The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Who Do Rent Your MF Systems Through?

ianjenn

New member
I was looking at some of the different rental houses out here on the West Coast. It doesn't seem like there are too many Medium Format rental places to choose from. Do you guys have a preferance for one company versus another and why?

Doesn't seem like the cost is much more to get an entire system versus say just a back alone I would guess most go this route? I no longer have a MF body so need a whole kit if I go the MF route....
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
We rent to the west coast on a regular basis - from NYC. If you're a short drive from a facility that rents MF then that's going to have a huge advantage and I'd strongly suggest going down that path until/unless proven a bad idea. But if you're not a short drive from a facility then Fedex Overnight arrives the next morning no matter where it's coming from or going to.

In our case we pride ourselves heavily on maintaining our gear in excellent condition and knowing the systems inside and out. We always test the gear (and know just how to test it based on the various issues we've seen over the years) and keep the firmware up to date and in parity between body/back/lens. We know every kit and can provide excellent advise (including sample raw files from our own shooting, real world experience, and expert technical data) on which kit matches your shoot best. We can also arrange to have a kit rental count towards a near term purchase of a back - though it sounds like that's not in your immediate future.

I think a great way to check if you're renting from a place that will have your back is to call and ask them what firmware they are running on their rental backs. They should be able to tell you off the top of their head, and include an explanation of why (i.e. if the most recent firmware release hasn't been in the wild long enough).

Chances are good you can find some place that rents for less. Those companies which treat MF rentals as "just another rental" item will be less expensive, but MF requires, IMO a bit of extra attention.

Another good option is to look for someone with POCP certification who owns their own gear and rent it as part of a package including their digital tech services. There you can often get tested-and-well-known gear along with a digital tech for not much more than a rental by itself.
 

ianjenn

New member
Doug,

Yeah not yet working on some shoots and still trying to Spear the big whale I am close. I will call you if I do!
 

SFJ Photo

New member
I use Borrowlenses.com for Hasselblad gear because there is no local options. It's been good so far. The major plus is that they ship to me and I don't have to go anywhere to pick it up.
 

ianjenn

New member
I use Borrowlenses.com for Hasselblad gear because there is no local options. It's been good so far. The major plus is that they ship to me and I don't have to go anywhere to pick it up.
Yeah Sammy's is about 1.5 Hours south of me. It is the closest option for a MF rental house.
 

Steve Hendrix

Well-known member
Yeah Sammy's is about 1.5 Hours south of me. It is the closest option for a MF rental house.
There is now an additional option - one we would like to think is an excellent option - for MF rental in the Los Angeles area.

I would have liked to respond to this sooner, but we couldn't yet release the news of our expansion. And since the Commercial Area no longer exists, there's not an obvious space for dealer announcements, so I will provide details here.

We now have 2 additional offices:

Capture Integration, Dallas Texas
Capture Integration, Los Angeles, California

This now gives Capture Integration 5 locations in the USA, and includes east coast, west coast, and middle of country.

CI Announces Dallas Location

CI Announces Los Angeles Location


Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration
 

Steve Hendrix

Well-known member
I saw this announcement earlier. Does that mean I need to pay Sales Tax for my next purchase? :-(

It is a tough call - creating a single location in the state that has the least amount of actual and potential Capture Integration clients who would be impacted by any local tax burden or creating multiple locations with extended resources and services.

I don't think North Dakota would be our preference for a single location!

Since sales tax - in the few states we're located - is at most 8%-10% of the total, be sure to discuss this with your CI Rep to see how we can help offset that with the remaining 90%-92% of your purchase.

And here's an idea - local sales tax isn't applied to every CI location. For example, our New England location is in New Hampshire, where there is no sales tax. Anyone located in California or Texas who purchases from CI can arrange for product to be shipped to the New England office, take a trip over to pick up with no sales tax, and receive free training on the product you're purchasing. No sales tax, some travel expenses, free training. Not a bad deal.

But you may want to wait until it warms up a bit. :D



Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration
 
Top