Levels

 

— the design of a classic level of this type includes an optical system that looks like a telescope, with service scales in the field of view, a leveling mechanism with a built-in level, and a tripod mount. More advanced models may have additional equipment, up to a digital unit for automatically reading data from a leveling staff, determining distance, etc. The main purpose of all optical levels is to measure the elevation of one terrain point over another, but they can also be used for other tasks. Such devices are simpler, more reliable and safer than laser ones, but they are poorly suited for indoor work, and yes, in general, the specifics of their application are noticeably different.