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Lensrentals Review

October 1, 2020

Ever since Leica announced the release of the SL2, a 47MP full-frame mirrorless camera, I’ve been super eager to get my hands on one.

I’m already fully invested in the SL system, switching from Canon to Leica in 2019. I currently own the first-generation SL (Typ 601) and four accompanying lenses. The only problem? I’m not quite ready to drop another $6,000 to purchase the SL2. More than likely it will be my next big purchase, but as many of us self-employed folks have recently experienced, 2020 hasn’t exactly been a year of financial reassurance.

So when I signed on as an affiliate partner with Lensrentals for our travel and photography website, Travels and Curiosities, I was super excited that they offered us a credit in exchange for evaluating their services and sharing our rental experience.

FINALLY, I was going to be able to test out the SL2! I did a tiny dance of joy and felt zero shame.

My History using Lensrentals

Let me back up a second and mention that this was not my first experience using Lensrentals.

After working for 18 years in the newspaper industry as one of those hard-working, dedicated, and also now, unfortunately, practically non-existent staff photojournalists, I spent a few years dipping my photographic toe into the commercial space. As part of a company that specialized in both high-end weddings and commercial clients, we often needed extra backup cameras and lenses to cover big-budget gigs, and we always used Lensrentals.

So I’ve long been aware of the quality of their services, which is pretty much why I wanted to become an affiliate in the first place. And I thought it might be useful to share this resource with other photographers and bloggers, from novices to professionals, who might not be familiar with their general awesomeness.

I’ll also add that just before joining as a Lensrentals affiliate, we rented the Canon EOS Ra astrophotography camera to experiment with some deep sky photography at Great Sand Dunes National Park. This rental was completely funded by ourselves and was a bit of a whim if I’m going to be fully honest. Call it lockdown-induced photo itchiness. I needed something new to get excited about.

It had been a few years since I’d rented from them, and right away I was so glad to see that their service was just as good, if not better, than I had remembered.

Why Photographers Should Rent Camera Gear

How much equipment does a professional photographer really need for routine work?

When it comes to basic gear, many photographers don’t require more than three camera bodies to work efficiently on their own. Two camera bodies are useful for ease and speed of working with two lenses simultaneously without having to switch lenses constantly. Owning a third is more of a nice to have, but it’s especially helpful in the event that one of the other two bodies fails during a shoot.

I’m certain that there are some gear hounds out there who might argue against my minimalistic approach. And there are obviously exceptions to this basic approach, such as expanded gear needs for covering big events like the Olympics where photographers often set up remote cameras or if you’re a photographer who’s getting into live video streaming.

When it comes to lenses, most professional photographers own a variety of lenses with different focal lengths to accommodate for specific situations and circumstances such as photographing tight spaces, shooting professional sports, products, or portraits. It’s a lot for anyone, even successful professionals, to accumulate. And then there are pieces of camera equipment that might fit a more limited need, such as for a workshop or specific job. These are just a few examples of how the benefits of renting camera gear can far outweigh the full cost of ownership.

This was exactly the case for me with the Canon EOS Ra. Would I love to own a dedicated astrophotography camera? You bet I would! But I’m not much of a stars or constellations nerd. And realistically speaking, just how many times am I going to pull this camera out on a travel or real estate assignment? I really loved the camera, which you can read about in our article on night sky photography at Great Sand Dunes National Park, but I just don’t know if I can really justify that purchase at the moment.

Renting Camera Gear for Beginners and Pros Alike

If you’re just starting out, it can be quite daunting deciding what camera equipment to buy. There are only a zillion websites, gear reviews, and opinions to sift through. And if you’re new to the fundamentals of photography, you might still be discovering the benefits of a DSLR.

Renting camera gear is a great way to genuinely get a feel for the equipment and make an informed decision on whether or not you should invest your hard-earned money to buy it. And if you’re a beginner photographer, renting can also be a great way to learn the basics of photography while also trying out a new camera system.

Want to try out Lensrentals for yourself?

📷 Use our unique Travels and Curiosities coupon code TAC15 for 15% any rental! 📷

Please note: Lensrentals only ships within the United States.

True story—My best friend who has been a photographer for over 30 years just switched from Nikon to Sony. He was laid off from a longtime newspaper job in late 2019, and as most of his equipment was newspaper-issued, the layoff left him gear-less, for lack of a better term. While he was researching what camera system to invest in, there was a lot of buzz swirling about the Sony A7iii and the Sony A9, which caught his attention. Further, he received glowing recommendations from colleagues who had switched, including a Sony brand ambassador who helped him get a juicy discount on purchasing a full system.

Fast-forward almost a year, and he’s still not fully sold on whether he made the right decision. As a longtime Nikon shooter, he was extremely familiar and comfortable with Nikon, and he didn’t find the switch to Sony as intuitive as he’d hoped. He’s happy with the image quality but hasn’t enjoyed the learning curve of the cameras, and he sometimes wonders if he should have stuck with what he knew best.

Naturally, you might be wondering whether he was able to try out the Sony cameras first. Yes and no. While he did get some limited handling time with them before making the purchase, he didn’t shoot anything with them or get a real chance to take a deep dive into the camera’s menu or other aspects that might influence a photographer’s choice.

So I guess the moral of the story for beginner photographers and pros alike is that renting gear is never a bad idea, especially if you are seriously considering buying it.

And if you rent it and want to buy it, Lensrentals has a Keeper service that lets you do just that. They’ll also credit 100% of the cost of your rental fee, which is another key incentive to use their service.

Lensrentals makes renting gear fun

Lensrentals doesn’t just ship you gear; they make it fun. The return instructions, the tape, hell, even the box arrives with little expressions like “Release the Happy!” Because even if you’re renting nothing more than a backup body for the most mundane of photography jobs, they understand how much their service fills a void and how excited or maybe even just relieved you are that it’s in your hands.

What I love the most about the Lensrentals rental process is the ease of return. You receive a pre-printed label, tape, and instructions on how to repackage the equipment. A day before your gear is due for return, you’ll receive an email reminder and a link that provides drop off options based on your location and shipping provider.

I highly recommend adding their Lenscap+ insurance. You pay for this coverage upfront when you place your rental order, and the Plus option covers damage and theft… and bear attacks. That previous link is definitely worth the click. We travel into a lot of rugged, off-grid territories, and even though our gear is with us most of the time, it’s pretty much a no-brainer for me to want to include theft and damage with these increased variables.

where did we take our rental?

When deciding on where to take our newly rented Leica SL2—we are a travel and photography website after all—we figured there’s probably no better place to test its range than Yellowstone National Park. And let me say that we were not disappointed! The raw images from this camera are vibrant, smooth, gloriously textural, and it’s menu interface retains the minimalistic design of the first SL, while being a bit more user-friendly.

Want to see more images from the SL2?

To view a gallery of test images from the SL2, check out our guide on the Best Photo Spots in Yellowstone. If you’re wondering what my Leica SL setup is like, please see What’s in My Camera Bag?

And if you’re just starting out in photography, explore 11 Essential Gear Items for Beginner Photographers.

We ❤️ off-grid exploring!

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