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Love my new Hilti PD4 ($213) smaller then my now retired beatup old Disto, easier to use and better range. Can be found at any Hilti store.

I have a older Hilti and a newer Bosch Dk 165. The laser works great for indoors. I have found it a real time saver when doing estimates, this is especially true in fire damaged houses when there is debris in the way and you need a measurement. I would suggest you get one that is back lit so you can read it in a dark house. It takes a little longer on dark colored walls ( smoke/fire damaged) for the laser to read the measurement . The Bosch is not back lit and I was spoiled with the Hilti which is.. Outside works okay. I usally use it to read the height from the ground to the peak or eve of the roof. Unless there is something at the other end to point the laser at it I find it is not real helpful on the exterior . If you are going to spend the money. The low end would be the fat max at about $ 100.00 up to the top of the line 1/8 " at 100', The Bosch is about $165.00 new and at lot less on ebay. 1/16" at 165'0.. The higher end models are accurate for a longer distances . All are more than accurate and better than a tape measure.

I use the Stanley Fat Max laser, it was cheap ($30), works great on interior rooms. I have also used it measuring outdoors, but like Bob says, keep your tape handy. Watch ebay for some good deals, that's where I got both mine, new in the box.

JWG

I used my Disto A-5 mostly for interior until recently. Not long ago I was showing a roofer how it didn't work so good to measure a roof, looking into the viewfinder and punching the button. He started laughing. "Take your hat off," he said. "The red dot is hitting the bill of your cap!"

Since then...I've found if you turn your cap backwards, steady it against anything, wall, fence or two hands braced against your body, the red dot doesn't dance so much on the other end.

To measure a fence, aim at the shaddow end and brace your elbows. When it works, beats walking 100 feet.

To measure peak of a gable, I yank a six foot folding rule open, place the Disto on top and pop the red dot on the peak, add six foot to the measurement. Beats trying to put the dang thang on the ground, press the button and dodge the red dot all at the same time. Use the six foot rule (some use a yardstick) inside. stay in the middle of the room and let the ruler do the walking to the edge of the room. Works great when both walls are blocked with junk...or muck.

Use the bubble on the disto. Hold one end of the six inch disto on roof, level the bubble, then measure from the other end to the roof and find the pitch per 6 inches. Multiply by 2 for the pitch per foot. Now it is a pitch gauge.

Use Fat Max 30 ft. tape for all short measurements. I keep a 50ft tape with a tennis ball attached with a 1/4 inch fender washer and #12 pan head screw. Throw the ball over the ridge, or more often from the ridge let it roll to the gutter to measure common rafter. I use a long skinny Klien screwdriver stabbed through the tennis ball to stake it to the ground to measure foot print of the house. Sometimes the Disto is more trouble than it is worth. If you have to punch and read five times....you are better off using another tool for the measurement.

Randy Cox

I love my stanley fatmax, I am on my 2nd one. But I stick to tape outdoors. A laser is good if you have something to bounce off of, otherwise, you have to set a target and then shoot a beam. And if you are going to do that, just run a tape. Or use a GOOD wheel.

Try a loggers tape/layout tape with a release nail. Ben Meadows sells them. Buy a magnet for your 35' Fat Max and use a Disto Laser.

I found a seller (wegotbetterdeals) on ebay who listed 'New in Box' Disto A5 for $379 and A6 for $490. These are the best prices so far; but am wondering if anybody here knows the integrity of this seller or if there have been reports of Chinese-made Disto knock-offs.

Thanks Larry. I agree with your point, but what happened to "you get what you pay for"? Now, I don't see the Sears model that cost $90. This is what Sears have: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...00P?mv=rr. In addition to the "testosterone thing", In our industry, shouldn't one have an instrument that gives him/her only 1/32" error in 600' than the one that gives 3/16" in 150'. Hey Larry, did the guy at Appleby tell you that when you were sharing the parking lot with him?

Bob, first your posts amaze me. Second, my loggers/layout tape is 100' and the case is metal. The release nail is nearly the same but a little different. Rick Schaefer has one that he got from a company other then Ben Meadows. Rick also has a repair kit. The kit has a punch and small rivets so that the broken ends of the tape can be put back together. One of my tricks is to take a diamond file and put a genuinely sharp point on the release nail. Nothing like it and a Disto for measuring large boat houses in S Louisiana.

FinePix J10 incorporates an 8.2-megapixel CCD sensor, a 2.5-inch LCD and a 3x Fujinon optical zoom lens that captures large groups or distant subjects with ease thanks to a 38mm-113mm equivalent

You are right! Cameras and images are a thing with me so I carry several with different applications in mind. Wide angle cameras have a place in my equipment bag along with 35mm, waterproof and video.

I switched to the Bosch DLR165

I find it much better than the Fat Max . It clicks when the measurement has been taken , The buttons are easier to find and use . especially the power on /off. It has continuous measure feature and the pythagorean theorem feature. Accurate to 165 feet and smaller than the others

Posted By Larry Hardin on 30 Oct 2008 08:24 PM
Remi, 

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BTW, I go to Appleby's for breakfast. You should try it sometime

Posted By Bob Harvey on 30 Oct 2008 10:12 PM

Chuck,

Thanks for the info.  
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 The newer Disto can transmit the measurement wirelessly to Xactimate so you don't have to type it in, and Chuck is a step ahead of me on that.  There is another thread focused on that capability (follow the link)

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A wide angle would be 28, or even wider 24mm but very few digitals are wider than 28 mm.
There is another thread focused on that issue, anyone that wants to talk about it should follow this link.

 

Bob, thanks for all these links. Shows you do a lot of research and you're a computer wiz!  I would like to be able to insert links and objects the way you do.  Can you teach me how to?.  You can PM or e-mail me.