glass renting

[JMWallace]

I know that 24Peter rented from RentGlass and had a great experience, but the issue for me there is that its a gamble if you get the unit or not.

If you plan to use it for an event, 1) you have to hope its in stock, 2) if it's not instock, you have to hope it gets in-stock before you need it, 3) if it comes in, you have to hope you get to your e-mail in time to be the first to respond.

I found another one that seems, on the surface to be a pretty cool set up. Has anyone heard of or used LensRentals.com (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/www.lensrentals.com)?

If so, what was your experience? If not, whats the word on them?

Thanks

[forno]

Surely you could give them your CC number for the deposit ahead of time to book the equipment

[JMWallace]

Surely you could give them your CC number for the deposit ahead of time to book the equipment

Which one are you talking about? RentGlass.com or LensRentals.com????

RentGlass - NO (as far as I have read)
LensRentals - YES (Confirmed via a phone call)

[forno]

Either, surely they have a system whereby you can book a lens for a certain day??

I know if I had a rental business I would rather have an item booked than let it sit there

[timmciglobal]

AFAIK they don't but you could always rent it longer @ rentglass, like I rented it a week early and just paid for a week longer then I needed it.

I was very satisfied with my experience.

Tim

[24Peter]

I know that 24Peter rented from RentGlass and had a great experience, but the issue for me there is that its a gamble if you get the unit or not.

Thanks

You're actually prescient Jeff - and wrong: I haven't rented from them yet - but I did order a Canon 10-22 today to try them out. I'll let you know how it goes.

You are right about it being hit or miss: The 10-22 wasn't my first choice but it's the only lens they had in stock that interested me. I get the sense they are a pretty small operation so it's not a go-to place when you have a set job and know you need a certain lens. But if you're just curious about a particular lens or just want to try something new, it's a good deal.

[JMWallace]

AFAIK they don't but you could always rent it longer @ rentglass, like I rented it a week early and just paid for a week longer then I needed it.

I was very satisfied with my experience.

Tim

That's great that RentGlass lets you keep it out for longer. However, the problem with that is still running the chance of it not being available near the time you require it.

If it becomes available 8 weeks before you need it, is it fiscally responsable and cost effective to keep it for 9??

I signed up with RentGlass to be informed via email when a 135Lcomes in.3 weeks later I got an email. Responded withing 5 mins, but I was too late. It has been another 2 weeks and havn't gotten another message.

Anyway, LensRentals lets you reserve. Give them 2 weeks notice for a 2 week rental and if they don't have it in stock, they will buy a new one so you can have your rental. The rental clock starts

Prices at LensRental are a little higher, but seems worth it to guarentee you get the lens you need.

I am looking at a 70-200 2.8L IS USM for an upcoming wedding. When I called, he said they had 19 copies!!!

The big question here is...has anybody heard of them or used them????

For ex

[JMWallace]

You're actually prescient Jeff - and wrong: I haven't rented from them yet - but I did order a Canon 10-22 today to try them out. I'll let you know how it goes.

You are right about it being hit or miss: The 10-22 wasn't my first choice but it's the only lens they had in stock that interested me. I get the sense they are a pretty small operation so it's not a go-to place when you have a set job and know you need a certain lens. But if you're just curious about a particular lens or just want to try something new, it's a good deal.

prescient...WOW - have you been diving into that "New word of the day" book again??:p :D :D

Wait...who was it that rented the 35L? Was that timmciglobel or RichNY???

Yeah...let me know.

[cwphoto]

I think it was Tim. :confused:

[timmciglobal]

Was me.

Worked well though I'm still upset that even at ISO 3200 I just couldn't get the kinds of shutter speed I needed.

Really should of used a flash but the whole point to the 35 was NOT using the flash.

Tim

[michaelb]

I have heard very good things about this lens rental company....


http://www.lensprotogo.com/

[jwhite]

I'd be curious how lensrentals is. If you decide to rent from there, let us all know!!

That's great that RentGlass lets you keep it out for longer. However, the problem with that is still running the chance of it not being available near the time you require it.

If it becomes available 8 weeks before you need it, is it fiscally responsable and cost effective to keep it for 9??

I signed up with RentGlass to be informed via email when a 135Lcomes in.3 weeks later I got an email. Responded withing 5 mins, but I was too late. It has been another 2 weeks and havn't gotten another message.

Anyway, LensRentals lets you reserve. Give them 2 weeks notice for a 2 week rental and if they don't have it in stock, they will buy a new one so you can have your rental. The rental clock starts

Prices at LensRental are a little higher, but seems worth it to guarentee you get the lens you need.

