Matthew Hartman Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Hey my dudes and all of 3 ladies, ? Do any of you rent out your gear (meaning, you are the rentee, not renter) and if so what service do you go through and how has this experience been for you? Cons? Red flags? A lot of my gear sits idle between projects and I thought why not make a little turn-key on it. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Renting for sure. Every project needs other equipment the only thing that I´m renting almost every time ist the Panther u-bangi. I own a 5d Mark iii that is fine for photos and small video like event stuff, but renting is pretty cheap here in Berlin, I don't know about the US Tho. You pay like 3 € for a 1kw Arri tungsten a day... c100 + 15kw light and a slider for around 200 a day, so a now brainer to rent it. Downside: you have to check the equipment every time and it takes me around a day to pick it, check it and bring it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerocool22 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I dont rent out at this moment. As I am afraid how renters will abuse it(and I am afraid insurance will be a pain in the ass evertime something goes wrong). As I have seen rental cameras that look like a piece of #@|{ and also do not work 100% anymore. My own camera's still look like new after 2 years. But I would probably make more money with renting out my gear then I do earn with filmmaking these days though. But I do not need another stress factor in my life atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqm Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 2 hours ago, sqm said: Renting for sure. Every project needs other equipment the only thing that I´m renting almost every time ist the Panther u-bangi. I own a 5d Mark iii that is fine for photos and small video like event stuff, but renting is pretty cheap here in Berlin, I don't know about the US Tho. You pay like 3 € for a 1kw Arri tungsten a day... c100 + 15kw light and a slider for around 200 a day, so a now brainer to rent it. Downside: you have to check the equipment every time and it takes me around a day to pick it, check it and bring it back. should have read your post more carefully haha. I don't find a way to delete that post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 My experience of renting out: It was good while it lasted, but wasn't much money in it. I rented out my Red Raven (while I had it), but through a rental house. So what I did was that I contacted one of the few rental houses, spoke to the owner and made a deal with him. Drafted a contract, both parties signed it and let the guy hold onto my equipment (its either that, or I hold onto my own equipment and when there is some interest then drive about 30 min. [one way] so the renter can see and take the equipment). When the Raven was rented, the profits were split 50:50; I know thats a pretty big cut, but I'm not doing anything (none of the heavy lifting) other than providing the equipment. They market, get the client (existing and new clients), they have contracts and waiver forms, and the best part is the insurance - they pay for the insurance; my equipment becomes part of the insurance that covers all the other equipment that they have... I can take back the Raven any time I want, with some little notice, terminate my own contract any time I want... It was decent... I used the Raven for 2 or 3 projects and even at the rental house, it wasn't in that much in demand (everyone wanted 8K). I made about $2K over 8 months, much more than that with my own clients, but didn't see much use so I ended up selling it Damphousse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 The overheads of insurance (your usual insurance won't cut, you need to be covered for conversion/theft) + marketing + hassle of meeting people + bookkeeping + etc then likely just don't make it worth it, unless you go hard to scale it up to more than just renting bits and bobs. (also people do prefer to rent from as few places as possible, so offering only bits and bobs will put you at a disadvantage vs others) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damphousse Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 On 2/28/2018 at 9:11 AM, mkabi said: I can take back the Raven any time I want, with some little notice, terminate my own contract any time I want... It was decent... I used the Raven for 2 or 3 projects and even at the rental house, it wasn't in that much in demand (everyone wanted 8K). damn... What camera do you think one should buy if you want to do decent business renting it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 59 minutes ago, Damphousse said: damn... What camera do you think one should buy if you want to do decent business renting it out? See... That's the thing... It's always need over want right? Everyone wants 8K, but then end up renting the C300ii or a lower end Red 5K or 6K, because it's out of their budget or they don't have supporting systems to edit it. The guy was talking about getting an Alexa Mini, but for as long as I was part of it - that mini never became part of his portfolio. Funny thing is he had some Canon DSLRs and even some Sony mirrorless cams as well. He talked a big game about getting out of renting these small cams, but in my opinion, he should have these various affordable options available for the dreamers that come in with that 8K dream ? Damphousse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damphousse Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, mkabi said: See... That's the thing... It's always need over want right? Everyone wants 8K, but then end up renting the C300ii or a lower end Red 5K or 6K, because it's out of their budget or they don't have supporting systems to edit it. The guy was talking about getting an Alexa Mini, but for as long as I was part of it - that mini never became part of his portfolio. Funny thing is he had some Canon DSLRs and even some Sony mirrorless cams as well. He talked a big game about getting out of renting these small