Digital Levels - Bosch/Stabila

I took a look at both of these last time I was in Germany although didn't buy one then. Probably will next trip.

Of the two, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for the Stabila. It seems a lot more substantial than the Bosch, and the spec appears better, AFAICS.

There's also a discussion going on on these in the Felder Owner's Group today.

You might be interested in a Wyler Niveltronic. That baby does

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Andy,

Many thanks - I'll take a close look at the Wyler..

Roy

If you posses the visual acuity to accurately read a normal spirit level and it is of reasonable quality it will always in my experience be as accurate if not more so than a digital one.

For instance vehicle camber/caster gauges, where "0.1 deg resolution" digital gauges are priced around the £2-300 mark and marketed as a premium product are in practice actually less accurate, even in the hands of a competent user, than the spirit level type used half a century ago and costing about £100.

I wonder if anyone has actually done any comparative tests... ?

Roy

Do sit down first. :-)

There was another post in FOG, where somebody had spoken to Stabila and asked them to compare their bubble and digital levels. Apparently Stabila said that the bubble ones are more accurate for determining a level. Of course the digital ones will do an angle. OTOH, one can do that with a level and a protractor....

No need to.

The 0.1 degree "resolution" over 1 metre offered by most digital levels is about 1.7mm, "accuracy" is conceivably twice that.

You can easily pick up a 1 metre spirit level accurate to 0.5mm/metre for 25 quid. 0.5mm/m is approx 0.028 degree - at least 3.5 times and possibly 7 times better.

How robust/long lived are they, I wonder?

Yes.

I suspect they're a bit of a gimmick.