Alex Turner Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Is there already a forum here that compares various camera equipment rental companies in the US? I've had my share of good and bad experiences and would love to compare notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Salzmann Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 In my opinion this is much too complicated to be possible because there are so many variables. And there are 2 sides and an edge to every coin. What do you mean exactly by bad experiences? If for example you had a piece of equipment that did not function properly, did you or the 1st AC test it during checkout? Could the malfunction have been due to improper handling by you or someone from your production unit? Could the malfunction have been due to outside conditions? Transport, weather? If it was just a malfunction due to wear and tear, well these things happen and is the equipment rental company to blame? Etc., etc.,etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Arch Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I think he means the ones that give you a hard time or just plain rude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Salzmann Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Variables and reasons for "a hard time" also have to be examined. Were there insurance requirements on the part of the renter that weren't satisfactory? If you were a rental company would you let someone you didn't know walk out of your premises with $30,000 worth of lenses if they only left a deposit check? If a technician was up to their ears in tech problems and therefore were a bit abrupt on the telephone would you blame the tech? Would you blame the company? Spare parts for cameras can be insanely expensive and even more so to the uninitiated. Was there damage to the equipment? There are hundreds of possible scenarios and they all have to be examined individually, thoroughly and objectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Turner Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Well, for example, in Los Angeles there are several companies that I feel are teriffic for cinematographers and then there are the places that producers love because of low rates but, in my experience, generaly maintain shoddy equipment. Of course there are many, many different variables involved with every experience but, generaly speaking, from a profesional's standpoint, I am curious to hear who has treated the folks on this forum fairly and rented consistantly reliable equipment. In Los Angeles I've had great experiences with Clairmont and Panavision. In NYC I would recomend CSC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted October 23, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted October 23, 2007 I have to say her ein Philadelphia I love Location Lighting and Camera as well as RSVP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Gross Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 If someone wants to say they had a really great experience at a particular rental house than that's fine by me, but I think it very unfair to publicly defame a house by stating negative reports on an open forum. I'll admit that a long time in the past I was guilty of this myself and looking back it was a mistake for many reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Arch Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Are you saying that if someone had a bad experience with a place, they are not allowed to put a review on this forum? Good or bad, a review is a review. If someone had a bad experience please share it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Gross Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 "Allowed" is a loaded word. I just said that I don't think it's a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim O'Connor Posted October 24, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted October 24, 2007 If you're working in Boston/New England, High Output is absolutely terrific. It's the biggest lighting/grip place for fim/tv/theater/events. http://www.highoutput.com/ (There are a couple of other places that are okay as far as I know but I've always gone with High Output and they're great.) For film cameras the only place really is Boston Camera Rental. They also have video and some lighting/grip/audio. Definitely recommend them. Excellent support. http://www.bostoncamera.com/ Another high quality place is Rule Broadcasting. Top notch quality and support. No film cameras but excellent video cameras, decks, some lights, grip, audio. http://www.rule.com/ Another excellent rental house is Talamas. http://www.talamas.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc Best known for its audio equipment but also has video cameras. In general, for bigger lighting and grip requirements go with High Output. They have trucks and generators of all sizes. For crew, call Tim Van Patten at Central Booking. He can get you anybody. http://www.centralbookingservice.com/ It's a nice production community. These are all good companies with good people. Plus, Massachusetts now has 25% tax credit and that applies to productions as low as 50K, either one film or a series of productions within a one year period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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