Laser measures any advice?

[GMM]

With a fair bit of measuring coming up I've been looking at laser measures. There seem to be a few in the 'under =A3100' category that claim pretty good accuracy (+/- 1 - 3 mm over tens of metres), such as the Bosch PLR25

It seems to me that =A365 would be worth spending if they do a reasonable job but, of course, a complete waste if they don't! Now, I've searched this forum and, although there is plenty of commentary on ultrasonic measures (leading to the conclusion they're a waste of time), I can't find any threads on the laser models. Does anyone have any experience of these more 'consumer' level devices that they could share? Cheers

[Dave Liquorice]

Not directly but focus pullers often use a laser measure instead of a tape measure to set the lens, floor marks etc. When working with film, wide open, the depth of field can be so narrow that it's a choice between nose in focus or ears, not both...

[dom]

I've got a Bosch DL50 (I think that's the number - basically the first pro model they did).

For my use, excellent. Millimetre precision. Excellent for joinery and studwork. With practice, you think of lots of way to use it. Min distance about 150mm, max that I regularly use 12m (no idea what the absolute max is).

Only downside I can think of is not good outdoors, unless it's getting dark - you just can't see the laser dot.

[Tim Watts]

I've has a Leica Disto for a couple of years - been very pleased with it.

It has a little sighting lens which aims accurately if you can't see the dot

- or to be more precise, you generally can see the dot through the lens wven on a moderately bright day.

[GMM]

Well, in the end the issue was solved because the wife bought me the PLR25 without discussing it (B'day present)! I haven't used it in anger yet but it certainly looks like it will do the job. It's a slightly unwieldy shape but it seems to give very reproducible and plausible (though I haven't compared to a tape yet) results.

Thanks for your thoughts anyway!