cams, but in my opinion, he should have these various affordable options available for the dreamers that come in with that 8K dream ? That is hilarious. My jaw hit the floor when I saw 8k. Unless I was shooting a big budget motion picture I couldn't imagine any use for something like that. The vast majority of people don't even have 4k displays. Okay. Well that Red stuff is out of the question. C300II is possible depending on my needs at work. I'm not a video pro but if I can buy a camera for work I can save some dough outsourcing and also get a tax break. If I can then also rent it out that makes it a lot more plausible. The Red cameras are too expensive and I don't have a crew. I need something easy to work with. Well the C300II will probably have another multithousand dollar reduction before I'm even in a position to pull the trigger. The rental thing just takes the edge of the deprecation pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Don't buy a C300ii... It's too expensive... And the demand for it will lessen faster, because it's been on the market for a while now. You have a safer bet with the C200. I see a real potential in Kinfinity cams, especially 6K... It's also an exotic import that people will try in the rental realm. Even the blackmagic 4.6K is potentially something people would rent. How about this... You go talk to one of the rental houses near you. Ask them advice about which camera you should invest in.. and see if you can strike a deal with them too. I had the C500, and I sold that too. But that guy was telling me to sell it and invest in an $8K follow focus cause that would be rented out more often than my Raven. In any case, I walked out of this with amazing connections. Most of my jobs are through this Rental house, and from time to time I rent my equipment on a discount. EthanAlexander and Damphousse 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Hartman Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 I can't remember where I heard this from maybe on skillshare, but basically what was being related was that the Canons get rented the most out of any other setup he carried in his shop, and he carried a ton, even proper film cameras. (He was an seasoned industry guy)He didn't elaborate why, but there you have it. @IronFilm You make some strong points against the idea. I'm really not looking to invest a lot of extra time into making it happen logistically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted March 2, 2018 Super Members Share Posted March 2, 2018 This community based rental service might be an interesting proposition as it grows. Renters are vetted, your gear is covered by insurance and its already got a strong network in Belgium that they look to be expanding as they are opening a UK version this week. I have NO affiliation with it and have NEVER used it so do your own research but its worth a look. https://motiontribe.io/en-uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 4 hours ago, Matthew Hartman said: I can't remember where I heard this from maybe on skillshare, but basically what was being related was that the Canons get rented the most out of any other setup he carried in his shop, and he carried a ton, even proper film cameras. (He was an seasoned industry guy)He didn't elaborate why, but there you have it. No this is true too. The C300ii is still cheaper to rent and easier to work with (plug-n-play) than any mid-tier Red cam and definitely any Arri cam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I use ShareGrid. Very reliable. They verify your ID, and insurance. I've considering offering my SLR 2x Anamorphic Prime to rent. Also, an Aputure 300D kit. Matthew Hartman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 On 3/2/2018 at 6:39 PM, mkabi said: I had the C500, and I sold that too. But that guy was telling me to sell it and invest in an $8K follow focus cause that would be rented out more often than my Raven. The follow focus would also keep a much much much longer lifespan as a relevant piece of gear, unlike the Raven which will get outdated fast. mkabi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrgl Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I rent out my aputure kit and quasar science kit often. It's all about knowing what's popular. Leave the cameras to rental houses as people want Arris and Reds to rent. Glass too. Who the **** can justify spending 40k on a lens or body? AaronChicago, webrunner5 and mkabi 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 What does your Quasar kit look like? I thought about renting those too since they're super popular right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrgl Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 @AaronChicago 8 x 4ft crossfades 4 x 2ft crossfades 2 x 4 by 4ft kino shells 2 x 2 by 2ft kino shells 4 x baby pin kino mounts 8 x lamp holders with baby pin 2 x 4 lamp wiring harnesses 2 x 2 lamp wiring harnesses 12 x 1 lamp wiring harnesses I was going to buy carrying cases for the lamps but the housings work ok for transport. Based in Canada btw. There's only a single seller for the Quasars up here. I think that drives up rental demand. Matthew Hartman and AaronChicago 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damphousse Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 On 3/1/2018 at 11:39 PM, mkabi said: How about this... You go talk to one of the rental houses near you. Ask them advice about which camera you should invest in.. and see if you can strike a deal with them too. I had the C500, and I sold that too. But that guy was telling me to sell it and invest in an $8K follow focus cause that would be rented out more often than my Raven. In any case, I walked out of this with amazing connections. Most of my jobs are through this Rental house, and from time to time I rent my equipment on a discount. Thanks. This is going to be down the road. Not right now. But it was nice reading this thread. I was clueless about this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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