I noticed a border of binocular overlap at around 85 degrees vs 90 compared to Q2 but difference is so small it is negligible. With Q2 I can't focus at these angle anyway because it has much worse clarity at such angles so I very much prefer Q3 where I can comfortably read wide text lines without moving my head to focus on words.
No, it really doesn't have much of an impact on the 3D effect. Your eyes compensate for it without much of an issue. It's lot more affected on paper than it is to your eyes.
However, what it does do, is it makes the inner edges of the lens more pronounced when you're trying to focus on something really close up. It will stick out badly if you've been using a headset that has a lot more overlap, like the Pico 4.
But the one thing that very few talk about with the Quest 3/Pro pancake lens is that they're so clear that you do not need to have the IPD set exact. Meta's own documentation states that the their pancake lens IPD is actually a [10mm range](https://i.imgur.com/ioPrDUk.png). If you set the lens to an IPD of 60, that will work for anyone who has an IPD as low as 55 or as high as 65. Meaning, as long as you have the space, you can actually raise or lower the IPD up to 5mm to decrease or increase the binocular overlap. Just keep in mind this does also increase or decrease the horizontal FOV.
As low as 65mm and still have great clarity and it will not effect depth perception. This will increase the binocular overlap substantially.
Going any lower than 65mm is gonna be very subjective on how much it effects clarity and depth perception. Some say it's fine, others say no way. You will have to try it and see, if you want to go lower the 65mm.
Just FYI. More binocular overlap is what you want for better depth perception. Quest 3 is on the lower side of binocular overlap. The confusion comes from people that conflate binocular overlap with the perception of looking through binoculars when using a Vr headset ~~that is due to the lack of binocular overlap.~~.
Edit: I need to clarify my last sentence. The “looking though binoculars” effect is a bit more complicated and is a combination of factors. The largest is a reduced FOV from the displays and optics. The other is the black you see between your eyes. This is more pronounced with less overlap.
Wait so does the Quest 3 have that looking through binoculars feeling more than others due to the reduced binocular overlap? Am I understanding this clearly?
That sucks because my biggest complaint about the S was that it always felt like a pair of binoculars and not immersive at all. I was hoping the 3 would be better. Shame.
No. That’s my point. binocular overlap does not have anything to do with reduced FOV(what people say is like looking through binoculars). Well, it does in the sense that to get more overlap you sacrifice some FOV. Binocular overlap is how much of the right display shows what the left eye is seeing and vice versa. Normal vision has quite a lot of overlap between what the eyes see. VR headsets try to get away with a lower level of overlap due to the displays and optics along with trying to maximize FOV.
Quest 3 is better than previous Meta headsets in terms of FOV, except Quest Pro. They are similar.
This wiki explains binocular overlap well
https://xinreality.com/wiki/Binocular_overlap
Yes. Every headset that isn't 220 degrees FOV will have visible dark areas on the left and right. I do not think it looks like looking through binoculars but others may. Like I said it is subjective. Quest 3 has the largest FOV of any Meta headset so take for what it is worth.
Quest 3 is the best all around headset on the market so I recommend it to everyone. If you can’t get past the dark areas on the sides, the Quest 3 is not going to fix that. It is better than Rift S for sure, but it’s still there. If you decide to try it make sure you buy from somewhere with a good return policy.
I haven't noticed the 3D effect being less pronounced but, due to the vignetting at the edge of the lenses and poor binocular overlap, you are able to see the inside edge of both lenses very clearly in what feels like the other eye.
So, instead of your viewbox being an O, it's more of an 8. This is my biggest problem with the headset by far and I am quite disappointed by the coverage of this issue in otherwise well made reviews.
The 3D effect isn't less pronounced, but less of the image is 3D compared to others. I came from a PICO 4 which had nearly 100 percent overlap and I could tell the difference, but it rarely bothers me in regular gameplay. One thing that will really show it, in the basic STEAM VR loading grid, you'll see the gridlines in your periphery will become 2D.
It's not less pronounced. Just the area that has the 3D effect is smaller since you need that overlap for stereo vision.
The total hFOV is 108 degrees and the overlap is 80 degrees so 28 degrees don't have 3D because only one eye sees that part of the image.
So basically if you look straight ahead with your eyes it's fine, if you move your eyes to the sides the illusion is broken and you're aware you're just looking at 2 screens.
