Using a Builder's Laser Measure rather than a Lieca Disto?

[Andy_Alderslade]

I was curious to see if anyone had any experience of using a Laser measure made for builders and surveyors for focus distances?

 

Obviously some models are as expensive as a Leica Disto, however even the very affordable ones appear to have good accuracy claims, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the practical issues of using these devices in a way they weren't intended?

 

Cheers, Andy

[Tom Mitchell]

I was curious to see if anyone had any experience of using a Laser measure made for builders and surveyors for focus distances?

 

Obviously some models are as expensive as a Leica Disto, however even the very affordable ones appear to have good accuracy claims, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the practical issues of using these devices in a way they weren't intended?

 

Cheers, Andy

 

Distos are worth the investment, be sure not to point the thing near the actors eyes though, i think u find the center of the chest when upright is the same distance as the eyes.

[Alex Wuijts]

Distos are worth the investment, be sure not to point the thing near the actors eyes though, i think u find the center of the chest when upright is the same distance as the eyes.

 

I've used one by Bosch which costs around a 100 British pounds which worked well in a dark studio but the laserpoint was very hard to find in daylight so I found it to be useless there.

Edited March 10, 2010 by Alex Wuijts

[Chris Keth]

I've used one by Bosch which costs around a 100 British pounds which worked well in a dark studio but the laserpoint was very hard to find in daylight so I found it to be useless there.

 

That's par for the course with any laser tape. I tried to make a sight for mine that would help me aim it in sunlight and it pretty much failed.

[Marque DeWinter]

That's par for the course with any laser tape. I tried to make a sight for mine that would help me aim it in sunlight and it pretty much failed.

 

 

The Leica and Hilti ARE builders laser range finders....

[Hal Smith]

Some of the builder's type laser tapes actually are made by Leica. I bought a Stanley branded laser tape in a US Home Depot for $99US that is made by Leica and has 1/8" resolution.

[Chris Keth]

Some of the builder's type laser tapes actually are made by Leica. I bought a Stanley branded laser tape in a US Home Depot for $99US that is made by Leica and has 1/8" resolution.

 

I have the same one. The only complaint I have is that it takes a long time to register a measurement compared to the hiltis.

[Paulo Eduardo Uchoa]

I have a Fluke 411D and this thing is great in my opinion. It reads super fast and and on just about any surface. It's more for in doors work, cause you can't see the laser outside and I just discovered on a shoot I did last week that a scene covered in fog throws off the measurement. But I love using it, one of my favorite things on my belt. If I could add like an eye piece for it, for outside work - this thing would be unstoppable ;)

[Brian Drysdale]

I was talking to a guy who surveys for damp treatment and he's gone back to using a tape measure. He discovered that he was getting some very inaccurate readings when measuring rooms with the laser. So, they could need double checking at times.