able to switch my boards at any time.

@nickgoogle4525 19 күн бұрын

@@calmcode-io Haha, exactly my reasoning! The space key is the best thumb key there is IMO.

@calmcode-io 19 күн бұрын

@@nickgoogle4525 If possible I think it is preferable to have one key per thumb though. I want to be able to do something clever when I only have a single space bar because for the forseeable future that will be a keyboard that is in mix ... but the moment that there is a nice two thumb keyboard that fits on top of my macbook air in an ergonomic way then this might change.

@nickgoogle4525 19 күн бұрын

@@calmcode-io I see. Actually I think having a few keys extra is good, also on the thumb. But IMO it is important that the main thumb key fits perfectly to your hand position. Then on top extra keys can be a plus. But I think it is clever to use a layout which uses those as nice add-ons and not as needed. Thus you can transfer the layout to a standard keyboard. That is how I set up mine. BTW, I have not seen anyone so far who did it in the way: two one-shot layers (Shift and Symbols) on the best pinky places and the navigation layer on the held thumb. I am working on an article and video showcasing that, but it will likely take some weeks.

@calmcode-io 19 күн бұрын

@@nickgoogle4525 There are many ways to set up a keyboard, and one of the fun things about trying out all the keyboards is that they also serve as forcing functions to explore different layouts! What boards do you use now? In terms of what you just said about main thumb keys: sounds spot on. This is something that the Dygma Raise does pretty well. The main thumb buttons are super comfortable to reach and then there are four lower buttons below which use choc switches. Because these are literally lower they also allow for easy tactile navigation.

@PhanorColl 15 күн бұрын

great video. thanks.

@calmcode-io 15 күн бұрын

You are welcome!

@jamemackson 5 күн бұрын

great review! Can you share your layout?

@shiaulis 17 күн бұрын

Like from Voyager owner. I still getting used to it but mostly because I made a radical decision to use Colemak on it. Still, never regretted. The most universal in terms of ergonomics and portability. And ZSA software has almost 0 learning curve 💪🏾

@calmcode-io 17 күн бұрын

I can imagine that the extra keys with nibs on for that layout are a welcome surprise as well. And yeah ... I use other boards for sure but the software is the main thing that I always miss with other boards.

@Dominik-vn6lo 14 күн бұрын

That's why I already started learning Colemak-DH a few days ago on my row-staggered mechanical. A week ago I completely went with blank keycaps and removed QWERTY from my layout. I'm still learning, but by the time my Voyager arrives (with blank keycaps) I'll be ready. The row -stagger already annoys me so much, I can't wait for it to arrive here!

@shiaulis 14 күн бұрын

@@Dominik-vn6lo how do you feel currently without ability to write down simple sentences? 😄 I mean I still sometimes take my old keyboard back when I need to write a big text 🫣

@TheRich107 19 күн бұрын

Great video! Love a tap dance. I love my Mac but the thing that bothers me is that when I make a spelling mistake I have to use the mouse to right click the word to use the auto correct. In the spirit of keeping hands on the keyboard have you found a way to bring the mouse cursor over to the cursor and use your right click buttons any faster or found a keyboard shortcut to open up spell checking (like on windows)?

@calmcode-io 19 күн бұрын

Hah! This is for sure one of my main gripes with "modern" software. It still relies too much on the mouse. Am also curious about this if others folks have any advice.

@williamvictorr 10 күн бұрын

Use auto hotkey

@TheRich107 10 күн бұрын

Is that not just for windows?

@trackvegeta8716 14 күн бұрын

You have tested a lot of keyboards in a short period of time. Which one do you use finally ?

@calmcode-io 14 күн бұрын

When I got RSI issues I bought a lot of them in a state of panic, knowing that I could also sell them off relatively easy on Dutch ebay. I also bought a fair few second hand too. I think the perfect keyboard does not exist but that each keyboard shows me something new that is possible. I rotate between a few boards at the moment. The voyager/Glove80 tend to be my most ergonomic favs at the moment but also still sometimes grab the UHK when I need to switch between mac/ubuntu a lot.

@trackvegeta8716 14 күн бұрын

@@calmcode-io ok, I do the same between glove80 and Keychron v10 max

@calmcode-io 14 күн бұрын

@@trackvegeta8716 That makes me curious. What's the appeal of Keychrons board? I've always found their stuff limited in terms of customization.

@trackvegeta8716 13 күн бұрын

@@calmcode-io I like v10 because of function rows, three keys for the thumbs and macro keys. My function keys are replaced by custom behaviors by programming them directly with qmk. Having tap dance on function keys allows to get quick access to Xcode shortcuts. I set kailh silent pink.

@nickgoogle4525 12 сағат бұрын

The Voyager costs 440 Euro in the NL, when you add everything up. I kind of regretted my purchase. I find it too expensive and most important not matching the promises and glorious reviews. The ergonomics could be better: keycaps not square, but the bit smaller in height it can be with the used switches would make the keys a bit easier to reach. Also the key layout and thumb keys could be better positioned and the main thumb key would need to be bigger and with a different keycap shape. Then the provided TRRS cable is not good. Way too long for typical desktop use and also not nice and flexible. For the high price I would expect better. Also Oryx is great, but has a few critical limitations, most notably not allowing to assign a character to a shifted key. Finally the switches (Pro Red) are supposed to be quiet. They are not. They are loud and not fun to use either. I have much better MX switches in my UHK, which IMO is the better overall package, even Voyager has some cool things for it as well.