Guido Cartoni, above, is examining a Focus fluid head from the assembly line. An interesting feature of the Focus head is that it supports cameras from 0 to 10 Kg (0 to 22 lbs). Most heads begin with a minimum required load–this head starts at zero. It tilts straight up and straight down, and works with all kinds of cameras thanks to continuously variable drag, sliding baseplate and wide-range counterbalance system.

We’re visiting the impressive Cartoni factory at Via di Portonaccio. No outsourcing here. Almost everything is made in-house, from milling solid blocks of aluminum on state-of-the-art CNC machines to molding the handles.

Of course, the Cartoni company is known for its huge array of heads, tripods, supports and accessories. The latest head, introduced at Cine Gear, is the Lambda Twin 3D head, which cleverly combines two Lambdas for even weight distribution and elegant moves with almost any conceivable 3D rig–from small to huge and heavy.

Watch for more information about Cartoni, a company history, and a filmmaker’s fine-dining guide to the restaurants of Rome by our intrepid reviewer, Buona Forchetta, in FDTimes’ September IBC/Cinec special FDTimes Rome report.