I have to endorse Penn Camera (at least their Tysons Corner store) in the Washington DC area).
I have also rented from Penn Camera at Tysons and no have no complaints about their service or the quality of their equipment. However, I checkec the prices at the online stores mentioned here and there seems to be a significant difference in their favor.
I have also rented from Penn Camera at Tysons and no have no complaints about their service or the quality of their equipment. However, I checkec the prices at the online stores mentioned here and there seems to be a significant difference in their favor.
Just a heads up: If you are ordering from BorrowLenses.com, at least in the next week or two, keep an eye on your order and specifically, the shipping.
I pulled up my tracking info yesterday (sadly, after hours), only to find the shipment was going to Florida! After looking into it a bit, I realized it wasn't my order, but I couldn't find my order's tracking number!
So, I called today and got a very friendly guy, who tried to help, but admitted he wasn't in the shipping department and couldn't really help me. He did get me a call from someone in the department shortly after they got in, which was nice.
The bad news is, my order was NEVER SHIPPED! Apparently, they did a decent overhaul of their systems, so I fell through the cracks (the first one to do so I'm told ).
As a testament to their service though, the kind lady immediately got me overnight shipping so I'll have the package tomorrow, and better yet, she let me deliver to a slightly non-standard location which means I can avoid dealing with my university's ABSURD shipping department (aka, they get a package at 9am, and I see it by 5 pm two days after they receive it)!
So, all in all, still a great place to work with, just make sure you track your order carefully and leave a little padding on the edges of your rental period!
Best of luck,
~Nick
Nick,
I will join Lisa and Jeff (the folks you talked to) in saying that we are truly sorry that your order went less then stellar. You did, in fact, fall right in the middle of our system upgrade and for whatever reason did not get your package shipped on time. You were also, in fact, the only person to fall through the cracks from the hundreds of orders - lucky you . I am glad we were able to fix the issue and get the rental to you. How did it work out by the way?
In any case, I hope everything went well after you got your rental and you will give us another chance to make things right like they normally are.
I have used Ziplens.com. They are newer I think to the scene, but the pricing and service is excellent. They even accomodated my special request of having to keep the lenses a day extra due to travelling without extra cost. And once the UPS guys left the package in a location and wouldn't get to me in time. UPS' fault. They called for me and upgraded the service to next day service and it got to me just in time for my flight.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
WildViper
From Nikon D70s > Nikon D300s & D700
Nikon 50/1.8, Tamron 28-75/2.8 1st gen, Nikkor 12-24/4, Nikkor 70-200/2.8 ED VR, SB600, SB900, SB-26 and Gitzo 2 Series Carbon Fiber with Kirk Ballhead
That is great to know! Thank you for sharing more information with us. I also want to thank everyone for sharing. I had just started another thread on another forum asking this same question about rental companies and experience with them. I am archiving all of those mentioned for future reference.
Thank you for posting on a topic that's so near and dear to my heart Also, thank you for our mention in the post.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Max and I am the owner of BorrowLenses.com. We have been working with DGrinners and SmugMuggers for a while now and we'd like to thank the many of you who have utilized our services (check out the signature for more info). Also, as SmugMug members, you guys are entitled to a special discount. Visit ClubSmug for more details.
Please let me know if you guys have any questions regarding our services. I will monitor this thread to see if there are any queries.
+1 for Borrowlenses.com. Had a really great experience with them over the holiday with a 100-400mm. Good folks.
I have to say my sole experience with borrowlenses.com was not so pleasant. I rented a Canon 70-200 last September, to use on a trip to San Diego with my old 300D. It would work for a few (between 2 and 10) shots, then the camera would act as if there were no lens attached (aperture showed '00'). Usually mounting/dismounting the lens would fix it, but sometimes it required power cycling. Cleaning the contacts didn't help.
That's not necessarily a big deal, problems happen and defining feature of "customer service", IMHO, is the way that a business handles then. Unfortunately, borrowlenses was unable to reproduce the problem on any of their equipment after I returned the lens to them. This meant that they weren't willing to do anything about the failure, choosing to blame it on my camera. Could it have been my camera? Sure, it's possible, but I've never seen the problem before or since on any of the other dozen or more lenses I've used on it. Borrowlenses had the opportunity to make me into a customer for life, but chose not to do so.
