Cartoni becomes the first camera support company to introduce a full lineup
of encoded & encoded-ready professional fluid heads
The new encoded heads will assist camera tracking in
specialty applications such as Visual FX, Virtual Production & Augmented Reality
Rome, Italy (Aug. 24, 2022) – Cartoni Camera Supports announced that their professional fluid heads, including the Maxima, Master, and Magnum, will be encoded. By including the ability to track position, they will provide precise camera information for VFX, Virtual Production, and much more.
The e-Maxima, e-Master and e-Magnum encoded heads are the latest response Visual Effects needs. Strong and versatile, the e-series fluid head includes all the features of Cartoni’s premium heads for digital cinematography. In addition, the e-series features extremely high-resolution direct sensing encoders in both the pan and tilt axis. The encoders render absolute positioning without re-calibrating at start-up.
“We were pioneers when we made our first encoded-ready heads and are now pioneers in creating the new position-encoded E-series,” says Elisabetta Cartoni, the President & CEO of Cartoni Camera Supports. She continues, “We designed the e-Sensor head to track virtual environments more than ten years ago. The e-Sensor was followed by the encoded Master Series and Magnum, which are mainly utilized in virtual production and sports. Now that the evolution of VFX technology faces the growing need for motion picture precise data, we have expanded our encoding technology with the latest absolute encoders available on the market. These encoders have a reduced size and high resolution at 4 million counts per turn.”
The Cartoni e-series is compatible with most 3D packages for real-time camera and scene movement in virtual sets and pre-visualization. It is the ideal solution for sports 3D graphic insertions. Data is provided directly through dedicated connectors on the head or can be processed and gathered with other metadata through a VR box programmed on the major VFX industry protocols.
The addition of encoding ability complements the premium line of Maxima fluid heads. The e-Maxima fluid heads are designed for digital cinematography. In contrast, the e-Master and e-Magnum fluid heads are custom-built for broadcast and OB production needs.
Cartoni’s long history of developing cinematography supports can be seen in the attention to design detail and superior performance. Patented drag and balance systems provide a feel that has raised the industry standard of what is expected in a fluid head. User controls are located and designed for comfort and are reinforced by decades of muscle memory that allow operators to fine-tune head performance by feel quickly.
With 33 international patents on fluid drag systems and camera counterbalance systems, Cartoni covers all the needs of Camera support and movement throughout the broadcast and digital cinematography applications. Designed and manufactured in Rome since 1935, Cartoni offers prompt shipping on all orders.
Cartoni will showcase its encoded heads at IBC 2022 (Hall 12-F31). For more information on the e-Maxima and Cartoni’s entire product line, visit cartoni.com.