Cartoni Focus Head Review

I just bought the Cartoni Focus, and I mounted my HVX. It seems as though it is wobbly when mounted.. if I grab the camera by the handle and push it just a little it woobbles on the head.. Does anyone have the same problem? It seems as though the bottom of the camera does not rest on the head.. so it has space to wobble.. All my cheapo heads and the expensive ones are level with the bottom of the camera..!!??!!

HELP!!

Am I doing something wrong?
 
http://www.dvuser.co.uk/content.php?CID=166

"It would appear that after buying a semi-professional camcorder costing around £4,000, most people would go out and buy a tripod priced around £400, such as a Manfrotto 503/525P kit. Now, don’t get me wrong, the 503 Manfrotto is a fine budget tripod, in fact it is probably as good as you can get for the money. But this tripod (and many others like it) has some serious limitations that a professional simply could not live with. These include fluid drift-back, leg wind-up, dead-spots within the head and other mechanical limitations.......

I recently tested a Manfrotto 503/525P tripod, which cost around £365. As I’ve mentioned already, this is a great low-budget tripod, but it could not be used for any serious professional work. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it is only really usable in the ‘locked-off’ position; don’t even attempt a pan as you will almost certainly see the dreaded drift-back effect at the end of the pan movement. This could be due to inferior quality fluid or the built-to-a-budget internal mechanics of the head perhaps? I’m not picking on Manfrotto tripods either, I recently reviewed the Cartoni Focus tripod, which costs £899 and it also suffers the same gremlins as the Manfrotto, so do many other budget tripods. It’s simply a case of you get what you pay for."

I have used both the 503 and Cartoni focus and i agreed with them 100%.
 
Dxmetal said:
http://www.dvuser.co.uk/content.php?CID=166

"It would appear that after buying a semi-professional camcorder costing around £4,000, most people would go out and buy a tripod priced around £400, such as a Manfrotto 503/525P kit. Now, don’t get me wrong, the 503 Manfrotto is a fine budget tripod, in fact it is probably as good as you can get for the money. But this tripod (and many others like it) has some serious limitations that a professional simply could not live with. These include fluid drift-back, leg wind-up, dead-spots within the head and other mechanical limitations.......

I recently tested a Manfrotto 503/525P tripod, which cost around £365. As I’ve mentioned already, this is a great low-budget tripod, but it could not be used for any serious professional work. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it is only really usable in the ‘locked-off’ position; don’t even attempt a pan as you will almost certainly see the dreaded drift-back effect at the end of the pan movement. This could be due to inferior quality fluid or the built-to-a-budget internal mechanics of the head perhaps? I’m not picking on Manfrotto tripods either, I recently reviewed the Cartoni Focus tripod, which costs £899 and it also suffers the same gremlins as the Manfrotto, so do many other budget tripods. It’s simply a case of you get what you pay for."

I have used both the 503 and Cartoni focus and i agreed with them 100%.
Click to expand...


Iv'e got a 501, and yes, Lock off only, or loosen all the way up and never stop panning like at a soccer game. I saw this Cartoni reviewed somewhere with a face off with 7 other tripods in some magazine somewhere. Does anyone remember? Maybe 1 or 2 months ago? planing on a new pod $1,200 to $1,500 or so... Not to confuse the issue, has anyone seen Mathews new friction pro-sumer pod? $170 list? M25? looks like (not seen in person) a great starter pod for people.
 
The head and the bowl of my tripod is no longer moving freely when I level the tripod. Can I use some sort of oil to correct the problem?
 
Jarred Land said:
Click Here to read the full review
Click to expand...


"Advanced pan and tilts such as dutch pans and ship snaps are very smooth."

Hi,

In the review you mentioned "dutch pans" and "ship snaps". I was wondering what you mean by these terms. Dutch pan - are you referring to tilting the head while shooting or panning with the head at an agle?. "Ship snaps" I haven't heard of. Always looking to learn. Would you elaborate?

Thanks

Nanometers
 
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I've got a little problem with the focus head. It seem as if my hvx200 is too light for the drag at any level. I can't get it balanced quite right no matter how much I fiddle with it. My end result is either having too much tension so the camera comes up (when angled down) or falls back when level or angled up... Think I need to try and ad some weight to it?
 
The HVX works perfectly on that head.. I own both the focus and the HVX.. Seems like you need to BALANCE your camera on the baseplate.. I'm not sure if you are a novice or not so don't take it the wrong way..

DO THIS:

PUT all of you tension (fluid)/drag/EVERYTHING to its minimum. It should now be loose as a goose and spin freely..
Now unlock your tilt with your hands close by incase it wants to take a DIVE.. Now without adjusting ANYTHING, unlock the latch and slide the camera either FORWARD or BACKWARDS (depending on which direction it was going with everthing loose) locking the latch EACH time your adjust and remove your hands.. do this till the camera stays perfectly level without any tension or your hands on the camera.. You camera is now balanced..

If this doesn't work, your head is screwed up or your not doing what I said ;-)

Good luck - -

- - Justin
 
I've had a Cartoni Focus for just over three years and the tilt lock had basically worn down to the point where the camera was no longer safe on it. I sent it in for service, expecting to pay a couple hundred or more to get it fixed and all I ended up paying was shipping. They said it was under warranty and replaced a number of parts and now its like a brand new head. Definitely a great head for the price.
 
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