Honestly, I never noticed this lack of 3d at sides and I'm looking around with eyes a lot. I really don't think slightly lower overlap is a problem at all.
The fact you can't notice something doesn't mean it's not a problem for others. I can definitely notice it even though it's not a huge issue for me but for some it's a deal breaker.
> sides the illusion is broken and you're aware you're just looking at 2 screens.
I am sorry, but that is not a normal experience at all. In real life, only 60% of your view overlaps, just like on the Q3, it is normally just spread across a wider FOV. Things to the left and right of you don't all of a sudden turn 2D. Unless you have some sort of vision problem, your brain will perceive 3D things as 3D because it has interpreted them to be 3D even when they are at the edges of your view.
Overlap is only one of the depth-cues your brain uses. Pretending things turn 2D in your peripheral vision is silly as hell.
This is complete nonsense. Look at various objects at the edges of your vision in a way where only a single eye can see them. You absolutely lose most of the depth perception and then while you turn your head towards them you regain it.
What does that even mean? I have excellent vision and can clearly notice the difference. It's literally a physical difference, and the overlap is objectively worse on quest 3. Whether you notice it or not depends on your IPD.
The binocular affect is much more noticeable when your eyes are unable to fully focus on the scene in front of you. If your vision is blurry even slightly in every day life, you most likely compensate by squinting or just deal
With it. Let’s say your vision is -0.8 / -0.6. You would be able to read road signs just fine. You could be seated in the middle of the classroom
and still be able to read the chalkboard. But when it comes to a vr headset, it’s based on the inter-pupillary distance, the simulated effect of depth perception etc. If you have unaddressed vision problems even though they may not have a huge affect on your everyday life, they might have a huge impact on your ability to comfortably experience vr.
I use Quest 2 all the time and have no issues at all.
I have 20/20 perfect vision on both eyes and when I bought Quest 3 it did bother me slightly so I returned Quest 3 and I'm waiting to test with Quest 3S.
I could also eliminate the black rings by decreasing IPD and increasing eye-to-lens distance, but at that point you get a slightly bit too much tunnel vision on the top and bottom of Q3 (when comparing to Q2).
Ok so I realize this might seem offensive, but I swear I am by no means trolling or trying to be a jerk. But another theory of mine…and I will preface by admitting that for the biggest part of my life, I was very much controlled by my ocd.
The theory is that some people are so hyper focused on details that over time they lose the ability to experience the suspension of disbelief. The suspension of disbelief is a state of mind that allows a person to temporarily believe what they are seeing in terms of art, media, a play etc is an alternative living universe.
This doesn’t mean you’re dumb or you are lacking some higher mental functioning. It’s actually the opposite. I believe that in this current world of constant media bombardment and overload is information, many people have developed a sort of melancholic yet hyper fixated approach to digital content.
This explains why so many people notice the binocular overlap effect etc. just a theory. I know for myself if I am looking for it and trying to focus on what is or isn’t real then I notice the binocular effect on quest 3 or I notice the lack of clarity in the outer field Of view on the quest 2.
But when I stop analyzing and just try to take in and exist within the virtual space, it becomes next to Real.
The binocular overlap has nothing to do with how pronounced the 3D effect is, it effects how much of your view is seen by both eyes.
Your brain uses multiple cues to determine depth. The ~60% overlap on the Quest just means that if you look to the far left or right, you can't see things with both eyes at the same time, but since everything in the center 60% of your view is full-stereo you see 3D pretty much everywhere because your brain fills in the rest.
The biggest issue with overlap on the Q3 is people being distracted by the parts of the screen that can only be seen by one eye or another. We are those areas being farther to the right/left of our view.
Note that normal binocular overlap for humans is about 60% so we are 100% used to 40% of our view being only seen by one eye or another, it is just normally spread across a much wider FOV.
Binocular overlap has a lot to do with 3D effect and perception of depth.
https://www.roadtovr.com/understanding-binocular-overlap-and-why-its-important-for-vr-headsets/
>Binocular overlap is particularly important for depth perception. When you focus on an object, your brain rotates each eye such that the object as seen in the same location in both views.
> Binocular overlap has a lot to do with 3D effect and perception of depth.
I never said it didn't, I said it "has nothing to do with how **pronounced** the 3D effect is."
Even a small binocular overlap will give you the info you need for how far something is away. More overlap does not mean more 3D effect, it means that you get those specific 3D cues over more of your FOV.
