Viscous spirt leve

[Colin Donahue]

I am looking for a spirit leve to put on my sled. I have several that I have purchased from Home Depot, but the bubble moves very fast. I am wondering if there a level out there with a more viscous liquid that will allow the bubble to react more slowly.

thanks

colin

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

I am looking for a spirit leve to put on my sled. I have several that I have purchased from Home Depot, but the bubble moves very fast. I am wondering if there a level out there with a more viscous liquid that will allow the bubble to react more slowly.

 

 

No you are looking for a 4 degree level. Mcmaster-carr has what you need.

 

For the record I three levels on my rig. A Electronic level for overall monitoring of my level, a 2 degree level for action and quick moves and a 1/4 degree level for lock offs and slow moves.

[Nicholas Davidoff]

Eric,

 

I'm curious about the levels you are referring to. I couldn't find these specific ones (2 degree and 1/4 degree) on McMaster's website. The closest I found was a 6 degree and 10 degree Tilt Indicator, part # 20035A26.

 

Could you perhaps send a link or part # for the 2 degree and 1/4 degree levels you use?

 

Much appreciated,

 

~ Nick Davidoff

[Colin Donahue]

Eric,

I am not sure what a 4 degree level is and I cannot seem to find much info about it on google.

Can you explain?

 

colin

[Charles Papert]

Holy shnikes, I thought I was a bubble-watcher! 3 levels? Eric, your attention cycle must have more stops than a local train!

 

I was thinking about this just yesterday as we were shooting a day exterior and having a long conversation with the DP (via headsets--the digital reality of moviemaking today) about level on an A-camera shot. Nothing in the frame showed a true vertical, but with a graded road cutting through the frame and various gnarled trees pitching hither and yon, truing the camera to the bullseye bubble resulted in a less-than satisfying frame for the DP. I biased it both directions for him to look at but finally we ended up setting it via the bullseye. I was wondering, what if this had been a Steadicam shot--without a level, how would I be able to deliver a consistent horizon if there was nothing in the frame to reference to? The feel of the rig, yes, to an extent, but when lateral acceleration is afoot, it's hard to trust the feel down to that critical few percent of roll that makes all the difference.

[Andre Trudel]

I’m looking for a place in the valley (So Cal) to buy a few of the “bubble” levels. McMaster Carr will not work for me because I need them this week.

 

Eric, I was looking on McMaster Carr’s web sight and they measure the sensitivity in minutes not degrees. From what I understand, 1 degree equals 60 minutes is that right? So, a 4 degree level would be 240 minutes, a 2 degree would be 120 minutes, and a ¼ degree would be 15 minutes?

 

Any advice on where I can pick up some good spirt levels is greatly appreciated.

[JimBartell]

I’m looking for a place in the valley (So Cal) to buy a few of the “bubble” levels. McMaster Carr will not work for me because I need them this week.

McMaster-Carr ships same day and it will be on your doorstep in the morning. Or you can do "will-call" and pick it up at their Norwalk facility today.

 

I have had them deliver before 7:00 am sometimes. If you order early enough in the morning it will be delivered by day's end. It's a little scary.

 

Jim "MCM BFF" Bartell

[Andre Trudel]

Thanks Jim. I’m not sure how to convert Eric Fletcher’s degrees to McMaster Carr’s sensitivity chart. They measure in- in./ft. and min./0.1 not degrees.

 

I called and they didn’t know how to convert it either.

 

Dose anyone know how to do this? Eric?

 

Thanks.

[Brian Freesh]

Looks like you're correct Andre, this seems to calculate the same as you understood. I know nothing of this all myself, I just fancy Google.

 

Brian |-)~~