I am looking at a 70-200 2.8L IS USM for an upcoming wedding. When I called, he said they had 19 copies!!!

The big question here is...has anybody heard of them or used them????

For ex

[JMWallace]

I'd be curious how lensrentals is. If you decide to rent from there, let us all know!!

Definately will. I am sure I will rent sometime soon. When I talked to the guy on the phone, he was really down to earth. I liked the fact that they presented everything upfront. Rental fee + ins (if wanted) and full (both ways) shipping cost.

RentGlass didn't seem to be specific on the ins cost.

We'll see how it goes!

Jeff

[24Peter]

RentGlass didn't seem to be specific on the ins cost.
They base it on the value of the lens (hence different for every lens). It shows up mid-way through the checkout process. Also, it's a damage waiver - your own insurance might cover things, though the deductible is likely to be way more than the fee for the waiver (on the two lenses I looked at it was around $3 per rental.) They also base shipping on zip code and that also shows up early in the check out. On comparison, rentglass seems to be slightly to a lot cheaper depending on the lens. But lensrentals seems to have more lenses in stock and you can reserve ahead of time. I'm getting a Canon TS-E 24 L next week from rentglass (cancelled the 10-22 no problem). Let you know how it goes.

[RogerCicala]

Hi everyone,
I'm the owner of lensrentals and an occasionally participant on this forum. We have a slightly different business model that is built around planned delivery of lenses rather than 'next in line gets the lens'. It costs a few bucks more on some lenses (usually not more than $3 to $5 per rental) because the lenses aren't rented out every minute, but we like it that way - repeat customers are what we want. Its nice to "know" the person who's walking around with our $1500 lens.
If I can help anyone you can contact me through the site, or at my personal email RCicala at yahoo dot com.

Thanks,

Roger

[jwhite]

How far in advance do I need to reserve a lens? I'm thinking of renting a Canon 85mm f1.2 L Mk II for a wedding I'm supposed to do for a friend in July.

[JMWallace]

How far in advance do I need to reserve a lens? I'm thinking of renting a Canon 85mm f1.2 L Mk II for a wedding I'm supposed to do for a friend in July.

I believe that all you need to do is call in enough time to have it shipped and recieved in time for your event. The risk there is that they may not have one in stock. However, if you give them 2 weeks notice for a 2 week rental, they will guarantee you'll get your rental even if they have to buy a new lens to ship you.

That 85 is on my list to try too!

[Rontech1]

I know that 24Peter rented from RentGlass and had a great experience, but the issue for me there is that its a gamble if you get the unit or not.

If you plan to use it for an event, 1) you have to hope its in stock, 2) if it's not instock, you have to hope it gets in-stock before you need it, 3) if it comes in, you have to hope you get to your e-mail in time to be the first to respond.

I found another one that seems, on the surface to be a pretty cool set up. Has anyone heard of or used LensRentals.com (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/www.lensrentals.com)?

If so, what was your experience? If not, whats the word on them?

Thanks

Don't know if this is the usual service from them, but I rented (online) from Lensrentals for the first time last Sat a 300 F4 L IS. They showed online it was in stock.
I had a notice from the USPS (Priority Mail) that they tried to deliver the lens to me MONDAY!!! Picked it up yesterday. That is fast my friend. Return label in box and everything. Packed to survive a nuclear blast. For me and my first time- So far so good! And the lens looks like it is new!?
I will let you know how the rest of it go's.
Ron

[cwphoto]

Don't know if this is the usual service from them, but I rented (online) from Lensrentals for the first time last Sat a 300 F4 L IS. They showed online it was in stock.
I had a notice from the USPS (Priority Mail) that they tried to deliver the lens to me MONDAY!!! Picked it up yesterday. That is fast my friend. Return label in box and everything. Packed to survive a nuclear blast. For me and my first time- So far so good! And the lens looks like it is new!?
I will let you know how the rest of it go's.
Ron

Ron, would you mind writing a short report on your thoughts with this lens once you've given it a good work-out (with some samples)?

I had one for a while and was never really happy with it (was often front-focusing). I suspect I had a bad egg but would be interested to see otherwise.

Cheers,

CW.

[Rontech1]

Ron, would you mind writing a short report on your thoughts with this lens once you've given it a good work-out (with some samples)?

I had one for a while and was never really happy with it (was often front-focusing). I suspect I had a bad egg but would be interested to see otherwise.

