Tiny but precise stick on levels for levelling the standards?

[speedfreak]

As a carpenter as well, I use levels to make my living. The guys I works with buy the crap at home depot and get routinely dropped and thrown in the back of the truck at the end of the day. I'll let you guess what their work usually looks like. For me, I realized early on that you get what you pay for with levels and it's not the place to skimp! I have a full set of Stabila levels that live in their case until used and are babied while being worked with. They are top notch levels and I love to work with them.
While out with the camera, I'll use the stabila torpedo level to get me in the ballpark then use the grid lines on the GG to get everything dialed in. There are so many damned levels on my setup: bullseye on tripod, two on tripod head, two on the rear standard of the technikardan and one on the front standard. Trying to get them to all agree is impossible. So... simplicity is your friend. Find a nice level that is accurate and use that in conjunction with the grid on the GG and your money!

[Jean-Louis Llech]

Hi, everybody,
for a large format camera, these bubble levels which can be mounted on hot shoes need a hot shoe ! I know, this is quite stupid to say that. But I don't know which view or field cameras have one.
And on MF cameras with a hot shoe, I wonder if the hot shoe is really right-angled with the film plane. Not sure it is or not. Never checked it.
The Starrett Cross Test Level No. 136 seems interesting, but I don't see how to fix it on the groundglass or the lens plate. Huge (7x7cm) for a Linhof plate.
On a LF camera, the levelling of the tripod is something essential. Second, the levelling of the camera. And I agree with the idea that there is already a useful tool for that : the groundglass.
I use an angle finder protractor, with a large 360° dial, for levelling the tripod and the camera. The one I used was bought by McMaster Carr. When it was recently broken, I use one from Empire Level (Model 36 Protractor). Only $11.09.
http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Level-3...5276959&sr=8-1
Regards,
Jean-Louis

[Bob Salomon]

Hi, everybody,
for a large format camera, these bubble levels which can be mounted on hot shoes need a hot shoe ! I know, this is quite stupid to say that. But I don't know which view or field cameras have one.
And on MF cameras with a hot shoe, I wonder if the hot shoe is really right-angled with the film plane. Not sure it is or not. Never checked it.
The Starrett Cross Test Level No. 136 seems interesting, but I don't see how to fix it on the groundglass or the lens plate. Huge (7x7cm) for a Linhof plate.
On a LF camera, the levelling of the tripod is something essential. Second, the levelling of the camera. And I agree with the idea that there is already a useful tool for that : the groundglass.
I use an angle finder protractor, with a large 360° dial, for levelling the tripod and the camera. The one I used was bought by McMaster Carr. When it was recently broken, I use one from Empire Level (Model 36 Protractor). Only $11.09.
http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Level-3...5276959&sr=8-1
Regards,
Jean-Louis

Linhof has an accessory shoe on all of their current cameras. All older Technika cameras and most of their Kardan cameras. Wista has one on their metal technical cameras.
In addition, Kaiser makes add on accessory shoes (view cameras do not have a "hot" shoe. That is a term from 35mm cameras that is being used in place of accessory shoe. A hot shoe has a flash contact in it. An accessory shoe does not. Kaiser also makes add-on hot shoes but the synch cord on these is not long enough to use them on a view camera unless one also buys a longer Kaiser synch cord.

[Jean-Louis Llech]

Yes, Bob, you are right, as usual. I apologise myself for this stupid mistake.
But, my real mistake is that I always have the finder residently set on it.
That's why I did not finally consider it like a "hot shoe", and I never used it for setting a bubble level.
I aged (very badly, IMO)