Would you or wouldn't you?

[PerfectlyFlawed]

HELL NO!... No touchy touchy!

haha Im with Erose, My hubby asks to mess with it.. I say " You drop it , I castrate you!" LMAO


although, there is *1* exception I can think of... if i KNOW they have enough money and are willing to fork over the money for what they may have ruined... I would be *as* weary.... I know that I sure in the hell dont have the money to replace everything on the drop of a hat.

...I'd play it safe ( ESPECIALLY if they dont know anything about cameras.)

Just say NO! :lmao:

 

[pbelarge]

I do not know of anyone that I would either just lend it to, or possibly ruin a friendship if they damaged/lost/etc my equipment.


Years ago, I lent out my presentation equipment. I rarely got it back in the same condition as when lent out. I have since stopped.
It is easy to say no as long as the door is not left open a crack

 

[inTempus]

Nope, wouldn't do it. The best way to ruin a friendship is for that friend to wind up owning you a bunch of money they can't (or won't) repay.

I won't even borrow a friends car if I need it, I'll go rent one first. The reason being is that I know how much my buddy's car means to him and I couldn't bare the thought of getting into an accident, insurance or not, and damaging his pride and joy.

My cameras are my pride and joy, and I don't want them repaired, replaced or otherwise any different than they are right now. So I keep them in my possession.

 

[Derrel]

I have done it before, both cameras and lenses.

 

[DerekSalem]

HELL TO THE NO.

^^^ This. I barely let my HUSBAND touch it when I *AM* there.

This is why, after 10 years, I still buy my wife drinks. Wait, are we still talking about cameras?


To the OP: Depends on the friend. I have two who I would trust implicitly.

LOL

And no absolutely not. The only person I would trust with my equipment would be my father...but only because he's been doing photography for around 35-40 years now and I know he's financially stable enough to replace anything he could possibly destroy (and he's truthful enough to let me know if something had happened).

I have other friends with DSLRs and there's still no way I'd loan out my body or lenses to them. I don't trust people and I'm *WAY* too anal about keeping my things in perfect condition. This past week I was building a deck at my grandparents with some family friends and I made the mistake of letting them use my drill. My Craftsman C3 19.2 volt drill was over 2 years old and looked like I purchased it last week. That was until I let these guys use it for one day after I had to leave (they were out another 4 hours but I had another engagement). Now it looks like it fell down the rough end of a rock face.

I'd recommend not loaning things to people unless they know in advance if anything happens to it they buy you a new one (and they know how much it costs)

 

[magkelly]

Hell F- NO!

There are only two things I own that I don't let anyone on the planet touch. My camera and my laptop. I had relatives visit here not too long ago who wanted to use my computer whenever they came over from the hotel so they could check their email and web searches and so forth and who once they saw that I had a better digital than their little pocket cameras wanted to borrow my Fuji while they were here.

NO was absolutely my answer on both counts.

There are a lot of things I'll lend a friend or family member, but my best tech gear definitely isn't going anywhere, or being used by anyone else but me. If I want my own picture taken, well that's what a shutter release cable and the tripod are for. Usually that's not a problem though as I really don't like being on the model side of the camera and rarely will go there. If I am at a party or something I'll gladly take all the candid shots that are necessary to keep people happy, but I'm definitely the photographer, not ever the subject, and no one ever touches my camera. My friends and family they all know that to mess with my gear sans my permission is to pretty much risk dismemberment.

Might as well ask me to borrow my undies to wear for all the good it will do you!

 

[fokker]

Hell F- NO!

There are only two things I own that I don't let anyone on the planet touch. My camera and my laptop. I had relatives visit here not too long ago who wanted to use my computer whenever they came over from the hotel so they could check their email and web searches and so forth and who once they saw that I had a better digital than their little pocket cameras wanted to borrow my Fuji while they were here.

NO was absolutely my answer on both counts.

There are a lot of things I'll lend a friend or family member, but my best tech gear definitely isn't going anywhere, or being used by anyone else but me. If I want my own picture taken, well that's what a shutter release cable and the tripod are for. Usually that's not a problem though as I really don't like being on the model side of the camera and rarely will go there. If I am at a party or something I'll gladly take all the candid shots that are necessary to keep people happy, but I'm definitely the photographer, not ever the subject, and no one ever touches my camera. My friends and family they all know that to mess with my gear sans my permission is to pretty much risk dismemberment.

Might as well ask me to borrow my undies to wear for all the good it will do you!

Wow what a *****... no offense, but seriously - you don't let family check their email on your laptop? You'd rather set up a tripod, frig around with timers and trying to get the focus right on a self portrait rather than just hand the camera to someone for 10 seconds while you're watching? Only in america I guess.... you'd probably end up suing your family if they put a scratch on your laptop I guess

 

[Noonz]

Thanks for the opinions guys.

Only in america I guess.... you'd probably end up suing your family if they put a scratch on your laptop I guess

 

[vtf]

No, Im one kidney less because of this thing, cant lose the other.

 

[mostly sunny]

NEVER EVER!!!