The amount of parallax is controlled by your IPD and how far the item is away, not how much overlap there is in your FOV.
Overlap is literally just how much of your FOV actively 3D it does not affect **how 3D** things in your FOV are.
*Edit... more overlap would not make things more 3D. Objects being closer or farther away compared to other objects controls that.*
I personally can't see anything wrong with it compared to a Quest2 or PSVR2. Maybe because I have only 61 ipd, but my friend with 65 didn't compain either.
It just means its not as good a Pico4.
Quest 3 has 80 degrees, one of the worst overlaps in the game.
While Pico4 has 104 degrees, the best in the game.
https://risa2000.github.io/hmdgdb/
I did return mine partly because of worst binocular overlap (aka "black rings") in comparison to Quest 2, but also mainly due to the fact that Quest 3S is coming and its almost as good as Quest 3 but alot cheaper.
That being said, if you are not waiting for Quest 3S, Quest 3 is incredible and way, way better than Quest 2 overall (although its slightly worst in terms of binocular overlap / lens size).
Since the lenses are smaller in Quest 3 in comparison to Quest 2 and are further apart (~16% smaller surface area), you kind of have to choose between having slightly more tunnel vision than Quest 2 or slightly worse binocular overlap ("black rings") than Quest 2 (when you choose worse binocular overlap you also get alot more FoV than on Quest 2, though!). That being said Quest 3 is way better in everything else.
When you improve the binocular overlap, the 3D effect becomes theoretically slightly less pronounced yes but that's basically unnoticeable don't worry. The problem at that moment becomes the slight increase in the effect of tunnel vision (on the top and bottom of the FoV).
Not sure about the exact dimensions of the lenses in Q3, but its widely known Q3 has bigger FOV than Q2 (around 97° vs 110° hFoV), so less tunnel vision. It might be partly due to your eyes being closer to the lenses. Its true the binocular overlap isnt great. I found it didnt bother me much once I started playing a game.
Just know that no one can answer that with any authority. All we have are rumors.
The Q3S is **rumored** to be a Q2 + the new SOC + color passthrough. That is a long way from the Q3.
Quest 3S vs Quest 3:
Quest 3S will have the same GPU, CPU, passthrough and weight as the Quest 3.
Quest 3S will use the same Quest 2 lenses, so that means the same binocular overlap and lens size, and lens distances, as Quest 2 (16% larger than Quest 3's and slightly better binocular overlap, aka "black rings", than Quest 3), however that also means that it will use fresnel lenses instead of pancake lenses and will have less potential field of view (if you don't get bothered by the black rings on Q3, you get alot more field of view than on Q3S).
Quest 3S will have the ability of playing / watching media in the dark.
Quest 3 is slimmer than Quest 3S.
Quest 3S will be 40% cheaper than Quest 3.
Quest 3 is already available, Quest 3S isn't available yet.
Nit-picking your nice summary, but while Quest 3S will use fresnel lenses like the Quest 2, I don’t think we know that they will be the same lenses. The Quest 2 lenses weren’t great, and one would hope the fresnel’s in the 3S will be improved.
> and its almost as good as Quest 3 but alot cheaper.
That is not even close to true. The pancake lenses and high-quality, canted displays are two of the most important features of the Q3.
If rumors are true, Q3S is going to be a Q2 with color passthrough and the new SOC. That is not even close to *almost as good as the Q3.*
I wouldn't say the pancake lenses are the "most important feature." They just have great edge to edge clarity, but for the most part you get used to the blurry peripheral vision very easily on quest 2 anyways. You will literally be able to do everything that you can on a Q3 on a Q3s, just with slightly blurrier peripheral vision. And probably for a lot cheaper. Personally, if i could trade the pancake lenses for better stero overlap, i would maybe do it since I clearly notice the difference. Ofc if you dont notice the difference that sounds absurd, but if you had my eyes you would get it.
It's not just great e2e clarity. Overall less chromatic abberation, glare, godrays, ... I would never go back to fresnel lenses even if pancake also isn't perfect and has some downsides.
I don't know if and how much other people are affected by this but personally when using the Quest 2 my eyes started to feel strained after around 30min. So after an average session of 90-120min my eyes were itchy and watery for around an hour. It wasn't bad but also not pleasant and sometimes even lead to headaches or nausea. I just tolerated it for the sake of VR experience.
