Cartoni tripods are amazing!

[Lewis-M Soucy]

Just a word on Cartoni: we were about to get an O'Connor 2060 or 2575 for our Red and met with the Cartoni people. When I saw those tripods, I got crazy! They're so clean and sturdy, precise and well designed... We were going to fall for the "Master" (equivalent to the 2060) and then saw the "Sigma" (equivalent to the 2575) and our jaw dropped! The brand has been around for a 100 years, so they know about tripods (they were the Cinecitta tripods) BUT they are nearly half the price of O'Connors (who's a huge, popular and demanded brand of course...)

We bought it on the spot without looking back. The guys are really cool and we got a great deal on it too. They want to make business!

My point is I love O'Connor (I worked only with them all my life), but when it came to get my own, 8000€ for a Cartoni instead of 15000€ for an O'Connor made it clear I could get other stuff for my Red with the saved money!

Just for the people that aren't sure, my crew just got mad over the Sigma (Master is fine if you ask me, but we got the Sigma for real cheap so...) and all the DP's that I know and never worked with a Cartoni just fell in love with it...

Just wanted to share with Redusers, and keep it in a corner of your mind, all of you shopping for a tripod. Seeing is believing!

http://cartoni.com/eng/studio.html

 

[Douglas Underdahl]

Yes - my recollection of the old OConnors were that they always leaked all over the inside of the case unless you put the heads separately in their own road cases, and the new ones are overpriced and have controls in odd places. They don't seem especially rigid, either. I like the Sachtler better, but then the Cartonis are like Sachtler but have better ergonomics, are tougher, and less expensive. Sigma has infinite counterbalance, too (I think) and that is a must. Great bargain on a medium big head is the Cartoni C20s. Built like a tank, super smooth, and big enough for most RED set ups. You can find them for $3k or so if you look. I have a Cartoni Focus with infinite counterbalance and it also has an ingenious dovetail shaped quick release plate that allows for fore and aft balance, but also loads sideways, straight down like non-sliding plates. This gives you the quick and easy attachment of the square plates but the balance capability of the sliders. Just brilliant.

 

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

Very interesting.

In the not so expensive realm (or the poor man's realm) I heard bad things about Cartoni durability... I hope that's not true for the high end pro realm.

And nothing worst than fighting your stabilization system in order to get that great shot.

The best tripod system I've ever used was a Sachtler DV6-SB and since then I've been waiting ($$$) to get something better than my Manfrotto.

I just hope that with Scarlet I'll be able to get good results with a light payload Vinten system.

 

[Douglas Underdahl]

Another recommendation: Ronford F7. It's a center of gravity tilt head which solves the counterbalance problem in a different way. Makes a fantastic underslung head when used with small jibs because your camera can be set up to be essentially weightless in the tilt axis. Shoot straight down, upside-down, right-side up, weightlessly. Also the Weaver Steadman works this way but is usually more expensive. Weaver can have 3rd axis added, though. Cartoni Lambda is another.

Solid joystick remote heads can be had from Camera Turret. Joystick is hard to control but gets the job done and Camera Turret heads are priced at about half their value, I think. You can set these heads up so that the tilt axis is the center of gravity, too, and shoot straight down, spin around, etc as well.

 

[J. Bernard Vallon]

We used a Weaver Steadman on our last show, that thing was an adventure every time it came out of the box. Very good results, but our camera looked like dr suess built it.

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

Just a word on Cartoni: we were about to get an O'Connor 2060 or 2575 for our Red and met with the Cartoni people. When I saw those tripods, I got crazy! They're so clean and sturdy, precise and well designed... We were going to fall for the "Master" (equivalent to the 2060) and then saw the "Sigma" (equivalent to the 2575) and our jaw dropped! The brand has been around for a 100 years, so they know about tripods (they were the Cinecitta tripods) BUT they are nearly half the price of O'Connors (who's a huge, popular and demanded brand of course...)

We bought it on the spot without looking back. The guys are really cool and we got a great deal on it too. They want to make business!

My point is I love O'Connor (I worked only with them all my life), but when it came to get my own, 8000€ for a Cartoni instead of 15000€ for an O'Connor made it clear I could get other stuff for my Red with the saved money!

Just for the people that aren't sure, my crew just got mad over the Sigma (Master is fine if you ask me, but we got the Sigma for real cheap so...) and all the DP's that I know and never worked with a Cartoni just fell in love with it...

Just wanted to share with Redusers, and keep it in a corner of your mind, all of you shopping for a tripod. Seeing is believing!

http://cartoni.com/eng/studio.html

agreed, even on the low end for $1500 to $1800 for cameras up to 25lbs
they are rock solid, have BY FAR the smoothest pan heads for Ex-1, Panny
etc... and the master and sigma are the shiite. well done.

nothing against oconnor, the mercedes of tripods but the cartoni's are like a ferarri... imho:sifone:

 

[alex trettenero]

nothing against oconnor, the mercedes of tripods but the cartoni's are like a ferarri... imho:sifone:

speaking of ferrari: now cartoni has a special edition of Delta fluid head named "Rosso" (Red in italian), although i believe they are mentioning a different kind of "Red"...

