Spirit level

[gray1720]

Just wondering what other people use to keep themselves on the level when taking landscapes and the like...? I'm off to the Lakes reasonably soon, and with my big landscape camera currently in dock, it looks like it'll be 35mm/pixies. With the Moskva I had cropping room, and the digi has a lined screen, but I'm less confident at levelling one of my myriad 35mm cameras by Mk1 eyeball.

I'm tempted by one of the ridiculously cheap plastic levels from Ebay, as they're so cheap it hardly matters if they are rubbish, but on the other hand can anything that cheap actually do the job?

Your thoughts would be welcome. Thanks!

Adrian

[Fen]

Got built in spirit level on my tripod and the heads I use. Then there is the built in one in the camera as well.

Also, got several of those plastic ones... never used them though.

[frank1]

I'm a carpenter and I've got a six foot level. Can be a bugger attaching it to my camera.

[Nod]

Assorted levels on the tripod, head etc as well as a few of the hotshoe bubble levels. Only one of the hotshoe levels actually seems to be accurate though. I've also got one of the Seculine Digital levels which is accurate (and is also microadjustable should a hotshoe be off kilter) and the LEDs can be seen at the top of peripheral vision when the camera's up to the eye.

Even that is now all but redundant since I now use a Nikon D700 for most of my photography and that (like Fen's D3) has a built in level which I have set to show when one of the function buttons on the front of the body is pressed.

[gray1720]

Hmmm... I rather get the impression that the message (except from Frank - whom I'd advise to get a bigger camera!) is "Stop farting around and blow some money on serious kit". Perhaps if we weren't looking at houses at the mo...

I might just rely on drinking enough Snecklifter that I can't tell where the horizon is anyway. Unless you fancy shifting one of your plastic jobs, Fen...?

Adrian

[Malcolm_Stewart]

...I'm tempted by one of the ridiculously cheap plastic levels from Ebay, as they're so cheap it hardly matters if they are rubbish, but on the other hand can anything that cheap actually do the job?

Your thoughts would be welcome. Thanks!

Adrian

It's easy enough to check a spirit level. Try it on a fixed surface, note where the bubble is, rotate through 180 deg, and note where bubble is. If it's not the same, add packing to halve the error, and try checking again. When satisfied, glue packing in place.


I've got spirit levels on the camera plate area on several of my Manfrotto heads, above the pan and tilt axes; but where I would like a spirit level is below this at the top of the tripod - i.e. where the head is affixed. Getting this point level helps enormously when doing panoramas.

[PaulatUKcamera]

Thanks Nod for that suggestion!

Had the D700 for over a year and couldn't be bothered with going through Menu options for the level, so haven't used it. I had even used one of the programmable buttons for Ai lens options which is not exactly an everyday choice!

Pul

[daft_biker]

Spirit level? Like Derek Acorah? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I just use the viewfinder and the various things in there that are straight and level - the edges of the frame, the AF point markers or the grid lines.

[Hotblack]

I used to use a bubble level with my D50. It seemed accurate enough.

[PaulatUKcamera]

I have come to the conclusion that most people can't judge when a thing is level.

Just spent fifteen minutes staring at my Doctor's wooden name badge on his door - well out. Look at badges stuck on the back of cars (even by the manufacturer!) Look at how others put paintings & photographs up in their homes.

It is not an easy skill.

The best landscape photo I have ever taken is not up for critique on the forum because I am proud that I have not touched it with an editing program but the more I look at it the more I am certain it's not level!

Believe you me, a builder's six foot level is the way to go!!

Paul

[LargeFormat]

My 4x5 has a built in bubble. Screwfix used to give away small spirit levels. My daughter became popular at art school when hanging pictures as the only one with the gear to get it right!

[gray1720]

Right, I've had a bit of a think, and I've put together this rig, which I reckon is a winner. What do you think?


Paul, I spent half-an-hour yesterday putting up a sign at my parents and getting it as close to dead level as the tools available (no smart remarks, now!) would allow. I think the simple reason is that getting it right takes time... Thankfully the chimney breast and ceiling are fairly close to vertical/horizontal, or it'd be a case of matching the lean up to the wall. The builders went bust immediately after that house, and the walls show it!...

Slightly (only slightly, mind) more seriously, I think it may be a while before I invest in a camera with a built-in level. However, if I get more serious than I am now then a tripod with a built-in level sounds like a very good idea. To be honest, I will probably take my little pre-war tripod hillwalking, because it folds so small and, with the addition of a rubber band to hold the legs together, makes a smashing monopod.

Adrian