I can only relate my own experience of owning a single Shen Hao 4x5 for 2+ years. I will not extrapolate my experience of one camera to encompass the entire output of the factory. People can draw their own conclusions on the statistical worth of a single sample.
Mine has been going strong for the last 2+ years in all the usual UK weathers (though I try not to get it wet as that means the lenses will get wet too!) and so far it has a few scratches on the base where I missed the tripod screw, a small notch on the back where I banged it against a wall and that's about it. It locks down better than my black Gandolfi Variant, it's lighter and has more useful movements and takes my 90mm SA without a fuss.
Yes, the finish on some of the metalwork is not up to Gandolfi/Ebony standards and the spring on the back is a bit simplistic, but all work well and show no signs of flaking. The woodwork looks to my untrained eye to be the equal of any I have seen elsewhere, and as people with a trained eye have related their positive opinions, I feel entirely comfortable with that. Teak is softer than many other hardwoods so it probably takes less to dent the finish than something like the Ebony with its famously hard, hardwood.
I can see no conceivable reason for me to hand over another 1500 - 2000 of my hard earned beer tokens on an Ebony (or any other 4x5 of the type). Perhaps another hundred or so to get better quality metalwork, but beyond that, no. It does the job and it does it well.
Cheers, Bob.
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