This was the first time I'd tried renting a lens, and the whole experience kind of soured me on the idea in general. It sounds like a great idea, but consider that you're paying to rent some heavily-used equipment, with no real recourse if it should prove to have intermittent problems. Yeah, they're probably rare and unlikely, but it can and does happen.
The only problem I can find with them is they don't rent the big glass. I travel to SoCal to visit my son and would like to rent Nikon 400 to 600mm lens. No one locally, at least that I can find, rents them. So, I use BorrowLens or others like them. Would really like to find a local camera shop but can't.
I haven't seen a mention anywhere of http://www.lensrentals.com/for-all. They are a small family like store outside Memphis, TN with great Southern Hospitality and very large inventory. Cannot recommend more!
I used Calumet for a while since it is right across the bridge from me, but glassandgear has better rates for weekly rentals.
I am trying glassandgear for my trip in May. I would try borrow lenses, but it seems that they are in the west coast. As Glassandgear is in the east coast, north of me, it would arrive faster.
I just completed my second rental from LensRentals.com and I have only great things to say about them. Steve was a great help in lens selection for my event. Shipping was fast and flawless. The lenses were in perfect shape, the second one I rented absolutely had to be brand new! I will continue to rent from them when the need arises.
That shot you posted looks a lot like a hacker (an immature one at that). Hopefully if someone did hack their site, nothing was lost, and they got him. Seems they had a backup, or some way to get online quick!
Borrowlenses.com and www.borrowlenses.com are working fine for me. Anyone else having problems?
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the concern. We actually moved servers and service providers last night and the screenshot you posted was the old website. It also showcased the "humor" of our webmaster. I have since taken it down since I can see how it can be read as a hacking attack
Does everyone see the new site now? (it takes up to 48 hour to propagate down the dns servers)
Thanks for the concern. We actually moved servers and service providers last night and the screenshot you posted was the old website. It also showcased the "humor" of our webmaster. I have since taken it down since I can see how it can be read as a hacking attack
Does everyone see the new site now? (it takes up to 48 hour to propagate down the dns servers)
Awesome and sorry for the scare. The last thing we want is people thinking their info was compromised! Off to punish the webmaster...hmm...that sounds weird
Awesome and sorry for the scare. The last thing we want is people thinking their info was compromised! Off to punish the webmaster...hmm...that sounds weird
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Don't punish him too much, webmastering can be tedious at times, it's good to find the humor in places.
Also glad to know that you guys are doing fine!
~R
http://phatman113.smugmug.com
Canon Digital Rebel XTi :lust
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens :lust
- Kit lens...:cry
I just completed a 7 day rental from Borrowlenses.com and was extremely satisfied. I rented a Canon 5D, a 70-200 2.8L IS lens, Polarizer, and extra battery to use as a second camera for an event I was attending. Everything worked great, and the money was well worth it. Thank you Borrowlenses.com!
Thank you for posting on a topic that's so near and dear to my heart Also, thank you for our mention in the post.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Max and I am the owner of BorrowLenses.com. We have been working with DGrinners and SmugMuggers for a while now and we'd like to thank the many of you who have utilized our services (check out the signature for more info). Also, as SmugMug members, you guys are entitled to a special discount. Visit ClubSmug for more details.
Please let me know if you guys have any questions regarding our services. I will monitor this thread to see if there are any queries.
Aperturent Aperturent.com carries lenses as well as other accessories for both Canon and Nikon. You can easily request something if they are not yet carrying what you're looking for.
Atlanta lens rentals
I have used Professional Photo Resources on 11th street in Atlanta. Rent whatever you want, with your credit card for security. I had a very good experience with them. 404-885-1881. ccoop ( I have no affiliation with them.)
Lensrental.com
if you are in TN, lensrentals.com is a great place, and they even have an iPhone app (who does not @ this point)..
