BorrowLenses vs Lensrentals – Secret Rental Competition
BorrowLenses vs Lensrentals – Secret Rental Competition
We tried out two photo gear rental companies to see which experience was better!
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have always used borrowlenses die to local pickup option. However, seems their inventory has dwindled significantly unfortunately
Such a great video. I’ve considered renting but never pulled the trigger. Now I may.
Lensprotogo is my preferred rental company.
Does rentals require a 1000$ security deposit or do they only charge the rental fee?
Thank you for an informative video. I’ve never rented camera gear before, but I’m considering it for some pre-purchase tests. This is a very good comparison of the two companies I’d be most likely to rent from.
Lenrentals are great for me. Easy to navigate through their website. And the shipping is great with hard case equipment inside. They also include lollipops lol.
I have rented form a couple local retailers in my area, it is a good way to see if you want to buy down the road.
Lensrentals is great but don’t ever use standard shipping with them. Pay for the guaranteed overnight delivery. I have had three rentals with shipping issues with them, which were ultimately FedEx’s fault but they have no other courier option. I really hate it when companies don’t offer options with courier companies.
I’m heading to the rain forest in Costa Rica and decided to try out a 400mm f/2.8 vs a 600mm f/4.0 given the rather low light conditions there (a trade off of speed vs. reach). So, I rented both from BL for a week to test them out. I opted for the full insurance which covers theft and “liquid” damage in addition to damage from dropped, glass, etc. With no indication of their policy ahead of time, after the rental was confirmed and paid for, I got an email from BL which said I either must name them as insured on a policy for the full amount of the replacement cost or else have my credit card on hold for over $20K of gear. The whole process seemed like false advertising to me – pay up for insurance that covers everything, but it actually doesn’t…
I have not rented a camera or lenses from any places but I am curious of rentals and brands to try out and see if I want to get back in shooting I have filmed old cameras that none are digital and I know most canons and other cameras are digital and thought if it was cheap I may go ahead and try a brand out and see how easy and switch to another brand and I want to know if the lenses I have from film cameras will work on the digital especially if it’s same brand Brena
I rented from GL once and the lens was, shall we say, less than pristine, but workable. I’ve rented from LensRentals probably 30 times, and I have yo say, I’ve never felt with a company with better customer service. As others have said, if there is any question about your selection, they communicate with you right away to confirm. A couple times I have commented that I thought maybe their technicians needed to check a lens I had rented, and without even waiting for the lens to arrive back to them, they have credited my account the full rental fee. Top notch! They have saved me thousands of $ over the years. When a particularly attractive new piece of gear comes out and the G.A.S hits me, I just rent it and more often than not realize, it’s no better than what I already own.
Thanks for the info
There is a brand new kid on the block called Camera Leader which is based in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Great video as always. Keep up the good work, support from South Africa.
really appreciate this video. Helps put my skeptical side at ease. Currently need a lens in a pinch. THank you!
I’ve only rented from lensrentals and once a lens was broken which I had insurance for and it covered the break. I’ve only had positive experiences with lensrentals.
Ive never rented but I started thinking about how often I would actually need a telephoto and now its a no brainer. It makes way more sense to pay $100 to try something than get stuck with a $3000 lens that you can’t sell.
100% agree with everything you said; have rented from both and super happy with both. As a Leica renter, Lensrentals has a little more of a selection, but get discount emails from both and find myself renting equipment because of the discounts.
I have rented from BorrowLenses and Samy’s in the past. I’ve now purchased enough of what I need that I do not see the need to rent gear. In fact, I’m looking to start renting out some of my excess gear that I’ve accumulated or gear that I use infrequently.
I’ve rented from lens rentals almost since their beginning. Perhaps 30+ times. If I need something short term, or want to play before buying, they are my go to. I’ve had a few occasions to get a bit of extra help, and they’ve always been responsive and helpful. I’ve never tried borrowed lenses because… lens rentals has never given me a reason to. They continue to improve, are honest, and they go the extra mile. And I prefer loyalty. In this day when so many people only look at the bottom line cost, I prefer loyalty and relationships. They may not know me, but at least they treat me like they do. And that matters to me. I’m in business for myself, and have never lost a client. I treat companies like lens rentals with the same respect!
I rented the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 from BorrowLenses for the Yellowknife trip and was extremely surprised at how easy and convenient it was. OK, it have helped that they have an office less than 30 minutes from my house. The condition and quality of the lens were both suburb. The lens came with the same quality thick fabric case as a Sony G Master lens does.
Every experience I have ever had, probably 20 or more, with LensRentals was totally satisfying. My only experience with Borrow Lenses was extremely unsatisfying. I rented the very expensive Nikon D4 and in addition to the rental cost, I had to send the FULL PURCHASE PRICE as a deposit! Even after they acknowledged getting the camera back, it took TEN more business days for them to redeposit the money back to my account. Needless to say I do not have $7,000 laying around. Perhaps they don’t have this policy any more but Lens Rentals is so good, I have never bothered to test Borrow Lenses again!
I have been using LensRentals several times and have never been disappointed.
Very good, thank you
I have rented from both, and haven’t had any issues with either. The last couple of times I’ve used Lensrentals, because I believe their insurance options were better (I always get all the insurance), but I wouldn’t hesitate to rent from Borrowlenses if I needed to.
Great video. I have rented 8 times from Lens Rentals and always been impressed with the service, awesome condition of the gear, and the communication. I rented a Z7 and 24-70 a couple of weeks ago from them and had it sent to my workplace rather than my house. They called me about 10 minutes after I placed the order to confirm that’s where I wanted the gear delivered. I appreciate that level of detail and customer service. And it’s little touches like their “release the fun” tape which create a great vibe and put a smile on your face. I also appreciate that the owner of the company writes a blog where he tests lenses and posts real-world mtf charts. Awesome company.
Just came across this video! Only reason I rent from lensrental is because I live in Memphis area and can just pick up and save money on shipping
I’ve used BorrowLenses a couple of times and found them great to work with. One time I was going to be in LA for a concert that I knew would be very low light and I got a Sony A7S and 50mm 1.4 lens from them that did the job nicely.
I have rented from Lensrentals.com multiple times. They have amazing customer service and although you don’t feel you need the cases they send the gear in, the cases protect the gear from the shipping company. Each lens comes in a pouch inside of an indestructible Pelican case.
Great video. I rented from Borrow Lenses and had an overall great experience. I am somewhat baffled at the length of time it has been since the camera arrived at their warehouse and my order has still not cleared inspection. Its been 5 days and no word. Is this normal?
I’ve been renting stuff from LensRentals since 2009 and it’s always been a pleasure!
I’ve rented a nikon200-500mm zoom lens to compare with my Tamron 150-600mm before buying, and to allow both my daughter and myself to have a good wildlife lenses for a trip we took together. It went great and I would definitely recommend them as a place to rent as well.
I have rented lenses from both companies; my experience was identical to yours. Both companies are great. I’ve rented to test potential purchases and I’ve rented to use gear I could not afford to buy. The only drawback to renting is an unexpected and prolonged stretch of bad weather during the rental period. Fortunately, when that happened to me, I was able to extend the rental period.
I just had one bad experience when returning. They send the stuff out FedEx express, but do NOT send it back through a FedEx express driver. I didn’t realize that I had to actually take it to the FexEx office vs handing it to the driver that comes to my office daily for the return. I handed it to the driver at 4:30 when he arrived, but because it was a ground shipment it was marked as a late delivery, since it had to be re-routed internally at FedEx. I got dinged for an extra day of rental.