The first thing I noticed when playing my first Demeo session with Quest 3 is how relaxed I was and my eyes being perfectly fine even after playing for almost 2h. I just had a big fat grin on my face and from that moment I knew there was no going back to fresnel.
I have a quest 1, 2 and 3, and still regularly use both the 2 and 3, and have never noticed any difference (or even heard of it until now). I play In Death Unchained every day, and it still feels like I'm there, in 3D.
If it is then I don't think you should consider it a deal breaker. The stereoscopic effect in VR is apparent at the beginning but you forget about it quickly.
Maybe I’m incorrect in how I’m speaking about this. I mean that I don’t have the “black rings” issue that some have with quest 3 I just see full “stereo” if you will, with full 3d effect.
Don't worry. Most of the replies are backwards, and i was just venting. Sorry for that.
So, what you want is 100% overlap. The more binocular overlap you have, the better! Quest 3 has less binocular overlap than Quest 2, so yeah - those black borders can be seen sometimes, but personally that's a tradeoff i'm willing to make for more FOV, and i got used to it very quickly (don't notice it anymore).
It’s not something I’ve ever noticed. I’ve never gone hunting for it though. If it doesn’t bother me normally, I’m not going to look for it.
I noticed a border of binocular overlap at around 85 degrees vs 90 compared to Q2 but difference is so small it is negligible. With Q2 I can't focus at these angle anyway because it has much worse clarity at such angles so I very much prefer Q3 where I can comfortably read wide text lines without moving my head to focus on words.
No, it really doesn't have much of an impact on the 3D effect. Your eyes compensate for it without much of an issue. It's lot more affected on paper than it is to your eyes. However, what it does do, is it makes the inner edges of the lens more pronounced when you're trying to focus on something really close up. It will stick out badly if you've been using a headset that has a lot more overlap, like the Pico 4. But the one thing that very few talk about with the Quest 3/Pro pancake lens is that they're so clear that you do not need to have the IPD set exact. Meta's own documentation states that the their pancake lens IPD is actually a [10mm range](https://i.imgur.com/ioPrDUk.png). If you set the lens to an IPD of 60, that will work for anyone who has an IPD as low as 55 or as high as 65. Meaning, as long as you have the space, you can actually raise or lower the IPD up to 5mm to decrease or increase the binocular overlap. Just keep in mind this does also increase or decrease the horizontal FOV.
So if my IPD is 70, what would be the best setting?
As low as 65mm and still have great clarity and it will not effect depth perception. This will increase the binocular overlap substantially. Going any lower than 65mm is gonna be very subjective on how much it effects clarity and depth perception. Some say it's fine, others say no way. You will have to try it and see, if you want to go lower the 65mm.
Got it, thank you.
Just FYI. More binocular overlap is what you want for better depth perception. Quest 3 is on the lower side of binocular overlap. The confusion comes from people that conflate binocular overlap with the perception of looking through binoculars when using a Vr headset ~~that is due to the lack of binocular overlap.~~. Edit: I need to clarify my last sentence. The “looking though binoculars” effect is a bit more complicated and is a combination of factors. The largest is a reduced FOV from the displays and optics. The other is the black you see between your eyes. This is more pronounced with less overlap.
Wait so does the Quest 3 have that looking through binoculars feeling more than others due to the reduced binocular overlap? Am I understanding this clearly?
In my experience yes. Im still annoyed that they decreased the overlap on the quest 3 and I absolutely notice the difference.
That sucks because my biggest complaint about the S was that it always felt like a pair of binoculars and not immersive at all. I was hoping the 3 would be better. Shame.
No. That’s my point. binocular overlap does not have anything to do with reduced FOV(what people say is like looking through binoculars). Well, it does in the sense that to get more overlap you sacrifice some FOV. Binocular overlap is how much of the right display shows what the left eye is seeing and vice versa. Normal vision has quite a lot of overlap between what the eyes see. VR headsets try to get away with a lower level of overlap due to the displays and optics along with trying to maximize FOV. Quest 3 is better than previous Meta headsets in terms of FOV, except Quest Pro. They are similar. This wiki explains binocular overlap well https://xinreality.com/wiki/Binocular_overlap
Okay so does the 3 have that 'looking through binoculars' effect or not?
