Cheapest Equipment Out There...

[Heather Koch]

Title says it all...

Has anyone used/heard of this website/company? I see it on my Facebook everyday. It also tempts me everyday.

BorrowLenses

If you have used them, what was your experience like? And what did your rent?

 

[Derrel]

SURE...they rent stuff, and are one of the bigger nationwide rental firms.

 

[Scatterbrained]

BorrowLenses and Lens Rentals are both reputable rental houses.

 

[Heather Koch]

Has anyone used them before?

 

[Scatterbrained]

All you have to do is Google "Borrow Lenses Reviews" and you'll be flooded with mostly positive reviews, including a 9.3 rating at Reseller Ratings and a 4.5 star rating on Yelp. Personally I'm more of a Lens Rentals guy myself, but I've found the prices between the two are competitive.

 

[Heather Koch]

All you have to do is Google "Borrow Lenses Reviews" and you'll be flooded with mostly positive reviews, including a 9.3 rating at Reseller Ratings and a 4.5 star rating on Yelp. Personally I'm more of a Lens Rentals guy myself, but I've found the prices between the two are competitive.

Just wanted to check with people on here... But thank you.

 

[ChristopherWilliams]

Also try to buy some on Black Friday You will get a huge discount on that particular day. All the best!

 

[JTPhotography]

Title doesn't say it all. What does renting have to do with getting cheap equipment. Are you asking which is cheaper or which is better?

 

[gsgary]

Title doesn't say it all. What does renting have to do with getting cheap equipment. Are you asking which is cheaper or which is better?

Well its obvious Nikon is better [emoji6]

 

[runnah]

I've rented from the maybe half a dozen times. Fast, easy and cheap. All their lenses come with cheapo UV filters that are better taken off asap. Some of the gear is well worn but all has been in perfect working order.

I rented a 24-125 for about two weeks and it was under $100.

I love doing it because its a cheap way to test drive super expensive lenses before you make a decision. For example I rented the 24-70 2.8 II and wasn't very impressed with it.

 

[D-B-J]

I've rented from the maybe half a dozen times. Fast, easy and cheap. All their lenses come with cheapo UV filters that are better taken off asap. Some of the gear is well worn but all has been in perfect working order.

I rented a 24-125 for about two weeks and it was under $100.

I love doing it because its a cheap way to test drive super expensive lenses before you make a decision. For example I rented the 24-70 2.8 II and wasn't very impressed with it.

Definitely agree with Runnah here. I tested out the Tamron 70-200 2.8VC for 4 days from Lens Rentals, and with shipping and insurance it ran me around $110 if I remember correctly. An EXCELLENT and cheap way to test out expensive gear before you buy it. Lens Rentals lens came in a nice think-tank pouch, with hood, caps, and tripod collar. No UV filter.

Jake

 

[480sparky]

I rented both the Sigma 15mm fisheye and the Nikon 16mm fisheye from LensRental and ran them head-to-head to see which one I preferred. Cost was about $135 for a weekend. I found the Siggy a tad better so I went with that.

Now, some people may say the $135 rental simply makes the price I paid for the lens $135 more. Yeah, that's true, but would you feel better saving $135 if you knew the lens you chose to buy isn't as good as you wanted it to be?

Renting a lens can also make sense if you're taking a special trip and don't want to plunk down big bucks on good glass you'd like to take on the trip but cannot afford to buy.


A little secret that you may not know, but if you rent a lens and want to keep it, you can always ask if you can buy the copy you have rented. Most rental companies sell gear at their amortized end-of-life, and even list gear for sale on their websites. Some places won't sell actively renting gear, some will over-price it, and occasionally you'll end up being offered a suitable price and buying it. But you'll never find out if you don't ask.... the worst they can say is "No."

 

[runnah]

A little secret that you may not know, but if you rent a lens and want to keep it, you can always ask if you can buy the copy you have rented. Most rental companies sell gear at their amortized end-of-life, and even list gear for sale on their websites. Some places won't sell actively renting gear, some will over-price it, and occasionally you'll end up being offered a suitable price and buying it. But you'll never find out if you don't ask.... the worst they can say is "No."

While this is true I wouldn't want to purchase any of the ones I rented as they all had seen heavy use. Both sites do sell their old gear but it's not exactly a steal. Maybe $200-$300 off MSRP.

 

[480sparky]

While this is true I wouldn't want to purchase any of the ones I rented as they all had seen heavy use. Both sites do sell their old gear but it's not exactly a steal. Maybe $200-$300 off MSRP.

Some lenses have a reputation for wildly-varying quality. One copy is sharp as a tack, and the next is crap. To some degree, this is true for all lenses given manufacturing tolerances and some may have more than one place they're manufactured. So if you rent one of those and end up with a sharp copy, it may be worth buying it instead of constantly buying and selling until you find a good one.

 

[runnah]

While this is true I wouldn't want to purchase any of the ones I rented as they all had seen heavy use. Both sites do sell their old gear but it's not exactly a steal. Maybe $200-$300 off MSRP.

Some lenses have a reputation for wildly-varying quality. One copy is sharp as a tack, and the next is crap. To some degree, this is true for all lenses given manufacturing tolerances and some may have more than one place they're manufactured. So if you rent one of those and end up with a sharp copy, it may be worth buying it instead of constantly buying and selling until you find a good one.

True.

The canon 24-70 2.8 II I rented had a ton of slop in the zoom mechanism and the focus ring was the same.