First LensRental Just Arrived

[friedmud]

I have an upcoming trip to Savannah, GA and I wanted to try out an "ultra-wide" on my 7D so I dialed up lensrentals.com (seeing as how it's associated with this site and I've had good experiences on here) and ordered up a Canon EFs 10-22.

I just received the lens yesterday and was blown away by how carefully it was packaged and what great condition it's in. I would say it's basically brand new. I don't know what I was expecting... but whatever it was this has beaten them.

The lens itself is great. I'm going to head into the mountains tomorrow to field test it before the Savannah trip... I'll post back if I snag anything good.

Anyway... I just thought that I would post about my (so far) positive experience with LensRentals.com. If any of you guys have been on the fence about using them to try out some gear: I would say go for it!

Look for a post on Saturday with some pics ;-)

 

[kubelik]

I have an upcoming trip to Savannah, GA and I wanted to try out an "ultra-wide" on my 7D so I dialed up lensrentals.com (seeing as how it's associated with this site and I've had good experiences on here) and ordered up a Canon EFs 10-22.

I just received the lens yesterday and was blown away by how carefully it was packaged and what great condition it's in. I would say it's basically brand new. I don't know what I was expecting... but whatever it was this has beaten them.

The lens itself is great. I'm going to head into the mountains tomorrow to field test it before the Savannah trip... I'll post back if I snag anything good.

Anyway... I just thought that I would post about my (so far) positive experience with LensRentals.com. If any of you guys have been on the fence about using them to try out some gear: I would say go for it!

Look for a post on Saturday with some pics ;-)

good to know; thanks for the review! I've been considering renting some stuff from lens rentals but always wonder if it's worth the hassle ... or if I should just buy the lens

 

[ghosh9691]

In October last year, I rented the EF24-70mm f/2.8 and the EF70-200mm f/2.8 IS lenses from them for 4 days. I had a very pleasant experience - shipped on time, nice clean lenses, and no hassles. I will personally rent from them again as well as heartily recommend them for other potential renters!

 

[Loswr]

good to know; thanks for the review! I've been considering renting some stuff from lens rentals but always wonder if it's worth the hassle ... or if I should just buy the lens

I just buy the lens. Instead of renting for a few days, if there's a lens I am interested in trying, but not certain is the right lens for me, I watch my local Craiglist boards (quite active here), and buy the lens used. I won't pay more than 70% of the new price - that way, if I don't like it, I can sell it for little/no loss (and usually a small profit). I've done that with the 200/2.8L II, the 300/4L IS, 70-300 DO, and 24-105 (all bought then sold after a few months, although the 24-105 was an even exchange of selling the one bought used and buying the 5DII kit). I look on it as a long-term rental that's effectively free.

Most recently, I bought the EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS - used for less than 70% of then-current retail, and that was 3 days before the rebate ended and the retail price jumped $270.

Regarding lensrentals.com, I've heard nothing but good things about them, and I also really appreciate Roger Cicala's (the owner) contributions to the knowledge base about gear.

 

[EYEONE]

Lensrentals.com is one of the most fantastic companies I've worked with. Roger's blogs are interesting, they have a broad selection and fast friendly service. I would recommend them to anyone with enthusiasm. Waaaay better than the competition.

Plus the 10-22mm is a fantastic lens. It was also my first rental from them for my 7D. Bravo!

 

[darrellrhodesmiller]

i've used lens rentals for about 2 or 3 yrs now. Their customer service couldnt be better. i cant sing their praises enough. I rented two lenses for an engagement shoot about a year ago.. and of course it rained HARD for 3 straight days.. i emailed lens rentals and asked for a 2 day extension bc the weather was so bad. i was perfectly willing and expecting to pay for the extra days with the lenses. Their response was "no problem, we understand. no charge, just mail them back in 2 days"

what other company would do something like that? i'm not promising that will happen every time, nor am i expecting it. but it was a nice surprise.

i've probably rented 20 lenses from them in the last few years. all have been pristine. i really appreciate "rogers take" or opinion on all the hardware. 1) its nice to see he actually uses what he rents 2) his opinions have been spot on so far

 

[bvukich]

Back in September I rented a 17-55/2.8IS & 70-200/2.8IS II from them, and I have nothing but good things to say about my experience.

 

[awinphoto]

I thought I heard in his interview he did a few months ago he said he doesn't rent to the USA, just canada?

 

[darrellrhodesmiller]

i'm in the US.. rents to me just fine, i think the office or distributor is in Tennessee... but i could be wrong. i know he has a west coast office too

 

[bchernicoff]

I just buy the lens. Instead of renting for a few days, if there's a lens I am interested in trying, but not certain is the right lens for me, I watch my local Craiglist boards (quite active here), and buy the lens used.