I'm in love with my Cartoni C20S, but can't wait to see their Spinhead at NAB!

Plus, Cartoni people are really professional, helpful and friendly!

 

[Elisabetta Cartoni]

Delta Rosso

Delta Rosso

Thank you Alessandro for your appreciation! We try our best at Cartoni to be tuned to the industry needs. Please do stop at our NAB booth C8720 and have a look to our Spinhead we had in mind RED ONE when we engineered it!
All RED users advise is welcome to improve our equipment, we are committed with research but we NEED the enduser input. Please provide it! Ciao.

 

[ericyoung]

Ciao Elisabetta!

It's one of the coolest aspects of these forums that we get direct contact with manufacturers!

 

[Billy McCannon]

Hi Elizabeth,

We met at NAB a couple of years ago. I bought a Focus back then and have been back for more since.

Cartoni are a great company to deal with and the product is fantastic.

 

[Elisabetta Cartoni]

Billy, Eric, Alex, Tim, Pietro, Douglas, Lewis, your input is precious to us. Thank you!. We will do our best to stay tuned and try to improve our supports.
I will watch out for further advise!

 

[paul engstrom]

Anybody know if this new Rosso is rated for 40lbs or more like 48 or 55?? The regular Delta says 48lbs, the new Delta plus says 55lbs and the very limited blurbs I've seen regarding the Rosso say 18kg or 40lbs, which would surprise me.

Anybody know?

Also, nice to see you on this forum Elisabetta.

Thanks, P

 

[Antoine MARTEAU]

Hi Lewis! We bought the Master from Cartoni France! Very happy with it! It's a great piece of equipment for the Red! Good choice with the Sigma, heavier but great to!
Have nice shots!

 

[Lewis-M Soucy]

Hey Tony! Happy to hear you got one as well, we were on the Master too, but when Regis put the Sigma next to it, we looked at each other and melted... I sorta' fell for it right away! And since it was a demo, I got a great deal on it, so... "Kitchiiing"!... :happyhappy:

 

[Laco Zamba]

So, do you recommend Sigma?

 

[Lewis-M Soucy]

Honestly, I recommend whatever you can afford. Master is for me the "lightest" I would use. Not that it is light, it is perfect for the Red. That's the one I would have gotten in the first place. I mean I wouldn't go the prosumer route. I had a "big" Manfrotto just before and I couldn't sleep whenever the Red was on it.

I only got the Sigma because I got a great deal on it. But my point is the biggest the better. The heaviest, the more stable (we also have a crane we mount on the tripod). They all can sustain a lot of weight, but the camera "weight" is a different notion when panning and especially tilting. So basically, what can do more can do less... Of course it is heavier to carry, but the choice all depends on your needs. We don't need to shoot light, I mean we don't mind carrying stuff, and we don't shoot documentaries or anything that demands compact and easy to carry setups. So big is great for us. But Master is lighter, easier to carry, etc... I wouldn't say compact, it is not. It is sturdy, stable and brilliant. Again, it is PERFECT for the Red at a great price.

They are both great for the Red. Just like O'Connor, there's the 2060, and there's the 2575... The 2060 is perfect, we all know that, but if you could afford it, wouldn't you get the 2575? Same goes for Cartoni here... But if you get a Cartoni, be prepared for a suprise. There is something about those pods I can't explain. Seeing is believing. I worked with Sachtler, Panther, O'Connor, Manfrotto, etc... NEVER even seen a Cartoni before. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

I would get the Master if I were you. I'm just a kid who was going to have a tantrum in the store if he didn't get the Sigma...

Oh and yes, I confirm, Cartoni people are truly friendly and great.

 

[Elisabetta Cartoni]

Anybody know if this new Rosso is rated for 40lbs or more like 48 or 55?? The regular Delta says 48lbs, the new Delta plus says 55lbs and the very limited blurbs I've seen regarding the Rosso say 18kg or 40lbs, which would surprise me.

Anybody know?

Also, nice to see you on this forum Elisabetta.

Thanks, P

Hello Paul,
Delta Rosso is a redized version of the regular Delta, besides the cosmetics, black painting and red touches, it features a counterbalance silicon padding a little softer than regular Delta. Delta normally carries 22 kg at 125mm c/g, while Rosso carries 18kg, We did that to avoid the slight kick back you might experience with the heavy paddings on a sharp tilt down.
Delta Plus is a compromise in order to match tender specs in Asia. Please do not consider it; the 90° in tilt are real but not usable with serious cameras, it definitely bounces back at extreme tilt.
In our view Delta Rosso is a good pal for lightweight Red One configuration while Master is more appropriate for Cinestyle shooting. Of course when weight and budget are not a problem then the Sigma would be ideal.
Please try them and let me know what you think.
All the best.
Elisabetta Cartoni - elisabetta@cartoni.com

 

[Lewis-M Soucy]

Master is more appropriate for Cinestyle shooting. Of course when weight and budget are not a problem then the Sigma would be ideal.elisabetta@cartoni.com

Agreed, that's the advice I gave Luca and Elisabetta is right on. For Cine style, I wouldn't use anything but the Master or Sigma.