Optivision 905 Condor Level

Posted by 141drew Posted onJan 15, 2011 at 2:31 PM and filed under Reviews & Features


This is pretty smart… The guys at Optivision basically borrowed an idea from old rangfinder cameras to create a level with a highlighted bubble. In turn, the level is much easier to read than your standard level. I’ve got no idea how much these run, but I sure do like the idea.

Check it out here.


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yevangelis

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no, it says the edges of the bubbles are red because they reflect the red color, against the white 'floor' of the vial
 
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Ryan

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The level uses the same idea behind old range finder cameras to light the bubble. Note the window on the left side of the pictured level. Light enters there and bounces of a mirror to reach the bubble at a 90-degree angle. The bubble then works as a lens and bounces the light in all directions... and reflects the red color.

I saw a prototype in person and it was quite impressive.

I gotta feeling these are gonna be expensive though.
 
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Shipfittin

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I bet it is going to be on the expensive side. I am very interested in acquiring one though. I tried googling it and couldn't find much information on a price or when it may be for sale. Anyone have any ideas on this?
 
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tube_guy

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Every tool I've ever seen out of Kapro has been gimmicky and solves problems that really don't exist except in the minds of their designers. But with this level, I don't know. Maybe I'm in the minority, but reading a normal spirit level just hasn't been a problem for me. When it comes to levels, only two things matter to me. How accurate they are and how much abuse they will take while maintaining that accuracy. I think it'll be tough to genuinely improve upon a normal high quality spirit level.
 
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larry_g

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I wouldn't buy one. They are spec'ing that thing in the range of a master precision level which is usually aged cast iron and scraped into spec. It reminds me of a machine vendor we had that spec'ed a machine with a X+Y table on it to .005" repeatability. We received the machine and upon checking it was running at about .020" repeatiblity. We called for warranty work. One of the comments when we asked the factory guy how they checked it they said no one ever had, marketing made up the number. Our machines ended up with some very expensive lead screws to make spec.

lg
no neat sig line
 
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