AF100 Owner Rental Rates

Oliver Rush

Oliver Rush

Well-known member
I was wondering what everyone is currently renting their AF100s for (as a just a camera rental, not not with you shooting).... both asking, and what you usually will take for it. I just quoted a perspective rental client $200/day for the body 14-42 kit lens (and all the batteries, cards, etc..), and an extra $100/day for full nikons prime kit (6 lenses from 11mm to 135mm). I was wondering what everyone else was renting theirs for just to get a feel if what I have been asking is fair. Also, do any of you cut your rate for multi-day rentals?
 
Most places out West here have a multi-day discount (3 days same as 5 or 4 days same as 5). Some of the Indie
places do weekends same as weekday rate.
 
jmarkham said:
Most places out West here have a multi-day discount (3 days same as 5 or 4 days same as 5). Some of the Indie
places do weekends same as weekday rate.
Click to expand...

I know alot of houses do multi-day packages, and some do weekends as a week days (had a lighting place I loved that did that for me).... I am more wondering what individual owner ops are getting for the camera right now though, and how they are working their rental rates. Rental house rates and owner-op rates are often two different things.
 
I rented out my package to a Photo Shoot/ Behind the Scene gig, I charged $400. Since the DP said, he can get a Red package for $500 a day. So I said $400, package + me (digital loader).
Package for that day was, Body, Nikon 17-55mm, DP1 monitor, follow focus, tripod, Mac Book Pro.
So the big part of the rate is about what kind of production you are dealing with.
this my 2 cents :]
 
I'll say a couple of things: your rate was too cheap since it included you. The RED package for 500 isn't what it seems because it would have entailed a penalty on post since the workflow is not as simple as the AF. The Red would have been a beast for BTS shooting, and potentially less reliable. Check rack rates from rental houses in NYC for aAF rentals as a comparison.
 
I wouldn't rent mine, unless I could go along as loader (the opportunity of which hasn't happened yet).
And I agree- Tvdie, that seems pretty low!
 
I think rates will change depending on what area of the country you are. I think 10-20% less than bigger rental houses in your area makes sense for many owner/operators. In Boston the big rental places rent the body for 275 (no lenses).
 
At that day, I loaded like, 30 min of footage that is it. And I wouldn't rent it out if I don't go alone too.
I did $400, it was a friend of mine's close friend, and I did a fair discount rate for him.
Normally, I would do $400 just for camera package and $200-300 to work as a DP or loader.
But again for me, it depends who I am dealing with and how much work going to be.

What rate are you guys thinking then? Just saying low won't answer the OP question. Example??
 
Whatever you guys charge when you rent your kits...what are the "insurance arrangements". ie who pays when the camera gets dropped in the river and you dont have one for 3 weeks until its replaced?
 
A cameras reputation is everything in the rental market. People call up asking for a 5DMKII and have to get
talked into an AF100 right now. Not everybody . .. but that seems to be the deal right now. Eventually, this
will change. But, charging a lot more for an AF100 over a 5D is a tough sell in the Indie market
(IMHO). A 5D is $150 to $200 / day and may or may not include lenses.

Just a reference point.

jeff
 
jmarkham said:
A cameras reputation is everything in the rental market. People call up asking for a 5DMKII and have to get
talked into an AF100 right now. Not everybody . .. but that seems to be the deal right now. Eventually, this
will change. But, charging a lot more for an AF100 over a 5D is a tough sell in the Indie market
(IMHO). A 5D is $150 to $200 / day and may or may not include lenses.

Just a reference point.

jeff
Click to expand...

I would not say it is a tough sell, people are asking for it directly more nowadays, and not having to deal with dual system sound is a BIG plus. Anytime someone asks me about a 5D, I just tell them about the AF100 and say "take everything you love about the 5D/7D, but better image quality and no DSLR bulls**t to deal with." That sells them 90% of the time... the other 10% they only go with the 5D to match their other cameras or previous footage... I am getting the feeling that more and more people are finally getting over the current Canon DSLR fad.
 
ok . "tough" is the wrong word .. but .. you have to do some educating .. it will flip . and it feels like it is already flipping .. but
i think it's gonna take some time.

jeff
 
Shooter said:
Whatever you guys charge when you rent your kits...what are the "insurance arrangements". ie who pays when the camera gets dropped in the river and you dont have one for 3 weeks until its replaced?
Click to expand...

Oh the dark and murky world of insurance certs ..

