renting out the hvx200

J

jelloshotsrule

Member
so my brother and i got an hvx recently, to make some shorts that hopefully we'll submit to festivals. we aren't really looking to make money with the camera professionally (i'm more of an editor/animator than a cameraman, and he's a lawyer. hah), but have talked about renting it out because it's still in pretty high demand, and it can't hurt to recoup some costs...

we don't have a very advanced set up (one 4gb p2 card, a not so great tripod, no real good audio stuff...) so i was wondering what would be a bare minimum kit to have to rent it out.

i figure a good tripod and at least one more p2 card would be necessary. and we would probably end up getting those ourselves anyways.

is it unrealistic for us to try to rent it out with the little we have or would get? or could we sweeten it up with a couple items and be all set?

any tips would be great, thanks!
 
One local vendor is renting the HVX out for $350 with 2 P2 cards and a carrying case. Personally though, there's no way in Hell I'd rent mine out! (If I had one....sigh...)
 
There is a reason why rental rates are high...

There is a reason why rental rates are high...

When you rent your gear expect it to get worn and possibly abused. One reason why rental rates are high (up to 10% of retail) is that rental can suck out the value of your equipment. Virtually all shops that are in the rental biz have enginners on staff for the constant repairs and maintenence required.

Also, if this is your primary camera can you afford to be without it if its damaged? What about insurance? Could you deal with the camera coming back with new scratches, dents, dirt etc?

The situation might be right for you but you owe it to yourself to look at the flip side of renting.

rr
 
I made almost $10,000 renting my DVX100 (granted, one was a long-term rental where it just sat on a stage for three months)--and I never intended to ever rent it when I initially bought my camera. I just bought the DVX100 to make some shorts, like you guys. But, for $10,000, I can live with a few scrapes and scratches.
 
thanks for the words of wisdom, all.

what do you recommend in terms of insurance and contracts? obviously we want to make sure first and foremost that any damage or if the camera is busted entirely, it's the renter's liability...

so it'd be feasible to rent it out with a bag/case (just ordered a porta brace bag) and 2 p2s?

what all did you include in your dvx kit? and how did you advertise it?
 
I've been renting out my HVX in NYC and it's working out pretty well. I bought the Mack extended waranty for it so that if anything happens, I can get it fixed quick. I also have it insured through my production insurance...

I rent mine out with 2 4GB P2 Cards and a 17-inch HD LCD for $425/day. If they want a 23-inch display, then it's $475/day. I have a Pelican hard case that it goes out in.

I don't rent to anyone who doesn't have production insurance that names me on the policy and I get photocopies of 2 forms of ID and a credit card. I'm looking into getting an extended insurance policy that will allow me to name other people on it for short amounts of time, then I'll be able to charge people extra to use my insurance instead of getting their own...
 
sorry to be dumb, but i'm here to learn i guess!

what is/where does one get production insurance? i've seen it also talked about when discussing permits...
 
You can buy production insurance from a lot of different companies...prices vary depending on where you're located, what kind of equipment you're insuring, etc...

Do a Google search and call around for the best price...most of the time, you'll have to fill out a bunch of paperwork before they'll give you a quote.
 
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