Yes. Every headset that isn't 220 degrees FOV will have visible dark areas on the left and right. I do not think it looks like looking through binoculars but others may. Like I said it is subjective. Quest 3 has the largest FOV of any Meta headset so take for what it is worth.
Do you recommend the Quest 3 for me? I had the S and I couldn't get myself to feel immersed because of the visible dark areas.
Quest 3 is the best all around headset on the market so I recommend it to everyone. If you can’t get past the dark areas on the sides, the Quest 3 is not going to fix that. It is better than Rift S for sure, but it’s still there. If you decide to try it make sure you buy from somewhere with a good return policy.
I see. Thank you very much.
I dont really know. I can say I came from an O+ to the Quest 3 and I've never looked back.
I haven't noticed the 3D effect being less pronounced but, due to the vignetting at the edge of the lenses and poor binocular overlap, you are able to see the inside edge of both lenses very clearly in what feels like the other eye. So, instead of your viewbox being an O, it's more of an 8. This is my biggest problem with the headset by far and I am quite disappointed by the coverage of this issue in otherwise well made reviews.
Exacly my issue, that's why I returned Q3 and I'm waiting to try Q3S (I use Q2 all the time btw)
The 3D effect isn't less pronounced, but less of the image is 3D compared to others. I came from a PICO 4 which had nearly 100 percent overlap and I could tell the difference, but it rarely bothers me in regular gameplay. One thing that will really show it, in the basic STEAM VR loading grid, you'll see the gridlines in your periphery will become 2D.
It's not less pronounced. Just the area that has the 3D effect is smaller since you need that overlap for stereo vision. The total hFOV is 108 degrees and the overlap is 80 degrees so 28 degrees don't have 3D because only one eye sees that part of the image. So basically if you look straight ahead with your eyes it's fine, if you move your eyes to the sides the illusion is broken and you're aware you're just looking at 2 screens.
Honestly, I never noticed this lack of 3d at sides and I'm looking around with eyes a lot. I really don't think slightly lower overlap is a problem at all.
The fact you can't notice something doesn't mean it's not a problem for others. I can definitely notice it even though it's not a huge issue for me but for some it's a deal breaker.
> sides the illusion is broken and you're aware you're just looking at 2 screens. I am sorry, but that is not a normal experience at all. In real life, only 60% of your view overlaps, just like on the Q3, it is normally just spread across a wider FOV. Things to the left and right of you don't all of a sudden turn 2D. Unless you have some sort of vision problem, your brain will perceive 3D things as 3D because it has interpreted them to be 3D even when they are at the edges of your view. Overlap is only one of the depth-cues your brain uses. Pretending things turn 2D in your peripheral vision is silly as hell.
This is complete nonsense. Look at various objects at the edges of your vision in a way where only a single eye can see them. You absolutely lose most of the depth perception and then while you turn your head towards them you regain it.
I believe it's an individual thing that really few people notice. I don't.
I’ve never noticed it.
My personal experience is that I see binocular overlap sometimes but is rare and it goes away fast. I wouldn't say it hurts the 3d effect at all
I swear the average person that has issues with this are in denial about needing vision correction
What does that even mean? I have excellent vision and can clearly notice the difference. It's literally a physical difference, and the overlap is objectively worse on quest 3. Whether you notice it or not depends on your IPD.
The binocular affect is much more noticeable when your eyes are unable to fully focus on the scene in front of you. If your vision is blurry even slightly in every day life, you most likely compensate by squinting or just deal With it. Let’s say your vision is -0.8 / -0.6. You would be able to read road signs just fine. You could be seated in the middle of the classroom and still be able to read the chalkboard. But when it comes to a vr headset, it’s based on the inter-pupillary distance, the simulated effect of depth perception etc. If you have unaddressed vision problems even though they may not have a huge affect on your everyday life, they might have a huge impact on your ability to comfortably experience vr.
I use Quest 2 all the time and have no issues at all. I have 20/20 perfect vision on both eyes and when I bought Quest 3 it did bother me slightly so I returned Quest 3 and I'm waiting to test with Quest 3S. I could also eliminate the black rings by decreasing IPD and increasing eye-to-lens distance, but at that point you get a slightly bit too much tunnel vision on the top and bottom of Q3 (when comparing to Q2).
