In the world of cameras, there are many items that are either too expensive or too specialized to own. A tilt-shift lens comes to mind as a great example. There are also items that, for someone who's just getting started, would be great to test first without plunking down thousands of dollars. Fortunately, there are companies who rent camera equipment! Most, if not all, rent lenses and bodies, but it might be good to see what else some of these places rent.
I had a big photo shoot a few weeks ago and I was shooting with another photographer. In order for both of us to shoot in the studio, we both needed Pocket Wizards. If we wanted to have different setups that we could move between, we needed even more Pocket Wizards. We had a few options: We could borrow some Pocket Wizards from other photographers; We could buy a few more Pocket Wizards; or we could rent them. It quickly became clear that borrowing them was out of the question. Buying them would have been great, but neither of us had $500 lying around that we could spend on more camera gear. That left the rental option.
I remembered a friend of mine telling me about a local company (in Boulder, CO) that rented equipment. I figured I'd look them up and see what they had to offer. What do you know? They had a set of 3 Pocket Wizards for rent! That would be perfect for 2 lighting setups. I sent an email off to Jared, the owner of the company, and quickly heard back from him that I could come pick them up the next day!
The company I rented from is called Pro Photo Rental. They're not the biggest rental company around, but they've got just about everything I could want and they're local. I can just imagine a scenario where having a local source to rent equipment could mean the difference between landing a job or loosing a job. You can believe me that after my wonderful experience with Jared and Pro Photo Rental, they'll be the only place I use from now on.
If there's a piece of gear you've been wanting to buy, you might try renting it first. I'd highly suggest searching for a local company as well. You never know when it might just come in handy!
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Pro Photo Rental. I did not receive any kind of discount on my rental for writing this. Jared doesn't even know I'm writing this. I'm just a happy photographer who had a good experience and will definitely be borrowing more of Jared's "toys"!
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