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Lensrentals is now renting out drones and VR/360 equipment

11 Aug

Popular gear rental (and astute gear commentary) company Lensrentals announced some big news this morning: they’re going to start renting DJI drones and Virtual Reality/360° equipment.

Lots of photographers are considering adding a drone to their kit or dabbling in Virtual Reality and 360° capture, but if you’re not sold on the idea, buying expensive VR or aerial photography gear might seem excessive. Lensrentals expansion into drones and VR offers a try-before-you-buy option that won’t set you back thousands.

Starting today, you can rent the Mavic DJI Pro, DJI Phantom 4 Pro and DJI Inspire 2 drones alongside “a number of supporting equipment items” in the company’s Drones section, as well as the Orah 4i VR camera, Nikon KeyMission 360 action cam and their accompanying accessories under the VR/360 section.

To give you an idea on price, renting a DJI Mavic Pro will run you $ 213 for 7 days, a Nikon KeyMission 360 action cam costs just $ 57 for the same period, and the more powerful Orah 4i VR camera costs $ 270 for that week-long rental. And if you like what you try, you can keep the drone/camera and apply your rental fee towards a purchase through Lensrentals’ Keeper program.

To learn more about the company’s new rental options, or take advantage for yourself, head over to the Lensrentals website.

Press Release

Lensrentals Adds Drone and Virtual Reality / 360 Equipment to Nationwide Rental Program

DJI Mavic Pro, DJI Phantom 4 Pro and DJI Inspire 2 Drones, Orah 4i and Nikon VR Gear Added to Inventory

Memphis, TN – August 10, 2017 – Lensrentals, the largest online provider of photography and video equipment for rental throughout the US, today announced a trial of drone and virtual reality (VR) equipment for rental nationwide. From today the Mavic DJI Pro, DJI Phantom 4 Pro and DJI Inspire 2 drones, and a number of supporting equipment items can be found under the video section of Lensrentals.com. Similarly, Orah 4i and Nikon virtual reality/360 equipment will also be available on Lensrentals.com, with a variety of accessories to enable professional quality image capture.

Following a recent successful trial, Lensrentals will extend the nationwide drone rental program to identify the most robust packaging, efficient maintenance and supplemental equipment options, to ensure the company continues to provide equipment with the lowest failure rate in the industry.

“With any new photo and video rental categories, we need ensure we’re maintaining our high standards for providing ‘like new’ equipment to enable our customers to capture the best quality imagery. ” said Lensrentals, Co-owner, Drew Cicala. “As drone technology has improved, especially stability control reducing the chances of accidental landings, and VR gear quality has increased, we’re more confident that we can maintain an inventory of professional equipment that can be rented repeatedly throughout the U.S.,” Cicala added.

Lensrentals expansion into drones and virtual reality equipment categories create opportunities for individuals seeking to try and buy gear through the Lensrentals Keeper program – that allows customers to rent equipment, keep the equipment and apply rental fees towards the purchase.

To comply with FAA regulations, customers adding a drone to their cart for rental or purchase will be directed to the remote pilot airman certification page at checkout.

In addition to new equipment packages, updated branding, amended layout and a smart shopping cart, customers that visit the Lensrentals website, will notice more streamlined navigation beginning with the type of content they are looking to create. By choosing photo or video customers are able to explore by type of equipment, brand etc., and receive recommendations of packages of equipment compiled by staff members based on the items most frequently rented together.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The Advantages of Renting Photographic Gear Before you Buy

22 Apr

We have all heard the expression “The gear does not make the photo. The photographer makes the photo.” That being said, the gear does certainly help in perfecting the art of photography.

If you are a professional photographer or even a serious amateur, you know that photography is quite an expensive profession/hobby. Good equipment can be expensive and by the time you build your day-to-day gear bag, it can set you back several thousands of dollars. Just when you think you have the perfect setup, you hear about the latest camera or a faster lens than what you have just being released for pre-order. Gear lust is very real among photographers!

By kenichi nobusue

This is where renting gear or even borrowing becomes a viable option for many professional as well as serious amateurs.

Benefits of renting photo gear

There are several advantages to renting photographic equipment.

The cost of renting is typically much lower than cost of buying the gear. This becomes more relevant if it is not something you are going to use too often (like a mega telephoto lens, fish-eye, or tilt-shift lens).

By Jon Fingas
Ability to try out the equipment and see if it suits your style of photography. Once you know you like a piece of gear, you can make the investment and know you’re making the right choice.
Using a rental as a backup system for assignments especially events like weddings or concerts.
Traveling light and having gear shipped directly to your hotel is an option many photographers mention as a plus for renting. This also eliminates travel-related anxiety around lost luggage and excess baggage charges.
Using a rental when your main gear is out for repair. This let’s you keep working while you wait for repairs to be completed.
Eliminating buyer’s remorse. It is true that not every piece of gear works for everyone. Often times we buy gear because a certain photographer that we admire has the same equipment, only to be disappointed that our pictures are no where like theirs.

Renting – online versus local stores

By Richard Fisher

There are many different options for renting photographic gear. You can do so from local stores in your area or online vendors. In the US, big camera chain stores like CalumetPhotographic and AdoramaRentals sell as well as rent photo gear. CalumetPhoto, one of the local camera retailers in my area, also has local stores where you can go to pick up and drop off rental equipment. They tend to have a wide variety of equipment but definitely recommend reserving gear, especially if you want it for a specific event like weddings, to ensure you get what you want.

There are online stores like Borrowlens and Lensprotogo that also offer a wide variety of lens, cameras and other equipment for rent. You order online and have the gear shipped to your home or location of your choice. Once you are done, you ship it back to them. There is definitely more flexibility in renting gear online but there is the added cost of shipping and insurance, as well as a slight risk that the gear might not arrive in time (any unforeseen circumstances like extreme weather).

Benefits of borrowing photo gear

By Giyu (Velvia)

Sometimes you get lucky and have other photographer friends who let you borrow their equipment for a photoshoot, or just to test out – definitely one of the more cost effective ways of trying out photographic gear. However, for those of us who don’t have such awesome friends, there is another method of renting temporary gear that is starting to become popular.

Online companies like CameraLends provide access to a lending community where you can rent cameras directly from local photographers and film makers. On the CameraLends website, they offer a peer-to-peer lending community for photographers and videographers. Owners post unused gear to rent out to other photographers and you can rent gear directly from local photographers, faster and cheaper than traditional means. But this service is somewhat dependent on the market you are in. Not every market will have every piece of equipment available for rent.

Screen Shot 2015-04-15 at 10.51.13 AM

Regardless of what method you choose to borrow or rent camera equipment, definitely try out gear before you make the investment to purchase it. The last thing you want to happen is buying equipment you think you want or need, only to find that it is really not benefiting your particular style of photography.

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The post The Advantages of Renting Photographic Gear Before you Buy by Karthika Gupta appeared first on Digital Photography School.