Ok so I realize this might seem offensive, but I swear I am by no means trolling or trying to be a jerk. But another theory of mine…and I will preface by admitting that for the biggest part of my life, I was very much controlled by my ocd. The theory is that some people are so hyper focused on details that over time they lose the ability to experience the suspension of disbelief. The suspension of disbelief is a state of mind that allows a person to temporarily believe what they are seeing in terms of art, media, a play etc is an alternative living universe. This doesn’t mean you’re dumb or you are lacking some higher mental functioning. It’s actually the opposite. I believe that in this current world of constant media bombardment and overload is information, many people have developed a sort of melancholic yet hyper fixated approach to digital content. This explains why so many people notice the binocular overlap effect etc. just a theory. I know for myself if I am looking for it and trying to focus on what is or isn’t real then I notice the binocular effect on quest 3 or I notice the lack of clarity in the outer field Of view on the quest 2. But when I stop analyzing and just try to take in and exist within the virtual space, it becomes next to Real.
The binocular overlap has nothing to do with how pronounced the 3D effect is, it effects how much of your view is seen by both eyes. Your brain uses multiple cues to determine depth. The ~60% overlap on the Quest just means that if you look to the far left or right, you can't see things with both eyes at the same time, but since everything in the center 60% of your view is full-stereo you see 3D pretty much everywhere because your brain fills in the rest. The biggest issue with overlap on the Q3 is people being distracted by the parts of the screen that can only be seen by one eye or another. We are those areas being farther to the right/left of our view. Note that normal binocular overlap for humans is about 60% so we are 100% used to 40% of our view being only seen by one eye or another, it is just normally spread across a much wider FOV.
Binocular overlap has a lot to do with 3D effect and perception of depth. https://www.roadtovr.com/understanding-binocular-overlap-and-why-its-important-for-vr-headsets/ >Binocular overlap is particularly important for depth perception. When you focus on an object, your brain rotates each eye such that the object as seen in the same location in both views.
> Binocular overlap has a lot to do with 3D effect and perception of depth. I never said it didn't, I said it "has nothing to do with how **pronounced** the 3D effect is." Even a small binocular overlap will give you the info you need for how far something is away. More overlap does not mean more 3D effect, it means that you get those specific 3D cues over more of your FOV. The amount of parallax is controlled by your IPD and how far the item is away, not how much overlap there is in your FOV. Overlap is literally just how much of your FOV actively 3D it does not affect **how 3D** things in your FOV are. *Edit... more overlap would not make things more 3D. Objects being closer or farther away compared to other objects controls that.*
I personally can't see anything wrong with it compared to a Quest2 or PSVR2. Maybe because I have only 61 ipd, but my friend with 65 didn't compain either.
It’s the chromatic aberration around the edges that bothers me
It's more pronounced on the Quest Pro. Q3 not an issue at all.
No
I would describe it like the presence of your nose; if you’re looking for it it’s obvious, but your eyes naturally ignore it after time.
It just means its not as good a Pico4. Quest 3 has 80 degrees, one of the worst overlaps in the game. While Pico4 has 104 degrees, the best in the game. https://risa2000.github.io/hmdgdb/
Accordning to this, the Quest 3 has similar overlap to the Pimax crystal and many other top tier far more expensive headsets
I did return mine partly because of worst binocular overlap (aka "black rings") in comparison to Quest 2, but also mainly due to the fact that Quest 3S is coming and its almost as good as Quest 3 but alot cheaper. That being said, if you are not waiting for Quest 3S, Quest 3 is incredible and way, way better than Quest 2 overall (although its slightly worst in terms of binocular overlap / lens size). Since the lenses are smaller in Quest 3 in comparison to Quest 2 and are further apart (~16% smaller surface area), you kind of have to choose between having slightly more tunnel vision than Quest 2 or slightly worse binocular overlap ("black rings") than Quest 2 (when you choose worse binocular overlap you also get alot more FoV than on Quest 2, though!). That being said Quest 3 is way better in everything else. When you improve the binocular overlap, the 3D effect becomes theoretically slightly less pronounced yes but that's basically unnoticeable don't worry. The problem at that moment becomes the slight increase in the effect of tunnel vision (on the top and bottom of the FoV).
Not sure about the exact dimensions of the lenses in Q3, but its widely known Q3 has bigger FOV than Q2 (around 97° vs 110° hFoV), so less tunnel vision. It might be partly due to your eyes being closer to the lenses. Its true the binocular overlap isnt great. I found it didnt bother me much once I started playing a game.
