Leica Disto D5 Update

[rijman]

I bought my D5 during the recent end of the year sale and have been using it continuously in 2011. There were claims made by some here how much faster it is to measure and comments made as to the accuracy. With 5 months under my belt I have some comments about the D5:

1) Time- It does not save me any time measuring an entire house or condo. Some measurements take less time while others take more time. I have experienced absolutely no time savings.

2) Accuracy- My total living area calculations for condos taken from interior measurements consistently come up well short of tax records. Even on a house today where I measured an interior wall while inside it came to 39' so I added 1', 6" per wall on each side which is accurate, to obtain a total wall measurement of 40'. An exterior measurement of that wall revealed 42', which was in exact agreement with my exterior measurements on the opposite side of the home. I am concerned about the accuracy on my interior measurements.

3) Cool factor- doing inspections without a cumbersome wheel is nice. I have the D5 in a holster on my belt, so it is much more compact and seems more professional. I have received many positive comments from homeowners, real estate agents and especially 2 different occupants who were building contractors.

I like the D5 although I would be happier if I felt I could trust interior measurements more and I had hoped for some time savings, but it just isn't there for me. The answer here could be that I am totally lame, which is not out of the realm of possibility, although I would be interested to hear feedback from others to see if my experiences are common or unique.

 

[Tom Woolford]

I've been using the D-5 for well over 1.5 yrs, but my results are exactly the opposite of yours. But, everything is generally on the same level, so no interior measurements are required. I check every once in a while after measuring a garage on the outside and then on the inside, and invariably the measurements coincide. All told, I been using Disto's since the original "Brick". I'd never go back to a tape.

 

[Jim Murray]

I have experienced the same dilemma as RIJMAN in addition to not being able to keep the red dot from jiggling and measuring a distance 3 times and getting 3 different answers. In fairness, I don't use a tripod and have used it for six months only.

 

[Weedhopper]

I love my wheel. Old school I guess. My disto has been in my briefcase for a few years, never seen daylight. As always, measure all four sides can never make a mistake. Fool proof.

 

[TC]

I love my wheel. Old school I guess. My disto has been in my briefcase for a few years, never seen daylight. As always, measure all four sides can never make a mistake. Fool proof.

Ya think? I got in this biz back in 1977, and even then only the "old guys" used a wheel.

How's that IBM Selectric workin' for ya?!?!!? :new_smile-l:

 

[David Mescon]

Ya think? I got in this biz back in 1977, and even then only the "old guys" used a wheel.

How's that IBM Selectric workin' for ya?!?!!? :new_smile-l:

'Bout as well as his Polaroid SX-70.

Seriously folks, if you're using a wheel, please, please, please spend ten or fifteen bucks and get yourself a nice nylon tape. MUCH more accurate, and less cumbersomer too!

I use a Fat Max. Last I saw they were around $80 or so. Using two hands, and bracing myself against a wall, I can shoot the short side of a 1X from sixty to eighty feet, with no problem. Every bit as good as a Disto, but without the rediculous price tag. If anything bad ever happens to it - I'll just go out and get another one - no big deal. In reality, these laser tapes are worth about ten bucks, maybe twenty-five with a really high quality casing. You're paying an extra $300 to $700 or so for the Leica name.

 

[Lakefront boater]

If you don't trust the interior measurements on the D5, do each measurement a few times (it's just pushing a button) to verify your measurements, or move it somewhere else on the wall and shoot again to verify your measurements.

I find the D5 great for interior measurements, especially those 1.5 story bungalows 2nd floor bedrooms.
I still use tape for exterior measurements, but not interior measurements.

 

[Couch Potato]

A Fat Max is a nice tool, I had one. I upgraded to a Disto A5 and it was much better than the Fat Max. The viewfinder on the Disto lets you measure without seeing the dot. The Disto allows the use of targets that are much farther away. Nothing wrong with using a Fat Max, but a Disto gives more than just a name for the money.

Problems using a Disto are typically not the fault of the Disto.

 

[David Mescon]

A Fat Max is a nice tool, I had one. I upgraded to a Disto A5 and it was much better than the Fat Max. The viewfinder on the Disto lets you measure without seeing the dot. The Disto allows the use of targets that are much farther away. Nothing wrong with using a Fat Max, but a Disto gives more than just a name for the money.

Problems using a Disto are typically not the fault of the Disto.

I would agree with you that it's nice to be able to shoot an extra 200', but I rarely encounter residential structures out here with single runs of over 100'. I have no problem seeing the dot from a distance. It's reading the darn paper in front of my face that gets me.

 

[rijman]

If you don't trust the interior measurements on the D5, do each measurement a few times (it's just pushing a button) to verify your measurements, or move it somewhere else on the wall and shoot again to verify your measurements.

I find the D5 great for interior measurements, especially those 1.5 story bungalows 2nd floor bedrooms.
I still use tape for exterior measurements, but not interior measurements.

Sometimes there is only one area to shoot a measurement. I understand there can be human error, but my condo floorplans consistently come in with low living area even with adding in wall thickness to the middle of the wall. In some cases, such as 2 days ago, I had a copy of the condo floorplan with me and I measured each wall. The floorplan didn't have measurements, but it has the layout which is helpful in difficult to measure units. My living area came in 10% low even though my floorplan was within 1 foot of closing, 1 foot off to the high side, on a complex floorplan with many jogs and turns and just over 3,200 sf. I am consistently low with condo measurements and I don't recall that being a problem in the past, especially where I believe the tax records are accurate.