Currently I own a number of consumer scanners but one of my go to absolute favorites is the Einstar, so when I heard shinning was releasing a new scanner that didn’t need to be tethered to a computer I was all in no questions asked preorder in the bluish color complete. Unlike so many other companies shinning keeps their word on the shipping and it was pretty fast. I was super excited to get this in my hands as I scan small car parts and large items as well and the einstar didn’t do small well at all. Which was ok. The original thought was I would buy the Vega and sell my einstar and other two scannners. Well I can sell my other two but not the einstar as the Vega is with a purpose I’m sure missing a range in the middle which I’m sure that’s not to have complete overlap between the two. Let’s back up for a minute though. Unboxing the Vega is where the disappointment started. Vega comes in a case similar to einstar however not as sturdy as the einstar case which is odd as its double the price and the case feels cheap. The 65w dual usb c charger was not inside the case and was in a small box insides the main box and appears to be maybe a parts bin grab but has some weight to it feels good quality and charges fast but gets pretty warm in the process. The little figure was in main box as well along with the holder for calibration plate. The strap that comes with Vega clearly was not meant to go with the Vega as it’s very cheap looking and feeling. The usb C cord also has an off the shelf look to it but appears to be a good quality. The calibration plate holder however does not fit in the case which I find strange. There should be a soft cloth included for wiping the front lens since the hand grips are made for infant hands you will get finger prints all over the front lens area which will affect scans. I personally calibrated the Vega 3 times and no problems on any try.
Another disappointing thing was the way Vega uses the description of “HD/Fast” scanning modes.
You would think high quality and lower quality.
No this means HD is for small objects and I mean small. They provide you with a tri pod as I don’t believe most would be able to do via hand held. You can use geometry, texture or markers in this HD mode. It will make pretty good scans this way, no control over distance of scanning
Fast Scanning mode allows 350-1500 scanning distance which is adjustable. You can scan using features/geometry or texture but no options for markers. (You see again the goal of creating distance with einstar)
You can adjust the led light of Vega and scanner brightness along with the level for features so the lighter objects don’t turn red.
I wish I knew no marker option for the “Fast” scanner. Thats a disappointment.
I’ve had mixed results using the fast mode, not really impressed
The battery… whoa while the charger does charge fast the Vega drains that thing just as fast and don’t for a minute think you will be able to leave home without a portable charger or means to recharge onsite. You will be amazed at how fast this thing drains. Save your self don’t use the Vega for any processing just scan and save that’s it.
The starvision software is bad, I don’t understand this part. The einstar software was good and had become even better with recent improvements. StarVision a few steps back and cumbersome. I don’t like it at all. Since I have received scanner there has been two updates. I’m sure more to come. To both scanner and software. I personally feel the Vega was rushed to market given the release of revopoints Marco plus or premium whatever they call it. Save your self don’t buy anything from revopoint. So in truth given this thought do I think the Vega will improve over some time with updates. Absolutely I do. I think shinning really does care about their products and their reputation among users. It’s just going to take a bit of time. How long. Not sure they are actively asking for feedback from users and taking that info to their engineers. It’s just do you want to enjoy that ride with them and the early adopters?? That’s the question. I hope they refine the packaging of the product and polish it to a shine with the extra bits (cord, charger, strap, calibrate plate holder) also look on printables as a person has already modeled a grip that allows the the gel cover to stay on Vega and allows using Vega to feel way more natural.
In closing as things improve I hope to update this review with a perfect score across the board.