The Leica Disto d510 Review is an excellent laser measuring tool that can help make a wide range of jobs easier.
Forget using a tape measure the next time you need to drill a hole in a piece of wood, or measure the length of… a piece of wood! Instead, you can simply hold the device at one end and get a precise reading for the length and know precisely where you need to cut. The same goes for hanging pictures, for measuring space for furniture, or for creating precise floor plans as a property developer or realtor.
This is one of many laser measuring tools though and one of many laser measuring tools from Leica to bare the Disto name in fact. How do you know if you’re getting the right model and whether you need this particular gadget? Read on and let’s take a closer look at the Leica Disto d510.
Product Description: Amazing Accuracy and a Slew of Features
We’ve been using the Leica Disto d510 for a while now during our review period and we’ve found that it is highly accurate and comes with all the features you would expect.
The device itself has the look of an old Nokia phone. It is small, oblong and a little bit rubber.
Also like a Nokia though, the device is highly durable. Do you remember people claiming that you could shoot a Nokia 3310 with a bullet and it wouldn’t show a scratch? Regardless of where such absurd claims came from… this device too can survive a fall and also an awful lot of dust in your workshop thanks to the IP65 rating.
As with other laser measurement tools, the Leica Disto d510 has a fold out attachment that you can use to fix into place and from there, it will let you know precisely where to cut.
But it’s the full color screen and digital ‘point finder’ that really puts this device above the competition. This is designed for outdoor use and essentially allows you to use cross hairs on the screen to line up your shot and then calculate the distance of any element that you can point it at.
Pros and Cons: Great Features and Durability, Not for Everyone
That camera is perhaps the big selling point of the Leica Disto d510 and is something that will be very useful for a range of applications. If you find yourself taking outdoor measurements – perhaps for landscaping or measuring the height of your gutters, it is going to come in handy indeed. In fact, the Leica Disto d510 is designed specifically for outdoor use, despite its slew of indoor features.
The Leica Disto d510 also wins points for its water and dust resistance and its shockwave build quality. You get a ton of extras in the box too, such as a pounch with a belt loop, and a wrist strap.
The downside is that this is an expensive tool and that the features won’t appeal to everyone. There’s no mention of a level for instance, which will come as a disappointment for some users (though you can get a tripod with one built in). The screen is also very slow to update and not particularly large or crisp, which is again a bit of a let down considering the price.
Still though, this is one of the very best in its class and really the only question you need to ask is whether you actually need that screen or the other outdoor features. If you mainly work with wood in your own workshop, then a cheaper option like the X310 might be a better pick.
Conclusion: A Great Device for Outdoor Measurements
To conclude then, this really is a well made piece of technology that does exactly what it claims and does it well. There are no bells and whistles though: the lack of level is a shame and the screen is small and slow.
The question then is whether you’re willing to pay extra for those features. And the answer to that is likely to come down entirely to the kind of work you’re doing. For some users, this tool will be a Godsend.
Toolerant 