Two E-Image GH05 heads have turned out to be lemons, is this normal?

I

Imamacuser

Veteran
I'm on my second E-Image GH05 head that make a metal on metal scraping sound when panning. I've read very good things about E-Image, but they're not living up to expectations. I know it's a cheap head, and I'm not expecting it to be as good as an OConnor, I just want it to be as good as my cheapo Davis & Sanford FM18 head, which has been perfectly smooth for a decade, so E-Image doesn't have any excuse.

Here's a video demonstrating the issue. Turn down your volume, as I exported the audio pretty hot so the warranty department can't claim that the issue is inaudible. Please excuse the poor audio quality, as my mic and preamp aren't really suited for this application.

 
That would be normal from what I understand of the brand, but it shouldn't be normal for any product.

So many products are cheap and then no one can really complain. It isn't like someone is going to go from a E-image to a Sachtler.
 
It's hard to say, they may have neglected to deburr something or grease something, but it's a defect regardless of the cause.
 
If you'd like, unscrew the head & look inside. (Maybe a loose screw/bolt contacting with metal somewhere?)

I owned a GH03, which didn't make that noise.

[I did have a similar noise with another brand, but it was a micro pebble that entered and was grinding inside.]
 
Thanks for the tip. I'll wait till I hear back from B&H on whether they'll do another exchange before I disassemble anything.
 
Update: The tripod has been out of stock for months, and I just got a replacement unit, which doesn't seem to have any issues upon initial inspection. The two lemons I had before both had a signed passed-inspection certificate, so E-Image either has really low quality standards or really lousy inspectors.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top