I do the same in the Washington DC area and haven't been disappointed. My most recent purchase was an excellent 400mm f/2.8 L II for $3400. Given what the IS Mk I and now Mk II's go for it was a steal.

 

[RAKAMRAK]

@AWINPHOT... I think it is other way round. They stopped shipping to Canada, That is what the notice was about which they put on the first page of lensrentals in November or October end 2011.

 

[EYEONE]

I thought I heard in his interview he did a few months ago he said he doesn't rent to the USA, just canada?

Lensrentals.com is different than lensrentalcanada.com that Craig runs.

 

[awinphoto]

I thought I heard in his interview he did a few months ago he said he doesn't rent to the USA, just canada?

Lensrentals.com is different than lensrentalcanada.com that Craig runs.

Is it the same company or two separate companies? That may be where my confusion was when I heard craig saying they dont ship to USA?

 

[dstppy]

good to know; thanks for the review! I've been considering renting some stuff from lens rentals but always wonder if it's worth the hassle ... or if I should just buy the lens

I just buy the lens. Instead of renting for a few days, if there's a lens I am interested in trying, but not certain is the right lens for me, I watch my local Craiglist boards (quite active here), and buy the lens used. I won't pay more than 70% of the new price - that way, if I don't like it, I can sell it for little/no loss (and usually a small profit). I've done that with the 200/2.8L II, the 300/4L IS, 70-300 DO, and 24-105 (all bought then sold after a few months, although the 24-105 was an even exchange of selling the one bought used and buying the 5DII kit). I look on it as a long-term rental that's effectively free.

Most recently, I bought the EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS - used for less than 70% of then-current retail, and that was 3 days before the rebate ended and the retail price jumped $270.

Regarding lensrentals.com, I've heard nothing but good things about them, and I also really appreciate Roger Cicala's (the owner) contributions to the knowledge base about gear.

CL must be more reasonable where you are. Scanning the current NYC/CT ads, the prices are about $100 cheaper than new on some of these lenses.

I bought two lenses from LR and I have to say I like them as well. I started buying new again when the prices of the new stuff started to go down . . . now I'm sort of thinking of picking up one of the 70-200mm lenses, this is a good deal, but the wife recently made it clear that she would know if I purchased a white lens

 

[EYEONE]

I thought I heard in his interview he did a few months ago he said he doesn't rent to the USA, just canada?

Lensrentals.com is different than lensrentalcanada.com that Craig runs.

Is it the same company or two separate companies? That may be where my confusion was when I heard craig saying they dont ship to USA?

I believe they are separate companies but I think they are friends or something like that.

 

[awinphoto]

I thought I heard in his interview he did a few months ago he said he doesn't rent to the USA, just canada?

Lensrentals.com is different than lensrentalcanada.com that Craig runs.

Is it the same company or two separate companies? That may be where my confusion was when I heard craig saying they dont ship to USA?

I believe they are separate companies but I think they are friends or something like that.

Gotcha... Thanks for the info

 

[LR-Drew]

Hi guys, I'm Drew, I work for Lensrentals. I really appreciate all the kind words that everyone has said here about us.

For those of you that are confused, we are a completely separate entity from LensRentalsCanada, although we are close friends with them and try and steer all of our Canadian friends their way. We only ship in the United States.

If anyone has any questions about Lensrentals, just let me know.

 

[friedmud]

Good to hear that my experience isn't an isolated incident!

I think I'm going to be doing this again... probably with a 70-200 f/4 IS. Really thinking about picking one up, but with all of the good experiences with LR (including my own) I'll probably try before I buy...

 

[samkatz]

I've rented from lenrentals at least a dozen times. First, if I'm not sure if I want to own a particular lens, I'll rent it for a week. For example, I rented a 15-85 and 24-105 together. (bought the former. IQ was great, the dreaded CA I read about was not apparent)
Second, there are some lenses that I only need once or twice a year and I can't afford to own.

Finally, I love the fact that they'll ship it to a UPS store anywhere in the US. I travel by rail a lot and love the convenience of having a big heavy lens waiting for me at my destination.

As the previous posters have said, the customer service is AAA+. Never had a shipment come late, never had a lens come that was in less than pristine condition. If you have a comment or question about a rental, someone gets back to you ASAP. I think they do a great service for photographers especially 'prosumers' who like to try different things but are on a budget.

 

[Halfrack]

Roger is an evil man... He'll put things in front of you that you can't afford, and have a sh*t eating grin from ear to ear...

I've rented for fun, I've purchased from them and I've even returned a purchase.