[Yes] Smooth like a babies' bottom and affordable too!

[Yes] Solid and heavy. Smooth pan and tilt. Very good value.

[Fluid Head] If you combined the performance of the Manfrotto 502 head with the footprint of the 500... at a cheaper price tag, you'd have this. The GH03 is perfect if you're doing a run and gun shoot with a mono-pod.

[Fluid Head] Bought this about a year ago. I use medium size rigs on it. built up c70 with Ninja V and follow focus and other not so heavy things. I'm guessing about 6lbs. This works like a champ!


Its smooth and the drag controls are spot on. They're tuned to each other, meaning if you put the tilt on 2 and pan on 2, you can make a nice circle movement and not notice any difference in the two resistance. Not to mention completely repeatable, unlike those friction clutch systems.


The counter balance system is great too. But if you use just a dslr or mirrorless by itself, it may be too light for the counter balance, even at the 1 setting. Some people mentions that there is no in between increments (there are only 4 settings), but I had yet to have a rig not balance on those 4 settings.


The locks are great and nothing moves once locked. but I don't like the placement of the pan lock. Its too tucked in. You have to fumble around like a teenager trying to... never mind.


I like the way the handle can telescope out. The longer handle will give you less shake, if using a very long lens or you had too much coffee.


The ball lock is good too. Never had it slip on me yet. Its not the most comfortable shaped knob but since you don't have to twist it that hard lock or unlock, its not too bad.


I wish the head was lighter, but its a video head, I guess you really can't skimp on weight. This is a couple of notches higher than your budget friction fluid heads for sure. Love it!

[Yes] Pan and tilts are butter-smooth. After properly balancing my camera, I do not feel any backlash at the end of a swipe. The continuous counterbalance system is amazing, which led me to choose Cartoni over the equivalent Sachtler or Miller. Frankly speaking, without continuous counterbalancing, perfect balancing is not achievable by any means. This fluid head is doing that effortlessly, even with the uncooperatively lightweight Black Magic Pocket. The only slight qualm i have is about the bubble level, which is located in a cavern where parallax error in reading is inevitable. On top of that, it gives me a feeling that its calibration is slightly off. But if you are married, this should not bother you at all!

[Fluid Head] I use this on a tripod for DSLR and Camcorder video. And, to mount a short Glide Gear Slider. The large base plate provides a firm base for mounting a slider rail, much more stable than my photo ball head which is rated at 25lbs. And, it holds the angles well when lock down. The pan and tilt is very smooth, a huge improvement over a photo ball head. It's also built solid with cast and machined mag-alloy. No plastic. It's heavy and stable. I found no negatives about this product. It is a great product, well constructed, and performs very well in the field. Overall, for the price, it's a great value.

[Fluid Head] To me it looks and feels just like a Sachtler 18 S2 ENG 2 CF Video 18 S2 Fluid Head with ENG 2 CF Tripod and Ground Spreader except for the handle looks a little different and the Cam-TV logo, which I covered with my contact info (white text on black label stickers, which looks clean). Clients probably think it's a Sachtler. But more importantly it is buttery smooth, fully adjustable, and sturdy. There's only a few potential cons in my view. There's only the floor spreader available, but you can take it off if you're ever on rough terrain. In that case I might use something like the Oben Tripod Hammock to add stability in that rare situation. For me 95% of the time I'm on a fairly smooth flat surface. Another unknown is how it would be to have this brand serviced, but in my case I take good care of equipment and it's not getting used like a rental house. I'm ok with those downsides for the benefit of saving 5K or more.

[+90° to -67°] This an amazing tripod for the price, the tripod head feels sturdy and holds a fully kitted ARRI Amira without a problem. It's very similar to the Sachtler Video 18. The legs aren't the most intuitive (no mid level spreader available) and they won't lock without the ground spreader. But might as well grab some Flowtech legs and then you're all set!

[+90° to -67°] Cartoni makes some of the best heads out there. This new head is of good quality and doesn't break the bank.

[Yes] This is a GREATA head for video, great drag, great counterbalance, great camera plate, holds a very good amount of weight for this price, the only thing that seemed wierd to me and even illogical is that you cannot use the same camera plate betweeb this and the halfbowl version....why is that????they are basically the exact same head the only difference is that one is flat base and the other is a half bowl base, not adding up for me. But overal if you are looking for a great head for your Dslr buy this one, you will become a fan, if you are looking a head for a slider then not so much, better a Manfroto 502 or 505 etc. I have a Manfrotto 502HD and if not for the size (needed a head to place a slider on) the I would have stayed all the way with this one, even I had the half bowl version and I needed to replaced it for the Manfrotto because of the size vs slider I ended buying this flat base version to connect the camera to the slider.