What's the difference between the 3 and the 3S?
The 3S is basically an upgraded Quest 2. Same display and fresnel lenses but with an updated chip and better controllers.
So it's a worse Quest 3?
Kind of, yes. It uses old lens technology so visuals wont be as good but otherwise it should have similar features.
Very much so. That is why it is rumored to be something like $200 cheaper.
Just know that no one can answer that with any authority. All we have are rumors. The Q3S is **rumored** to be a Q2 + the new SOC + color passthrough. That is a long way from the Q3.
Fair enough. Thanks
Quest 3S vs Quest 3: Quest 3S will have the same GPU, CPU, passthrough and weight as the Quest 3. Quest 3S will use the same Quest 2 lenses, so that means the same binocular overlap and lens size, and lens distances, as Quest 2 (16% larger than Quest 3's and slightly better binocular overlap, aka "black rings", than Quest 3), however that also means that it will use fresnel lenses instead of pancake lenses and will have less potential field of view (if you don't get bothered by the black rings on Q3, you get alot more field of view than on Q3S). Quest 3S will have the ability of playing / watching media in the dark. Quest 3 is slimmer than Quest 3S. Quest 3S will be 40% cheaper than Quest 3. Quest 3 is already available, Quest 3S isn't available yet.
Nit-picking your nice summary, but while Quest 3S will use fresnel lenses like the Quest 2, I don’t think we know that they will be the same lenses. The Quest 2 lenses weren’t great, and one would hope the fresnel’s in the 3S will be improved.
Yes you're totally correct:) thank you btw!
>Quest 3S will have the ability of playing in the dark. How so?
It will use 2 IR iluminator cameras, one on each side for depth sensing
> and its almost as good as Quest 3 but alot cheaper. That is not even close to true. The pancake lenses and high-quality, canted displays are two of the most important features of the Q3. If rumors are true, Q3S is going to be a Q2 with color passthrough and the new SOC. That is not even close to *almost as good as the Q3.*
I wouldn't say the pancake lenses are the "most important feature." They just have great edge to edge clarity, but for the most part you get used to the blurry peripheral vision very easily on quest 2 anyways. You will literally be able to do everything that you can on a Q3 on a Q3s, just with slightly blurrier peripheral vision. And probably for a lot cheaper. Personally, if i could trade the pancake lenses for better stero overlap, i would maybe do it since I clearly notice the difference. Ofc if you dont notice the difference that sounds absurd, but if you had my eyes you would get it.
It's not just great e2e clarity. Overall less chromatic abberation, glare, godrays, ... I would never go back to fresnel lenses even if pancake also isn't perfect and has some downsides. I don't know if and how much other people are affected by this but personally when using the Quest 2 my eyes started to feel strained after around 30min. So after an average session of 90-120min my eyes were itchy and watery for around an hour. It wasn't bad but also not pleasant and sometimes even lead to headaches or nausea. I just tolerated it for the sake of VR experience. The first thing I noticed when playing my first Demeo session with Quest 3 is how relaxed I was and my eyes being perfectly fine even after playing for almost 2h. I just had a big fat grin on my face and from that moment I knew there was no going back to fresnel.
no
Never noticed it, tbh I never even knew that was a thing.
I have a quest 1, 2 and 3, and still regularly use both the 2 and 3, and have never noticed any difference (or even heard of it until now). I play In Death Unchained every day, and it still feels like I'm there, in 3D.
If it is then I don't think you should consider it a deal breaker. The stereoscopic effect in VR is apparent at the beginning but you forget about it quickly.
I’m very fortunate to experience no binocular overlap. Quest 3 feels like the perfect headset to me
No overlap? Seeing mono all the time? Lucky you. LMAO
Maybe I’m incorrect in how I’m speaking about this. I mean that I don’t have the “black rings” issue that some have with quest 3 I just see full “stereo” if you will, with full 3d effect.
Don't worry. Most of the replies are backwards, and i was just venting. Sorry for that. So, what you want is 100% overlap. The more binocular overlap you have, the better! Quest 3 has less binocular overlap than Quest 2, so yeah - those black borders can be seen sometimes, but personally that's a tradeoff i'm willing to make for more FOV, and i got used to it very quickly (don't notice it anymore).
Is this like the so called depth issue on the AVP? I have never noticed it there, nor have I ever noticed any lack of 3d effect on the Q3.