Cheers,

CW.
Don't mean to hijack so I will make this quick.
CWPhoto,
Yes I most certainly will. If we ever get some decent weather here. Overcast and very cloudy. But maybe this weekend it is forcast to clear up. The weather is the reason I rented it for 2 weeks. I also rented a Canon 1.4 tc with it.
I can tell you this so far though.
1 This is my first experience with any L lens.
2 I can see a big difference compared to my 70-300 already, especially in this lousy weather.
Will start another thread about it soon. And I will also post a follow up on Lensrentals after the rental period.
Ron

[Rontech1]

People,
You have got to know about my further dealings with LensRenatals.com
I rented a 300 F4 L and Canon 1.4 TC from them. After finding that it was not what would meet our needs, I emailed them.
The exact copies of our emails should be self expalantory! (copy of emails with Roger's permission, not knowing I would post untill after this was all taken care of!!!! and the obvious was changed to protect privacy)
God these hbirds are getting expensive!!! But if mama is not happy---- NO ONE will be happy!!!

Hi,
My name is Ron Monier. I rented from you, order # 1xxx, a Canon 300 F4 L IS and Canon 1.4 TC. This was my first ever rental of photo equip.

First the delivery was FAST! I did not expect a delivery attempt on Monday following the order on Saturday. Outstanding service!! The packaging was superb. Even the USPS would most likely not be able to damage the lens.

Second, the purpose of this email.

We are renting your lens to find out how they would suit our needs prior to purchasing one of our own, as I assume a lot of people do.
As I have had a chance to test this lens, my wife and I both feel this is not what we need. Our needs are hummingbird photo's in our back yard at relatively close (20-40 ft) distance with the ability to go to a printed image size of 8*10 with high quality. Also the ability to get high image quality prints of flowers and butterflies. The lens does what we want but without the flexibility that we now see a zoom lens may do better.

So that being said, I was wondering if we could return the lens/tc combo early and have the remaining week rental applied towards a rental of the 100-400 f 4.5-5.6L IS and Canon 1.4 TC? I would assume if this was agreeable that you would want/need the combo back in your possession before any shipment of the other lens/tc combo rental period. Please be aware I am NOT asking for a refund! An in store credit towards the next rental is what I am suggesting. No need to even credit my card.

Just for info purposes, the reason we rented for a *2* week period was the weather forecast for Central Illinois, Springfield to be exact, was not the best for a good lens test. However, we got lucky and had some decent weather (sunshine) yesterday and today, and we were able to conduct a test to our satisfaction .

If this is not acceptable to you, I completely understand, and I will keep the combo for the entire rental period. No hard feelings on my end and will most likely rent the 100-400/tc combo from you after the return of this combo.
If my request is acceptable to you, I will box and return our rental and send out Monday.
Thanks for your consideration in this request.
Ron

Lensrenals (Roger's) reply
Hi Ron,
Of course that's perfectly fine. What I will do is subtract the difference between a 1 and 2 week rental and give you a Lensrentals credit for that amount, plus I'll give you an additional 10% off of the next rental as a repeat customer. I have no trouble cross shipping at all. However, today I only have a single 100-400 in stock (out of 10 copies) and it is reserved to go out Monday morning. I have bought two more copies being that should arrive Tuesday and have a rental due back then too. If its acceptable to you I will ship you one on Tuesday evening as soon as I get them unpacked and checked out.

You can place the order as you normally would on the web page, I will deduct the refund and take 10% off before actually running the credit card charge and your receipt will reflect the actual charge. It would probably be simpler if you just keep the 1.4X you have rather than go through refunding, etc. with it. I'll just extend the rental on it to last until the 100-400 comes back, at no extra charge?

Let me know if that works for you,
Thanks,

Roger

Gents, I do believe that this should close the book on who you should rent from. I think this is most likely some of the best cust service available.
I am not a schill, (circus language) nor am I getting anything out of this personally. I just thought this is great CS and all should know about it.!!:)
By the way, all this took place today. And my answer was back to me in about 30 min, from the time I placed the first email. If you all have found better CS, I sure would like to know about it!
Ron

[JMWallace]

Glad you had a good experience with this company. I am looking forward to renting from these guys often as I make my way into Wedding Photography world!!

[NewTekBuzz]

yeah sure... win a photo contest and you think your a pro

[NewTekBuzz]

im just kidding JMW :D

[JMWallace]

yeah sure... win a photo contest and you think your a pro

im just kidding JMW :D

LOL -- I said Wedding Photography not Car & Driver Magazine photographer! hahhahahhaha:p :p