I have had nothing but good luck w/ these guys and you can email them directly for advice if you so desire and they actually respond. They get you your product quickly..
Ziplens in Boston
Hi Guys,
I've been using Ziplens in Boston for lens rentals for a couple of years now and these guys are great. Fast, efficient - great prices and customer service. They always ahve the inventory I'm looking for. Check them out at www.ziplens.com and tell them Robin P from Attleboro sent you!
if you are in TN, lensrentals.com is a great place, and they even have an iPhone app (who does not @ this point)..
I have had nothing but good luck w/ these guys and you can email them directly for advice if you so desire and they actually respond. They get you your product quickly..
Does anyone have a discount code for lensrentals.com?
I to would recommend http://www.lensrental.com . I am planing on renting a Sony a900 and a Sony a850 from them in a couple of weeks. I want to compare the preformance of the 2 camera's.
I to would recommend http://www.lensrental.com . I am planing on renting a Sony a900 and a Sony a850 from them in a couple of weeks. I want to compare the preformance of the 2 camera's.
Alpha lenses is also very good for us A-mount folks. Their prices are generally much better than lensrentals are, though Alpha lenses does require a large deposit for their lenses.
I purchased a used lens from BorrowLenses.com
I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, the website reported there was some dust internally but....wow that lens they sold me was plagued. I can't tell a difference as far as image quality but I've had clients looking into the lens as I take their picture and they have made comments about it.
Also the lens produces a recurring "error 99" as it syncs with the camera contacts during autofocus (the website did not indicate this malfunction). I've found the error occurs less frequently when I turn image stabilization off.
They shipped it to me in a generic box, although I specifically asked for the original box (who throws their camera equipment boxes away!)
I've been using LensRental.com since I am in North Carolina and they are based in Tennessee - I can put my order in somewhat last minute if I need to, rather than hours earlier for a California-based company. Also LensRental.com has a larger inventory but if you combine the Smugmug discount to the rental cost - Borrowlens.com is actually a better deal (except the added "insurance" is almost always more expensive at BorrowLenses.com compared to LensRental.com).
I guess the only reason I would pick LensRental.com over BorrowLenses.com is because I rent on the East Coast which means I can make a last second decision and still get the lens by Friday for a weekend event.
I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, the website reported there was some dust internally but....wow that lens they sold me was plagued. I can't tell a difference as far as image quality but I've had clients looking into the lens as I take their picture and they have made comments about it.
Also the lens produces a recurring "error 99" as it syncs with the camera contacts during autofocus (the website did not indicate this malfunction). I've found the error occurs less frequently when I turn image stabilization off.
They shipped it to me in a generic box, although I specifically asked for the original box (who throws their camera equipment boxes away!)
I've been using LensRental.com since I am in North Carolina and they are based in Tennessee - I can put my order in somewhat last minute if I need to, rather than hours earlier for a California-based company. Also LensRental.com has a larger inventory but if you combine the Smugmug discount to the rental cost - Borrowlens.com is actually a better deal (except the added "insurance" is almost always more expensive at BorrowLenses.com compared to LensRental.com).
In this situation what you are seeing is common with this lens. It's a dust magnet and notorious for having internal dust that does *not* affect image quality. We verified this prior to sale and you also stated the images look fine.
As for the Error 99, again it is sadly common with this lens. Lensrentals.com lists it as a "high risk lens" and notes all the complaints you have about the lens as well.
We always inspect every facet of a lens prior to shipping, whether its for sale or rental, and want to make sure every customer has an excellent experience. If anyone who rents from us ever has any questions about a lens prior or during a rental, don't hesitate to email help@borrowlenses.com
I rented a Nikon 200-400 from Borrowlenses.com last week and found the process to be relatively painless. It showed up on time, worked great and was pretty easy to return since they provided the return label.
That said....I have two Calumet Photo retail stores within 30 minutes of me (I'm in the Chicagoland area) and they are of course, my first shot. They didn't have the lens I needed when I needed it. Borrowlenses.com did.
