rpavich Loc: West Virginia

I use my built in level a LOT and I'll tell you why...

Using a fixed-short-lens camera like I do will impart unwanted distortion to images where I don't want it and the fix is to make sure that the camera is level both side to side and front to back.

that is not to say that I don't ever want to tilt the camera but I want to impart distortion when I WANT to...not because I can't hold the camera level...and believe me...I can't.

So a level in the camera definitely has its uses.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Your electronic level wasn't made to do what you're wanting from that photo. You were to the side of, and lower than, the face of the sign. You tried to level something that you weren't facing flat-on.

For example, you are standing across the street and at the center of the front of a house or church. If you make the horizontal level parallel to a cement block line, siding line, or even the base of the building where it meets the ground, you have leveled it. You level vertically so your lens center is aimed at a spot on the building that is the same height from the ground that your lens center is actually at.

On your photo I would just adjusted vertical perspective in post-editing so the top of sign posts are the same distance apart at the top as they are at the bottom, or leave it like it was shot which really isn't objectionable.