Bogen 503 head makes noises?

monster

Well-known member
I just bought a 503 head today and straight out of the box it makes a scraping noise during a pan and also makes crackling noises when tilting.

Is this normal? Am I being too picky to expect a cheap tripod head to actually be of high quality?
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

It should not be making ANY noise. Are you having to force the movement? That is a great head and you should hear NOTHING.
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

Snap, crackle, pop. I have used several tripods and never heard any of them make noises like this 503 head. I don't think the amount of drag I am using is unreasonable. Even if it was it should not be making all these noises. Sounds like a 100 year old man doing deep knee bends.
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

Take it back! It's possibly you have some crud/crap in the head?

I had my 501 (Yeah I know; not fluid) to the beach and sand got on the sticks and of course like a dope I put it back in bag and sand got in the head area and for a couple minutes it was 'grainy rubbing sounds'. They worked out and I cleaned it all out....

Anyway. Take it back!
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

What's this talk of the 501 not being a fluid head? I'm pretty sure it is. If not mine's one smooth "non-fluid" head. I think it rocks!
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

[quote author=Elvis link=board=Links;num=1081823170;start=0#4 date=04/12/04 at 20:37:01]Bad head is all I can say! ???[/quote]

::cough my exgirlfriend cough::
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

getting back on track.... ;)

My 503 does make the occasional "crackle" sound when I have the tilt tension pretty high, and moving the head around. I was worried I had caused it though, since I had been using a fully loaded dvx with a really heavy teleprompter on it (over the 503's 13lb limit)... It sounds like plastic poping/cracking... In my mind it's the fluid bags or something?! (Shoot I don't even know if there ARE "fluid bags"... ha)
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

i had what might be the same problem, which was the half ball leveller not being tightly connected to the actual head, so it would slip a little before any pan movement. to fix it, i unscrewed the leveller handle in order to remove the whole head assembly. then i turned it upside-down, and tightened the 3 flathead screws that either attach, or create friction for the ball/head connection. that fixed it.

looking back at my answer, it might be a little confusing. tell me if you can't figure out what the hell it is i'm talking about.
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

[quote author=scharky link=board=Links;num=1081823170;start=0#8 date=04/13/04 at 01:05:56]Is there really such thing as "bad head" :)  

Bogen of coarse ;)[/quote]

LOL :D
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

It shouldn't do that out of the box. It's one thing if it does it when it is overloaded, but I have used many 503's, and only one bad head made that sound. I would say you received a bad head, because in general that is a very good head.
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

I have never really liked Bogen heads, but I made the choice to purchase one because of the price. I got the 503 head and it made some noice, but it just felt cheap to me. After using my friends Cartoni Alfa 1 pod, I returned the Bogen and bought a Cartoni. It costs more, but it is solid as a rock. All round a much better built tripod than the Bogen. It dosn't matter how good the camera if it's on a cheap pod.
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

The alfa 1 is a fantastic tripod, I have never had a disappointed customer with it, but it is almost double the price of the bogen 503/525.  That puts a lot of people out of its price range (including me...) Also, it has no drag adjustments.  I think that both tripods have a lot to offer a camera operator, the most important thing is to try and get a feel for both.  I have been very happy with my 503, because most of my shots are narrow CU pans and tilts, small tight movements that require a tight drag.  So I opted for the 503, and for $$$ reasons.  ;D
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

Monster,

If you are taking your Bogen back, I'd like to throw one more possibility your way: Take a look at the Gitzo 2380 fluid head. I got mine through EVS (thanks, Rush) for about $185.

This fluid head is sweet and smooth, and exhibits Gitzo's impeccably excellent design and finish. For a lower-end fluid head, I don't believe anything else comes close (IMHO). Here's Gitzo's link:

http://www.gitzo.com/products/metric/video/heads/rightscreen.php3
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

You're welcome David, and I agree, the 2380 is truly a miracle for the money. ;)
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

I have the 503 and am very happy with it (got it from good old EVS as well :) )

I thing your return spring may be mis-aligned, I remember having that problem awhile back but it fixed itself during "transport" heh heh.
 
Re: Bogen 503 head makes noises?

i just purchased a new 503 head and it exhibits these same noises. - sort of a crackle sound when it pans and tilts. with very little drag it seems there are no noises but once you apply the drag a bit more, the noises kick in. will my head "break-in" and stop making those noises, or is this just something i'll have to live with? i'd like to hear how monster's head is doing now since it's been about a month since his original post.
thanks
 
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