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themattman
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Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:20 pm

I have been asked to be a photographer with another guy in a wedding in December. Yeah, it's a long time off, but I am already starting to think of some additional equipment I want to buy to be prepared. I'll probably make another topic later on this, but for now I am just looking at lenses.

I am still narrowing down my list of lenses that I think would work best, and most cost north of $1,000. I started looking around at rental sites as another option:

http://www.lensrentals.com/

Many of the $1,000 lenses can be rented for roughly $100 including shipping and insurance. My thought is I can spend $300 and get to test $3000+ worth of hardware. Does this sound like a good idea. Has anyone ever rented lenses before from a place like this?
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jobodaho
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:09 pm

I have rented lenses from a local shop near me, and they charge around $20-$40 per day, which was great when I rented 70-200 f/2.8's for both Canon and Nikon (which I would definitely recommend you rent for a wedding).
 
SecretSquirrel
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:44 pm

I have rented from thelensdepot.com. I rented a Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VR lens from them for ten days. Definitely the way to go if you are trying to decide about expensive glass. If you have someone local, that certainly makes it easier, but if I were looking at buying a $1k+ lens, I'd go rent it first. The extra $50-$100 would be well worth it.

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Usacomp2k3
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:16 am

I rented the 2X extender for my 70-200 f/2.8 for an air show last year. Great experience. It was a local shop, and they really knew their stuff. I'd consider it a great choice. Just make sure to get the lenses early so that you can play with them and get used to the settings/experience. Don't want to be messing with that stuff and miss the important shots.
 
Voldenuit
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:55 am

jobodaho wrote:
I have rented lenses from a local shop near me, and they charge around $20-$40 per day, which was great when I rented 70-200 f/2.8's for both Canon and Nikon (which I would definitely recommend you rent for a wedding).


Agree that a 70-200/2.8 would be a no-brainer on a FF camera. But if you were using APS-C, wouldn't it be a trifle long? I'd think a 24-70/2.8 would be a more versatile lens in that case. There's also a Canon 24-104/4, but I don't know how well it performs (the 70-200/2.8 and 24-70/2.8 are top notch on Canon).
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jobodaho
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:36 pm

Voldenuit wrote:
jobodaho wrote:
I have rented lenses from a local shop near me, and they charge around $20-$40 per day, which was great when I rented 70-200 f/2.8's for both Canon and Nikon (which I would definitely recommend you rent for a wedding).


Agree that a 70-200/2.8 would be a no-brainer on a FF camera. But if you were using APS-C, wouldn't it be a trifle long? I'd think a 24-70/2.8 would be a more versatile lens in that case. There's also a Canon 24-104/4, but I don't know how well it performs (the 70-200/2.8 and 24-70/2.8 are top notch on Canon).


Well I use two cameras when I shoot weddings, so I guess if I HAD to choose one lens then I would agree with you and a 24-70/2.8 would be my first choice. On the other hand, a 70-200mm is great for both standing further away during the ceremony (which some churches force upon you) and also candid photos that have a nice blurred background.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:43 pm

The EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM stays on my camera most of the time. It may not have the reach for some of the things you'd like to do, but if you had the 70-200 on your other body, you might have everything covered.
 
SpotTheCat
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Re: Lens Rental Services - Has Anyone Used One?

Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:53 pm

I would also say that faces look better when captured with a longer lens. If I were shooting a wedding I would carry a 70-200, a fast prime (definitely bring one if there is a chance of being indoors), and maybe a 24-70. I wouldn't bother going any wider than 24, people look weird at ultra-wide focal lengths.

Another strong contender would be a 200mm f/4 micro, but I've never used one.

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