Tekforums

Was thinking of renting a lense


I dont have cash for a nice L lense + I see all my pics tend to suffer from the same lackluster look.
Im not sure if this is down to my 400d camera or the lense (my lenses are the usual cheap junk lenses).

Anyway, anything I should be aware of?
any good scams to get it a bit longer than 3 days - ie order it for a thursday, so you cant return it until the monday, getting sunday free.

Quote from: Eggtasticoany good scams to get it a bit longer than 3 days - ie order it for a thursday, so you cant return it until the monday, getting sunday free.

Doubt it since they charge a shed load more for weekends than just 3 days

Some serious ££ for deposits as well

Id be quite tempted to try them actually, they have a depot for collection maybe 20-30 mins from me, would save on shipping/collection.

Quote from: Binary ShadowId be quite tempted to try them actually, they have a depot for collection maybe 20-30 mins from me, would save on shipping/collection.

i removed the link.. the depots are city link.
I removed the link because the T&Cs say you cant link their website! some bad reviews about them as well

Thats a shame. It got me wondering whether itd be worthwhile renting a decent L series lens for a wedding I might be going to next year.

i thought the address of the local depot seemed pretty familiar

edit: flickr reviews, people not getting deposits back and stuff.. nasty

Quote from: Binary Shadowi thought the address of the local depot seemed pretty familiar

edit: flickr reviews, people not getting deposits back and stuff.. nasty

yep & deposits are about £1k!!! I know theres other companies out there, but not sure in my area.


maybe http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk are better

Do you charge a deposit?

Generally no. We trust you to look after our gear. Please help us to maintain this policy by repaying our trust. If we cant satisfy ourselves that a customer is genuine, or if the transaction looks unusually risky for other reasons, then we may ask for a deposit. (Thats why we ask so many questions.)

There are a number of situations in which we will routinely ask for a deposit though:
* If you're under 18.
* If you live outside the UK.
* If you're a foreign visitor to the UK.

Sounds better already + insurance is included with the rental fee with a £150 excess fee

canon prices
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AowIDzEzk94AdEs2cGRXWTlNTjV4bkFJZkliU1JHWUE&single=true&gid=0&output=html

nikon prices
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AowIDzEzk94AdEs2cGRXWTlNTjV4bkFJZkliU1JHWUE&single=true&gid=1&output=html

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ seem fairly highly rated by some users on flickr, the rental prices seem a fair bit higher than the rip off outfit

no local depot for me so postage costs on top

Quote from: Binary Shadowhttp://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ seem fairly highly rated by some users on flickr, the rental prices seem a fair bit higher than the rip off outfit

no local depot for me so postage costs on top

yep just posted them above.. another to look at is
http://www.hireacamera.com
&
http://www.lenspimp.com/

neither charge a deposit if you take optional insurance.

hire a camera have a photo of a city link depot as their depot locator.. classy

edit: at least they make it clear when you click on it that its not them

one lens, two lenses

Quote from: Mongooseone lens, two lenses

1 1/2 lense o)

Quote from: Eggtastico

Quote from: Mongooseone lens, two lenses

1 1/2 lense o)

lol, well the L series is supposed to be something pretty special, perhaps they really are a lens and a half!

Some of the L series are exceptional, but so are some of the 3rd party lenses.

Unfortunately good glass doesnt seem to be available cheaply.

Quote from: EggtasticoI dont have cash for a nice L lense + I see all my pics tend to suffer from the same lackluster look.
Im not sure if this is down to my 400d camera or the lense (my lenses are the usual cheap junk lenses).

get a nifty fifty
shoot in RAW
get adobe lightroom

Quote from: SeriousSome of the L series are exceptional, but so are some of the 3rd party lenses.

Unfortunately good glass doesnt seem to be available cheaply.

cheapest lens canon make is also one of the sharpest

also very good for portraits

not so great for focusing, not great bokeh, does feel cheap, is easily damaged

but still, its the cheapest lens they do and you can take good pics with it.

Quote from: Dave

Quote from: SeriousSome of the L series are exceptional, but so are some of the 3rd party lenses.

Unfortunately good glass doesnt seem to be available cheaply.

cheapest lens canon make is also one of the sharpest

also very good for portraits

not so great for focusing, not great bokeh, does feel cheap, is easily damaged

but still, its the cheapest lens they do and you can take good pics with it.

and mine broke - auto focus ring packed up. Took it apart & the gear is stripped.
assuming your talking about the nifty fifty... I want to get a reversing ring & salvage
what I can as macro lens - I did explore making it into a tilt lens but its not very good for that.

Quote from: Dave

Quote from: EggtasticoI dont have cash for a nice L lense + I see all my pics tend to suffer from the same lackluster look.
Im not sure if this is down to my 400d camera or the lense (my lenses are the usual cheap junk lenses).

get a nifty fifty
shoot in RAW
get adobe lightroom

not so nifty

wow... that sucks, still.. could have just slapped it into MF and carried on

Quote from: Binary Shadowwow... that sucks, still.. could have just slapped it into MF and carried on

It was the focusing ring that was broke.
I got a 28mm 1.8 & a 35mm 2.4 zeiss flektagon, but now missing something as my only other lens is a 70-210mm.

I should point out that I broke the electric ribbon after seeing the cogs wasnt fixable.

I was thinking of doing something like this

http://www.tyleringram.com/blog/reverse-50mm-macro-trick-the-setup

or

http://blog.cow.mooh.org/2009/07/plungercam-2-cheaper-and-more.html