Bill O'Neill - Media and Fire Photography
________________ www.elginet.com - www.elginet.smugmug.com Toys: Nikon D3x, D300s w/MD10 grip, D300, Fuji S3Pro &S2Pro,
Nikon 18-200 VR, Nikkor 80-200 2.8, Nikon 105mm 2.8
I just rented for the first time through rentglass.com and am extremely happy with their customer service and prices. I also rented some pocketwizards from prophotorental.com, but they're not here yet. they're on par with borrowlenses as far as price, but the cost includes shipping and they were the only ones with the pocket wizards available when I needed.
Comments
I have also rented from Penn Camera at Tysons and no have no complaints about their service or the quality of their equipment. However, I checkec the prices at the online stores mentioned here and there seems to be a significant difference in their favor.
I will be trying them next.
Carlos
Carlos, welcome to the Digital Grin.
Thanks for the comments.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I will join Lisa and Jeff (the folks you talked to) in saying that we are truly sorry that your order went less then stellar. You did, in fact, fall right in the middle of our system upgrade and for whatever reason did not get your package shipped on time. You were also, in fact, the only person to fall through the cracks from the hundreds of orders - lucky you
In any case, I hope everything went well after you got your rental and you will give us another chance to make things right like they normally are.
Max
Owner, BorrowLenses.com
Your professional online camera gear rental store
Follow us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/borrowlenses
WildViper
From Nikon D70s > Nikon D300s & D700
Nikon 50/1.8, Tamron 28-75/2.8 1st gen, Nikkor 12-24/4, Nikkor 70-200/2.8 ED VR, SB600, SB900, SB-26 and Gitzo 2 Series Carbon Fiber with Kirk Ballhead
That is great to know! Thank you for sharing more information with us. I also want to thank everyone for sharing. I had just started another thread on another forum asking this same question about rental companies and experience with them. I am archiving all of those mentioned for future reference.
Atlanta, GA USA
my smugmug
Atlanta Modern Wedding Photographer
SheriJohnsonPhotography.com
I have to say my sole experience with borrowlenses.com was not so pleasant. I rented a Canon 70-200 last September, to use on a trip to San Diego with my old 300D. It would work for a few (between 2 and 10) shots, then the camera would act as if there were no lens attached (aperture showed '00'). Usually mounting/dismounting the lens would fix it, but sometimes it required power cycling. Cleaning the contacts didn't help.
That's not necessarily a big deal, problems happen and defining feature of "customer service", IMHO, is the way that a business handles then. Unfortunately, borrowlenses was unable to reproduce the problem on any of their equipment after I returned the lens to them. This meant that they weren't willing to do anything about the failure, choosing to blame it on my camera. Could it have been my camera? Sure, it's possible, but I've never seen the problem before or since on any of the other dozen or more lenses I've used on it. Borrowlenses had the opportunity to make me into a customer for life, but chose not to do so.
This was the first time I'd tried renting a lens, and the whole experience kind of soured me on the idea in general. It sounds like a great idea, but consider that you're paying to rent some heavily-used equipment, with no real recourse if it should prove to have intermittent problems. Yeah, they're probably rare and unlikely, but it can and does happen.
--Ian
I haven't seen a mention anywhere of http://www.lensrentals.com/for-all. They are a small family like store outside Memphis, TN with great Southern Hospitality and very large inventory. Cannot recommend more!
I am trying glassandgear for my trip in May. I would try borrow lenses, but it seems that they are in the west coast. As Glassandgear is in the east coast, north of me, it would arrive faster.
www.tednghiem.com
That shot you posted looks a lot like a hacker (an immature one at that). Hopefully if someone did hack their site, nothing was lost, and they got him. Seems they had a backup, or some way to get online quick!
Sigma 18-50 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8
Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 50mm f/1.8
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the concern. We actually moved servers and service providers last night and the screenshot you posted was the old website. It also showcased the "humor" of our webmaster. I have since taken it down since I can see how it can be read as a hacking attack
Does everyone see the new site now? (it takes up to 48 hour to propagate down the dns servers)
Max
Your professional online camera gear rental store
Follow us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/borrowlenses
Works for me now, thanks.
