Question:
see http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/mf/albro.html#rental the number of folks who advertise rentals is pretty limited, see URL, circa a dozen or so. Most brands are not readily available in rental with Canon, Nikon, and Hasselblad being some of the major exceptions. For example, rolleiflex types are much upset by the loss of one of the last places to get SLR lenses on rental in the USA recently. Tom’s right that many camera stores which have used gear sales will rent what they have (some may not due to insurance issues, or demand you have coverage or put down a deposit equal to the lens value). This is okay if you want or need what they have right now, but hard to work with as a semipro or pro. many folks seem to use EBAY as a rental replacement; buy at a decent price, use the lens, sell if not liked, the difference (if not positive) is the cost of the rental. 
bobm — * Robert Monaghan POB752182 Southern Methodist University, Dallas Tx 75275 * * Third Party 35mm Lenses: http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/third/index.html * * Medium Format Cameras: http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/mf/index.html *
Response:
I was in the Orland Park Helix on Friday and I noticed a rental catalog on the counter. The thing must have been 3/8" thick. The only thing was the date was 1998-1999 so I don’t know if they have updated it since (you would think they have). Their web-site is www.helixvcamera.com There isn’t any info concerning rental, but there are a couple of numbers you can call. Good luck, Mark Vander Pol
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If you’re not already, get a membership with CPS or NPS. Unless you use a different system, in which case I have no idea if they offer such programs. I can call CPS up and borrow almost anything I want for, I think, 1 month. All I have to do is pay shipping. Otherwise… Practically every camera store rents out gear. Some places however will rent out their used stuff, others will yank a brand new 400 off the shelf for you. I’m not sure what your geographic locale is, but Roberts in Indianpolis is my major equipment supplier. 800-726-5544, and ask for the camera dept. In terms of price, it depends on what you get. If you rent a 600mm F/4 it’s probably going to cost you about $75-$90 a day, plus a huge deposit. A 50mm 1.4 you might get for $10 a day. Tom GO Photography http://www.mindspring.com/~photoj – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price. Who rents them? Thanks. Dennis
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I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price.
If one needs a special lens only for one job, renting is the way to go. Vince Check out my web-site http://www.holvbphoto.com More user friendly then ever see the new stars
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Helix (downtown) used to have a large rental department. I have not been there for awhile though. Alan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sorry. I should have added that I’m around Chicago. Dennis I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price. Who rents them? Thanks. Dennis
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Chicago. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes : instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available : to rent for a reasonable price. : : Who rents them? : : Thanks. : : Dennis — Joe Arnold’s outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Sorry. I should have added that I’m around Chicago. Dennis – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price. Who rents them? Thanks. Dennis
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$I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes $instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available $to rent for a reasonable price. $ $Who rents them? Good question, and it seems it’s a pretty hard one to find out in some cases. I suppose one way to find out might be to look in the yellow pages to see if you can find any listings. Doesn’t work here in Toronto, where there’s no category for photographic equipment rentals. Next might be phone calls to higher-end photo equipment stores – first to ask them if they perhaps have rental departments (some do, many don’t), and if they don’t, to ask if maybe they know of any. —
Say hi to my cat — http://www.stevedunn.ca/photos/toby/
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I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price. Who rents them? Thanks. Dennis
Pro camara shops…Where are you? That would help if you want specifics. JR
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I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price. Who rents them? Thanks. Dennis
Well, if you’re in a major metropolitan area, it shouldn’t be much of a problem finding a rental outlet. But if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere (i.e.: anywhere outside of L.A, NYC, Chicago, etc), you’ll have to either take a long road trip or rent from one of the national outlets by mail. Do a search on google groups and/or photo.net – I recall lengthy discussions about this very issue dating back a few months. I believe Adorama will rent equipment by mail, as will Calumet(???)… B&H does not do any rentals. That’s all I can remember without running a search on google or photo.net. Good luck in your search. ~Charo
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I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available to rent for a reasonable price. Who rents them? Thanks. Dennis
Response:
: I see a lot of advice to rent a lens before buying one and sometimes : instead of buying one. Sounds like a good idea if they’re available : to rent for a reasonable price. : : Who rents them? : : Thanks. : : Dennis — Joe Arnold’s outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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