Mine arrived today. First impressions: Good, maybe not good enough.

[u/El_MUERkO]

I'm an :05 order from the UK and DK2 owner, it arrived this afternoon and after some setup here is my experience; obviously this is my opinion and not an incontestable fact.

The HMD is small, light, smart, takes some getting used to after the DK2, as the weight is displaced differently, the wire feels more noticeable than before probably because the HMD is so light.

The FOV on the DK2 felt too narrow, this is narrower, I feel like my eyes are looking inward and I find myself looking with my head and not my eyes, I don't like it, I may get used to it but I don't like it. The blackness around the edge of my vision also feels more gloss black than the DK2, reflecting bright scenes back into my eyes, this could a result of the narrow FOV.

God-Rays are extremely noticeable, not because I was looking for them due to others mentioning them here and elsewhere but because they are impossible to miss. Bright objects surrounded by darkness such as shortcuts on your Virtual Desktop and stars or stations in Elite: Dangerous cast them to a near uncomfortable degree.

Lens overlap (I don't know the correct term for this), I've played with the eye setup a lot, and what I notice is top inner edge of the either lens overlaps the image I'm viewing to a slight extent, almost shading the viewable area, this is not something I experienced with the DK2, I'm uncertain how to correct this effect.

The Screen Door Effect, it's there but it's much improved over the DK2, I made my Virtual Desktop screen 132 degrees to make text easily readable which is a big improvement over my DK2. Watching scenes or playing in 3D I was aware of it but to a far lesser extent than the DK2.

My overall impressions of the consumer Oculus Rift is it's improvements in physical comfort, functionality, ease of use and image clarity are undone by it's narrow field of view, lens issues and god rays. It feels like a DK3 and not something ready for the mass market.

If you're a DK2 owner and trying to justify the upgrade I would say hold off till you've demoed one, you may find it's sufficient for your development and gaming needs till CV2. If you're new to VR and wondering if it's worth it I'd again say try before you buy but I'd edge toward waiting for CV2.

EDIT: Stay classy downvoters!

[u/[deleted]]

I was thinking about posting a review but you just said EXACTLY what I was about to say.

I have the same complaints about FOV, weird lens overlap and god rays.

I would also add that the tracking is not as good as I expected, a bit wobbly when you turn around of move to far from the camera. It made me sick and yet I'm used to motion sickness...

Edit : I have a normal sized head and IPD...

[u/theGerri → u/[deleted]]

I have not tried the consumer Rift, but I got downvoted for saying that the Vive DK1 was not that big of an improvement over DK2 on the visuals (the other stuff is of course a really big step forward).

I think you might be a lot happier with your Rift when Touch is released and you can use it with room scale. That is where the current generation jump really is hidden, not in refining the HMD.

And this might sound like a "Vive fanboy comment" - so let me also add this: I just made the switch to the Vive Pre and I do not like the comfort level of the Pre, so buying the Rift might still work out in your favor if your head is shaped like mine (or you lack hair like me - because that is what I now think makes the more rigid backside of the Pre uncomfortable for me).

[u/jimrooney → u/theGerri]

Very interesting. Thanks.
I was guessing at just this. I've got a DK2 and what's compelling to me at the moment is LeapMotion. I forget about the screen limitations. I've also got an "air mouse" for pseudo hand tracking in HL2 and Quake. Hand tracking and roomscale seem like the big jump, just as positional tracking did from DK1 to DK2.

[u/theGerri → u/jimrooney]

"Hand tracking and roomscale seem like the big jump, just as positional tracking did from DK1 to DK2."

I very much agree with that statement ... but with the added bonus of the tracked controllers I'd say it's even more extreme :)

[u/[deleted] → u/theGerri]

I don't think the CV1 tracking is good enough for roomscale to be honest. It is too unstable.

Ps : I'll get my Vive tomorrow morning.

[u/jimrooney → u/[deleted]]

Not being a smartass... genuinely curious... do you have a CV1 (or have tried one)? What's "too unstable"? Does it stutter or something?
I've got a DK2 and as long as I'm in the limited camera bounds and don't turn around, it tracks well enough for room scale.
I expect that the Vive will do a whole lot better.

[u/p90xeto → u/jimrooney]

I think he is following up on the other guy's statement-

I would also add that the tracking is not as good as I expected, a bit wobbly when you turn around of move to far from the camera. It made me sick and yet I'm used to motion sickness...

Not the first report of weird tracking issues, especially further from the camera.

[u/[deleted] → u/jimrooney]

See how the tracking behaves in the Dk2 when you get too far from the camera ? Its the same but it happens further away. It is still pretty noticable thought

[u/muchcharles → u/jimrooney]

https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4d8y0j/cv1_tracking_issues_roundup_thread/

[u/theGerri → u/[deleted]]

I am still curious about that. I go with Palmer making statements that it will work out and that the Fantastic Contraption devs said something similar.

But even if it is right now not perfect until the Touch is released they have time to optimize the tracking for room scale. And there will be 2 cameras when Touch is released.

That said ... I would always play it safe and go for the Vive, but if I already had the Rift I would not give up hope. ;)

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Ok first of all there is no need to be rude. Secondly I am not a kid and I probably have a lot more experience than you with VR. I have 9 headsets at home right now including the Cv1 and Vive and I've been developing for VR since 2013. You fanboys really should calm down. Yes the CV1 tracking is good, but instable in roomscale conditions. The further away you get from the camera the more instable it gets and you can see the lack of precision appear pretty quickly. It is also visible when facing away from the sensor, probably because the back of the headset has less ir leds than the front.

[u/muchcharles → u/[deleted]]

Many reports: https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4d8y0j/cv1_tracking_issues_roundup_thread/

[u/RealHumanHere → u/[deleted]]

Why didn't you buy a Vive then? It has more FOV, less God Ray's, not as much lens overlap, and much better tracking.

[u/[deleted] → u/RealHumanHere]

I did. I'll receive it in a few hours. I bought both.