Awesome and sorry for the scare. The last thing we want is people thinking their info was compromised! Off to punish the webmaster...hmm...that sounds weird
Your professional online camera gear rental store
Follow us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/borrowlenses
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Don't punish him too much, webmastering can be tedious at times, it's good to find the humor in places.
Also glad to know that you guys are doing fine!
~R
Canon Digital Rebel XTi :lust
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens :lust
- Kit lens...:cry
www.tangojulietphotography.com
Pity - no Olympus.
Aperturent.com carries lenses as well as other accessories for both Canon and Nikon. You can easily request something if they are not yet carrying what you're looking for.
http://aperturent.com
I have used Professional Photo Resources on 11th street in Atlanta. Rent whatever you want, with your credit card for security. I had a very good experience with them. 404-885-1881. ccoop ( I have no affiliation with them.)
if you are in TN, lensrentals.com is a great place, and they even have an iPhone app (who does not @ this point)..
I have had nothing but good luck w/ these guys and you can email them directly for advice if you so desire and they actually respond. They get you your product quickly..
Hi Guys,
I've been using Ziplens in Boston for lens rentals for a couple of years now and these guys are great. Fast, efficient - great prices and customer service. They always ahve the inventory I'm looking for. Check them out at www.ziplens.com and tell them Robin P from Attleboro sent you!
Does anyone have a discount code for lensrentals.com?
Thanks,
Andy
http://andygriffinphoto.com/
http://andygriffin.smugmug.com/
Canon 7D, 70-200mm L, 50 and 85 primes, Tamron 17-50, 28-135
There is also the following site for Sony Lenses http://www.alphalensrental.com/index.php .
http://www.worldinasnap.com
You need an 's' on that. It's http://www.lensrentals.com
Alpha lenses is also very good for us A-mount folks. Their prices are generally much better than lensrentals are, though Alpha lenses does require a large deposit for their lenses.
I bought a used Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, the website reported there was some dust internally but....wow that lens they sold me was plagued. I can't tell a difference as far as image quality but I've had clients looking into the lens as I take their picture and they have made comments about it.
Also the lens produces a recurring "error 99" as it syncs with the camera contacts during autofocus (the website did not indicate this malfunction). I've found the error occurs less frequently when I turn image stabilization off.
They shipped it to me in a generic box, although I specifically asked for the original box (who throws their camera equipment boxes away!)
I've been using LensRental.com since I am in North Carolina and they are based in Tennessee - I can put my order in somewhat last minute if I need to, rather than hours earlier for a California-based company. Also LensRental.com has a larger inventory but if you combine the Smugmug discount to the rental cost - Borrowlens.com is actually a better deal (except the added "insurance" is almost always more expensive at BorrowLenses.com compared to LensRental.com).
I guess the only reason I would pick LensRental.com over BorrowLenses.com is because I rent on the East Coast which means I can make a last second decision and still get the lens by Friday for a weekend event.
In this situation what you are seeing is common with this lens. It's a dust magnet and notorious for having internal dust that does *not* affect image quality. We verified this prior to sale and you also stated the images look fine.
As for the Error 99, again it is sadly common with this lens. Lensrentals.com lists it as a "high risk lens" and notes all the complaints you have about the lens as well.
http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/canon-ef-s-17-55mm-f2.8-is/for-canon
We always inspect every facet of a lens prior to shipping, whether its for sale or rental, and want to make sure every customer has an excellent experience. If anyone who rents from us ever has any questions about a lens prior or during a rental, don't hesitate to email help@borrowlenses.com
Your professional online camera gear rental store
Follow us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/borrowlenses
That said....I have two Calumet Photo retail stores within 30 minutes of me (I'm in the Chicagoland area) and they are of course, my first shot. They didn't have the lens I needed when I needed it. Borrowlenses.com did.
________________
www.elginet.com - www.elginet.smugmug.com
Toys: Nikon D3x, D300s w/MD10 grip, D300, Fuji S3Pro &S2Pro,
Nikon 18-200 VR, Nikkor 80-200 2.8, Nikon 105mm 2.8