Renting a Professional Digital Camera

[roadtripper]

Hey ya'll!

I was wondering if anybody knew where i could rent a high-end digital camera (something 10+ Megapixel) in or around Boston. I want to see for myself just how great they are for landscape shots before I consider purchasing one.

Thanks!

- Greg

 

[Mongoose]

EP Levine in Boston does rentals. It looks expensive though, 1 week of rental is almost half the cost of the camera new. Btw, I've never rented from them before.

http://www.eplevine.com/

 

[darren]

10+ MP...are you talking about a Canon 5D or something like a Canon 1D Mark III? Or are you talking about a super $$$ medium format digital back or something like that?

Give an idea of what models you are interested in and maybe someone here has one you could try out. You could at leat get some feedback...like the Mark III price is based on its speed and action ability, so for landscapes you might be better suited with the full sensor 5D for half the price.

Mongoose is right, renting high end camera gear is very expensive.

- darren

 

[nartreb]

Most any serious camera shop will do rentals, but be prepared to shell out hundreds of dollars a day.
For example, Calumet Photo: Cambridge store.

 

[skiguy]

The Equation

Mongoose is right, renting high end camera gear is very expensive.

- darren

True.... but not if you make it back in the long run. "Pros" and I will leave the definiton of that for others whom have their opinion of what a "Pro" is will look at their profit margin in a rental situation. This is bottom line Math. What are you trying to "do" as already asked. What is your rental for. Great Capture via a Rental for personal artistic gain ='s $ lossed! Or Great Capture via Rental for commercial sale ='s POTENTIAL Profit!

 

[roadtripper]

10+ MP...are you talking about a Canon 5D or something like a Canon 1D Mark III? Or are you talking about a super $$$ medium format digital back or something like that?

Yes, I'm looking try out one of the high end Canon Digital SLRs, such as the 5D.

I still haven't found a better way to shoot waterfalls than by using slide flim (my favorite is the Fuji Velvia 50). I've read recently that the Velvia slide flim is roughly the quality equivalent of a 16 megapixel digital camera, and I want to try to compare the two since it would save me tons of $$$$$ in slide film processsing.

 

[darren]

I shot Velvia for years and after switching to digital I would never go back. If you shoot a decent amount, the money saved on film / processing pays for the digital body in no time.

Don't know about the 16MP comparison to velvia, I guess it depends on what you are doing with the slides. If you are going to make prints, then I've found that my 8MP 20D blows away velvia...well in terms of easily making quality prints up to 24"x36". It takes a while to get a process that works for you, but when you do you are off to the races. Getting good prints from slides is very tough and expensive. With my 20D I can easily make 24x36 prints that are tack sharp (assuming the original shot was made with care - same as film).

Now maybe you need 16MP to compete with velvia if you use a $100,000 drum scanner to scan the slide and pay $50-$80 for each scan and then waste time removing dust, but in the end I have found that for ease of making prints a decent 8MP digital blows away slide film.

The kicker with the 5D is that it is full frame and there is no conversion factor on the lens. If you are into landscape shooting and normally use and already own canon 17-40mm or a 24mm or similar wideangle lenses I would go with the 5D without even trying one out. It is that good. If you like to shoot wildlife and already own Canon lenses, then go with a 40D and take advantage of the 1.6x crop.

I shot velvia for 10+ years and there is no better time than now to jump into digital. If you are really into shooting, then do not hesitate.

- darren

 

[darren]

Found a place to rent lenses / cameras:

http://www.borrowlenses.com

You have to pay for shipping, which might make it a no-go.

Some prices seem good and some seem a little high. ~$150 to rent a Canon 85mm f1.2 L for a month seems very reasonable. I shot one of those once and it is an incredible lens (go for about $1750).

- darren

 

[Brambor]

One thing to consider is that if you shoot velvia and get it processed the slide is pretty much the finished product but with digital SLR you need to do a lot of post processing your self. If you're comfortable with photoshop then it's a no brainer but I have talked to many people who bought SLR and expected great results out of the box only to be dissappointed there was more work to do afterwards.