I have a friend that bought her Son a pretty decent Nikon for Christmas- She told me she was going to take it to the beach for a camping trip :shock:

I told her, I wasn't even sure I would take *my* camera for a weekend camping at the beach.. On the other hand.. I would only have ME to blame if I did and it got ruined. I told her to take her ****ty camera.. the one with the 5 second delay...

 

[rallysman]

I recently offered my D50 to my boss because he was taking a trip to NYC. I knew he would be disappointed with the shots from his point and shoot so I threw the offer out there. The difference is when I upgraded from the D50 I kept it with the intention of it being a loaner camera for special trips. I spent about 30 minutes explaining the basics and what setting was used when. I got a few texts from him while he was on his trip asking what would work best for the situation, and now he's going to buy a DSLR of his own.
If you trust the person, it's a simple favor. If they know the value, they'll typically be more careful than you! (unless they're just a moron)

 

[LokiZ]

To start off anyone I consider my true friends know enough about me to know that my camera is pretty much always with me and so they know there is very little chance that it is available for them to use.

But if it was available then I would need to know two things minimum about them prior to them using it in my absence.

1) They have the financial means to replace any or all items borrowed.

and 2) They are upstanding enough to actually use that financial means and go through with replacing it from a respected vendor. (Not just the lowest bidder they could find on the net)

As far as wife or girlfriend is concerned that is another story because I see that as an opportunity to upgrade. If it breaks on her watch then the budget will accommodate if you know what I mean. Case closed.

Of course if it was my main source of income (Photography) then it wouldn't be my camera but the buisness' camera. That changes everything. I can't lend out my companies gear, how is that different if I own my own business.

Just my two cents.

 

[magkelly]

Hell F- NO!

There are only two things I own that I don't let anyone on the planet touch. My camera and my laptop. I had relatives visit here not too long ago who wanted to use my computer whenever they came over from the hotel so they could check their email and web searches and so forth and who once they saw that I had a better digital than their little pocket cameras wanted to borrow my Fuji while they were here.

NO was absolutely my answer on both counts.

There are a lot of things I'll lend a friend or family member, but my best tech gear definitely isn't going anywhere, or being used by anyone else but me. If I want my own picture taken, well that's what a shutter release cable and the tripod are for. Usually that's not a problem though as I really don't like being on the model side of the camera and rarely will go there. If I am at a party or something I'll gladly take all the candid shots that are necessary to keep people happy, but I'm definitely the photographer, not ever the subject, and no one ever touches my camera. My friends and family they all know that to mess with my gear sans my permission is to pretty much risk dismemberment.

Might as well ask me to borrow my undies to wear for all the good it will do you!

Wow what a *****... no offense, but seriously - you don't let family check their email on your laptop? You'd rather set up a tripod, frig around with timers and trying to get the focus right on a self portrait rather than just hand the camera to someone for 10 seconds while you're watching? Only in america I guess.... you'd probably end up suing your family if they put a scratch on your laptop I guess

Oh gee, how rare, you must have nice, polite people in your family you can actually trust with all your most personal stuff and info! :lmao:

FYI, mine you CAN'T!

We're not really a close bunch and they rarely visit. When they do they usually come with a bit more of an agenda than merely hanging out with us. They rarely leave without trying to take half the house with them and they don't hesitate to pry in places they have no business in besides.

You know just because people share the same blood doesn't mean it's necessarily prudent to give people access to your personal computer and all your files. In my family that's a bit saying you're going to be gone for the weekend, showing the kids the keys to the liquor cabinet and expecting them not to throw a party the moment your back is turned.

Even if I could trust them to use my laptop for "just" email and the internet they would not replace it or my camera if they did break either. They'd just say "Ooops!" and that would be all the apology I'd ever get. Been there, done that, with far less important stuff I'm sad to say.

I actually only have ONE camera, my Fuji. It's not a toy. It's the first really serious camera I've ever owned to date and the only digital one I've ever owned that wasn't some kind of under $50 pre-owned pawn shop pocket type camera that didn't come with any manual settings and the like. The day I finally bought it, my first really GOOD camera? I felt like I had suddenly gone from riding the bus to acquiring the keys to a Porsche! Yeah, I take very good care of my toys and I don't let other folks use them!

When I have a decent DSLR with all the settings that I could ever dream of and all the proper lenses that I could ever wish for then they can borrow the Fuji with my blessing. Heck I'll GIVE them the Fuji and tell them to go for it. But if something should happen to this camera, right now, it would be a good 2 years at least before I could replace it and I just can't go there, risk that.

Not all of us can afford laptops and good cameras on a whim. Mine are admittedly pretty low end for a serious shutterbug, but they're all I've got. This camera was the best one I could afford when I bought it. My laptop is a cheap one, but it wasn't for me.

I can't just go out and replace those things if people break them.

Better I am a b- than a heartbroken wanna be photographer sans gear!

 

[Raizels]

Go Mag. I know what it's like to have opportunist relatives. *sigh*

 

[Boomn4x4]

Wow... not a lot of trust between friends around here, and some stingy photographers.

People are my friends for a reason... because I trust them. If I were to lend my camera to a friend, and they were to break it, there isn't a doubt in my mind that they would replace it.

Any one of my friends is welcome to borrow anything I own.