I've read a lot of posts around here where people indicate that they've rented X or Y lens for their trips. ; In fact, I have seen so many different posters indicate that they've rented lenses, that I thought it was probably a good idea for our upcoming trip. ; So I decided to head over to the various lens rental sites, and found the prices to be astronomical! So I was curious, what are the benefits to renting? ; It seems like the prices (after shipping) can be 1/6th to 1/4th of the price for which you can actually purchase the lenses. ; It seems like a much more economical alternative would be to watch Craigslist (if you're in a big enough city) for the lens you want, or find a deal on eBay, and resell the lens after your trip if you don't like it. ; If you use Live.com cashback for your purchase on eBay, you could probably "rent" a lens from eBay for a profit. Is there something I'm overlooking? ; Did I just find sites (lensrentals.com, rentglass.com) that are ridiculously overpriced? ; Or is it just a convenience thing?
I wouldn't rent the lower priced lenses. ; It's for the more exotic glass. Examples: 14-24 costs $1800 new. ; One week insured would cost $110, or 6% of the cost of new. The other way you'd have the headache of paying eBay's fees, weeding out the scam artists and perhaps even paypal fees, assuming you can't find some one to pay you that much cash via Craigslist. Look at the big glass and you'll see the other reason. ; It's easier to come up with a few hundred to rent a 500/4 lens rather than buy it ($8200), since the resale market for those lenses are few and far between.
Thanks, that explanation makes sense. ; I was mostly looking at renting lenses that cost around $500-850 new (Tokina 11-16mm, Nikon 10.5 fish), not at the more expensive ones. In any case, I'd avoid selling anything expensive on eBay unless you're doing the transaction in person. ; Paypal offers no protection for a seller (a buyer can claim the box arrived empty, or can return a package full of rocks and get their money back from paypal), but as a buyer, you have a lot of protection against scams. ; I try to buy on eBay (for the discount), sell on Craigslist (to avoid fees and scams).
One of the best things I did last fall was attend a shoot from my local camera shop. They had Nikon co-sponsor it, so Nikon brought out a bunch of lenses to play with, we were supposed to switch out lenses at least once an hour. ; So I got to play with the 200/2, the 105VR Macro with the RC flash, the 85/1.8 (the 1.4s were all gone).... I see your point about the cost/benefit; I would also rent if you just want to try it out before buying. I did rent the Tokina 12-24 f/4; I think that's because I was planning on going full frame at that point but I needed something wider than 18 for my B-17 flight. ; So the rental was worth the hassle of buying it and selling it. ; That and the company maintains the lenses, so odds are in your favor that the lens won't have an issue that requires return/repair. ; It seems that the QC on all lenses nowadays is an issue, even from the majors. ; (except maybe Sony, but I don't know one way or the other.)
Some places such as Calumet Photo rent lenses for the weekend at a single day rate. ; You can pickup the lens in the afternoon on Friday and bring it back before noon on Monday. ; Perhaps some places close to you have similar deals so that you can avoid shipping costs. ;
