Hi again,
I've used the IV Vision Sensor just recently for a product orientation verification application. (<<< I can't say if I've ever used three words ending in "...ion" all in a row in the same sentence before!). Yes, they are quite basic in what they can do, but effective, nonetheless. I used the Outline Tool and with some fine tuning it found its target with 70% + success rate. You certainly could not run too many simultaneous tests with faster trigger speeds. The proccessing is adequate but was not up to more than three tests within a 100ms trigger window. Very easy to setup each Program and the internal memory can store up to 100 Programs for recall.
Over here the complete package cost €2000 Euro. That included the Vision Sensor, Amplifier and Touchscreen Programming Monitor and whatever cables came with it. We have another one just delivered last week and I'm going to repeat the application on another production line.
I tend to only refer to them as Vision "Sensors" as that is all they are called and all they are intended to be.
I have used the Cognex Insight range and yes they are a more advanced Vision "System" option and can indeed be much more expensive - €15k for the systems we built. But we've also used Keyence Vision Systems that cost €25k. We do also use an OEM solution from a German company called "ibea Vision" and they provided us with four systems at a cost of €75k each, but they are proprietary and bespoke. We're putting another one of those in this year. I handle all the vision setups here and install and configure and validate all our systems. Vision is quite tricky, and can get very complicated, very quickly, but if you have a very basic application then I'd stick to the likes of the Keyence IV Series or Cognex Checker Sensors, which I have not used before.
It might serve you better to outline your intended application a little and then members here with experience might be better able to advice you if either of the products you have mentioned are suitable or not. If you feel your good to go in that respect then no worries.
Regards,
George