How/Where to get camera equipment rentals for cheap

Hi, I'm new to this forum and i hope i'm doing nothing wrong with posting this thread in this section.

 

So my question is:

 

How or where do you get camera equipment (body/lens) for cheap or even free.

Especially in Paris!

I am starting of as a photographer so my budget is pretty low. I am on vacation in Paris soon

and i plan on doing a few shootings there. So it would be great to have a better cam for these

shoots.

 

I'm thankful for any help! :)

It depends.

You don't have to rent in Paris, being a major city it's pretty expensive.

You don't say where you are, so this is a tad generic.

Rent from a REPUTABLE place where they have good pricing. (shop round). Get the insurance add on (as long as it covers you in Paris (CHECK)). Now go to The City of Lights & shoot up a storm, you;'re covered at the best available rates.

Gear for free depends on the agressive marketing concepts of manufacturers. I think last year you could borrow Leica SL + 24 -90mm for a day. As a kid I had a Minolta 5000 with 25-70mm & tiny flash for a week. and maybe there were other options I missed in between.

There are also shops offering reduced weekend rentals or one day or weekend free, if you end buying such gear within 3 weeks after the rental from them. (German observations). IDK where to get gear in France.

I suppose shops have their customer screening strategies and the few brick & mortar shops remaining in business have staff who learned to eyeball folks or recall faces who should be ready to cough up another fortune.

Generic advice to start up photographers: Yes, we all love (slightly fancy) gear but we don't really need it to build up a portfolio! - Proof having "the eye" and even better "ideas". You'll most likely sell yourself online or with 8x10" brag shots or on your iPad pro in a street cafe.

About 200 Euro/day including VAT to rent just a Canon with 2 zooms or 3-400 Euro for a small Hasselblad kit + about 200 Euro for a bit of light, have to get earned somehow. If you convince solvent clients: Fine! Let them pay. - But let's stay realistic: Until you are established barely anybody will be willing to pay the big bucks and at least in Europe it is common to loose a lot of credit, as soon as you quit your day job and register a business.

IDK what you don't have, but I really recommend sticking to an outdated inexpensive APS kit or equivalents till your business takes off.

Why not barter? Trade use of camera for a collection of Harry Potter books, yard work, baby sitting, house cleaning....it is a new economy with the internet available. Most people have more than one camera. Negotiate. And spring for a lunch date to discuss terms.

First of all, I don't suggest learning how to use new equipment on vacation. It can be a recipe for disaster, especially if you are unfamiliar with photography in general and are spending your precious rental time(and time in the city) learning to use a camera.

 

Consider how much you can afford to spend and see about actually BUYING something. At least in this area, it's possible to get set up with an older consumer DSLR and a basic kit zoom for $200 USD. If you're interested in 35mm film, you might get something for free or a small amount of money. My town has a several colleges and universities-ranging from a large public research university to several small colleges, and the shop where I loaf/trade all the time does a booming business in the fall in the spring with warranted and guaranteed Canon AE-1s with 50mm lens and similar for $100 a pop.

 

In any case, buying older used equipment has its downsides and digital sensors have improved a lot. With that said, you will be far more successful with the camera you HAVE and more importantly KNOW HOW TO USE than with the latest and greatest that leaves you lost.

 

Aside from that, even for that matter, the new ~$500 DSLR kits you can pick up all over the place will serve you fine-there again they lack a lot of features but still are darn good cameras.

 

If you already have a DSLR(you mention a "better" camera) you might consider just some basic lens investments. For $100, a 50mm 1.8(ish) lens opens a lot of possibilities in available light photography and shallow depth of field. A good wide angle prime or zoom can give you a dramatically different perspective with which to play.

So thank yall for your help so far.

I have a beginner dslr the eos 1200d with the 18-55mm lens.

Here is my portfolio: /EMIL VON SCHWARTZENBERG

I'm based in Bavaria, Germany.

 

My problem with having this kit is, when i set up a shooting with a model in paris,

that they are not satisfied, because they might be used to better quality.

 

So would you suggest me renting a lens? I'm aiming for a fashion photography look.

I found these 2 lenses for 30 $ a day, which would be acceptable:

1. 16-35mm F/2.8
   
2. 24-70mm F2.8
   

I think the 24-70 would be a great choice, but i would like to get your opinion.:rolleyes:

Forget how you "look" when you're using your current set-up-what does your current lens NOT do for you?

 

The 24-70 will buy you a bit on the long end, but 70mm on a crop frame is toward the end of a comfortable working portrait distance for me esp. for a full body shot. The only place it MIGHT help you is if you're looking for less depth of field, something the f/2.8 maximum aperture can give you(although again $100 for a 50mm 1.8 might serve you even better).

 

Depending on where you're going to be photographing, a lighting set up(whether a couple of 580EXs or a full studio set-up) would bring you far more benefit. Lighting makes or breaks a photo much more so than the camera and the lens you're using.

 

With that said, I'll say again that the equipment you know how to use is better than something you're fumbling around learning to use on the job.

I'm with Ben on this.

If you are confident show it! You don't need fancy-schmantsy to take good images, & it you can't all the gear in the world won't make them better.