Leica Disto D5 Update

[Tom Woolford]

"that's 2 trips to the same spot"

I'm going around to take pictures anyway. No extra trip for the sticky

"When you have to stop and figure out how to shoot a wall with no targets that takes time"

I've been using these things for 6+ years: it only takes a glance coming around the corner.

The only way I can "Prove" the efficiency is to go one on one against the tape. A friend (also and appraiser at the time) and I actually did that once. I finished 3 min ahead of him AND had the finished perimeter sketch done. He had a piece of paper with some lines.

 

[Couch Potato]

With all due respect, when you shoot to a sticky you placed the sticky then you have to pick it up, that's 2 trips to the same spot, which would not be necessary with a wheel or hand tape. When you have to stop and figure out how to shoot a wall with no targets that takes time. When you are having trouble seeing the red dot on your target or holding the dot on a small target to shoot it that takes time. The overall process of sketching a detached home includes drawing the floorplan and writing down measurements to which there is no time benefit from a laser. The only area you can save time is in the actual process of measuring. On a home and garage that has 14 walls to measure how much quicker can it be to laser versus rolling a wheel when there are a couple of walls with no targets and you have to return to the same spot twice in 2 areas where sticky targets were placed? How can there be tremendous time savings when we are only talking about a short amount of time that is consumed by actual measuring?

I'm not going back to the wheel or hand tape, I'll stick with the D5. However, I think the claims of time savings with the laser are grossly exaggerated.

You don't have to see the dot to measure. Just use the view finder to see the target.

I can't believe people waste time with placing targets on buildings. There are always half a dozen or more easy targets on a wall of a house.

 

[Tom Woolford]

You don't have to see the dot to measure. Just use the view finder to see the target.

I can't believe people waste time with placing targets on buildings. There are always half a dozen or more easy targets on a wall of a house.

In general, I agree. But down here it's not unusual to have a front to back wall that is totally blank, with nothing but woods behind it, and I'm not comfortable that I'll get the same tree for a target to subtract from. The sticky I know is mine.

 

[Couch Potato]

In general, I agree. But down here it's not unusual to have a front to back wall that is totally blank, with nothing but woods behind it, and I'm not comfortable that I'll get the same tree for a target to subtract from. The sticky I know is mine.

Blank walls with no windows or doors! That sure is a strange area. I am quite comfortable using a tree, but it is important to find something distinctive about the tree. My favorite target is the house next door or across the street.

 

[Tom Woolford]

Blank walls with no windows or doors! That sure is a strange area.

Think of a 3 bay garage, where the 3rd bay extends out from the main body of the house. Not so strange.

 

[Couch Potato]

Think of a 3 bay garage, where the 3rd bay extends out from the main body of the house. Not so strange.

I've never seen one totally blank, but you could simply remember to park your car on the part of the street in front of the garage.

 

[Tom Woolford]

Here is three. Is that enough to convince you they exist?

 

[Lloyd Bonafide]

How about shooting to the the gutters on the first two, (and adding 4" and 6" for the distance to the end of the wall), and on the third shooting the back of the building to the block wall, then using the "+" feature and shooting the front wall to the block wall and adding? You would still have the third wall measured before you could roll up a tape.

99% of the time, there is something to shoot, and on the other 1% I get the measurement from the inside. I've never had to use a clipboard or sticky as a target, and never have to drag a tape around.

 

[rijman]

Blank walls with no windows or doors! That sure is a strange area. I am quite comfortable using a tree, but it is important to find something distinctive about the tree. My favorite target is the house next door or across the street.

I have to admit I am not clear on what you're talking about. What does a door or window do, are you shooting 3 measurements along a wall when using one window edge from one end of a wall, the opposite window edge from the other end of the wall and subtracting the window width? Targets next door and across the street? You shoot to a long distance target from a far end of a wall then subtract the distance from the near end of the wall? I hadn't thought of that.

Before buying I researched demonstration videos and talked to a Leica rep, but couldn't find any demos to measure a house. You're talking about things I hadn't considered that can make it easier to measure with a laser. I just use nearby fences and gates when available. Thanks for the info.

 

[Lloyd Bonafide]

Targets next door and across the street? You shoot to a long distance target from a far end of a wall then subtract the distance from the near end of the wall? I hadn't thought of that.

You hadn't used the +/- function for that? That's one thing that makes it so easy. Especially in tract housing on small lots, it's very easy to shoot off a neighbor's wall, car, fence, etc. to get one measurement that might otherwise be more difficult. Or to measure the total width of a back of a house, I often shoot from one corner to the side fence, then from the other corner to the same fence with the +/-, and you have the total width as a double-check if nothing else.

Or on a large house with a lot of corners, it's nice to get a measurement from the front door through the interior to the back wall. It takes 2 seconds and you have double-checked your entire exterior measurements.