So .. we have a Farmers policy we can activate at any time .. if they don't have insurance, we activate it and tack that cost onto the
rental.

If they have a cert, we send an inventory and they send back a coverage cert .. and ..we always call the underwriter to make sure
it's legit.

If it's a small shoot, we pre-authorize their CC for the amount of the value of the gear. Getting a
drivers license and CC is the bare minimum.

If they don't have any of the above, we don't rent.

I know some folks send out without insurance .. and that seems mighty silly.

jeff
 
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jmarkham said:
ok . "tough" is the wrong word .. but .. you have to do some educating .. it will flip . and it feels like it is already flipping .. but
i think it's gonna take some time.

jeff
Click to expand...

jmarkham said:
A cameras reputation is everything in the rental market. People call up asking for a 5DMKII and have to get
talked into an AF100 right now. Not everybody . .. but that seems to be the deal right now. Eventually, this
will change. But, charging a lot more for an AF100 over a 5D is a tough sell in the Indie market
(IMHO). A 5D is $150 to $200 / day and may or may not include lenses.

Just a reference point.

jeff
Click to expand...

Definatly takes a little time, but people are starting to hear more and more about it. I have had several people recognize it and ask me about it when I am shooting around the city. As more content is produced by it, it will get more attention.

On the other side of the coin; my colleagues who own and shoot RED are seeing alot of their clients asking about AF100s...

And on a little side note; A couple RED owner/ops I know that dismissed it at first when I got it, and have since swung by with their REDs to shoot some side by side stuff to check it out after being asked about it a few times and hearing people talking about it, and they all were impressed with it. Sure, the RED blows it away in resolution, dynamic range, and grade-ability, but for a $5K camera, they all agree that it looks damn good and they find the image it produces to be perfectly acceptable for most work. One went so far as to say that if it was around when the RED came out, he would have probably bought it instead, considering the price.
 
I have read this often ... so.. I am asking.

...why do "your clients" dictate, request or ask for a certain camera on their jobs?

What sort of jobs are they? Are your clients particularly well informed technically or creatively? Do they actually have a reason to base the request on?

Its a production company decision as far as I am concerned.

Obviousl its a different story if your clients are production companies renting gear from you.
 
Most of my work, I pick the camera, but that is when I am DP or running the production. When people ask to rent the camera, I rent them whatever they want that I have. Same when I freelance as a hired gun... They are cutting the check, I will give them whatever they want to pay for... sometimes I may ask why they want to use X camera instead of Y, and try to sway them, but end of the day they are paying for it, so I will use whatever. I always inform them though if I feel they are making a mistake, but as long as I warn them, I will bring whatever. If they want me to shoot a feature on a iPhone, I wlll do EVERYTHING in my power to talk them out of it, but if they are paying the right rate, whatever, I will make it happen.

Yea, it is a production company decision, but nowadays, frankly, who and their mother does not have a 'Production Company'? Everybody wants to play big producer/director and make all the decisions... so be it, I don't mind if they want to pay for it.


Shooter said:
I have read this often ... so.. I am asking.

...why do "your clients" dictate, request or ask for a certain camera on their jobs?

What sort of jobs are they? Are your clients particularly well informed technically or creatively? Do they actually have a reason to base the request on?

Its a production company decision as far as I am concerned.
Click to expand...
 
Shooter said:
I have read this often ... so.. I am asking.

...why do "your clients" dictate, request or ask for a certain camera on their jobs?

What sort of jobs are they? Are your clients particularly well informed technically or creatively? Do they actually have a reason to base the request on?

Its a production company decision as far as I am concerned.

Obviousl its a different story if your clients are production companies renting gear from you.
Click to expand...

IMHO .. it's the Wild West out there in production land. If it's an established production company, they pretty much know
what they're doing .. and it's not a problem. If it's an Indie production, you get all types ... the people who are bank rolling
the gig know that "House" was shot on a 5D .. and they constrain things based on what they've heard. Ability to influence
their decisions is questionable.

Calling the shots means you're a top-feeder ... and that's dictated by you and the size of your pond.

jeff
 
Shooter said:
Whatever you guys charge when you rent your kits...what are the "insurance arrangements". ie who pays when the camera gets dropped in the river and you dont have one for 3 weeks until its replaced?
Click to expand...


What rentals I do do require a certificate of insurance with me as loss payee and two forms of id, one of them being a DL.

And generally if I don't personally know you, forget it.

No exceptions.
 
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