Posted by Ben Gardner on January 28, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Hi all,
Does anyone have any experiences with leasing lenses? I really need to get a better setup and figure that the way forward could be a long term lease. I have my eyes on a 200-400 VR.
Any advice, contacts, experiences etc would be helpful.
Posted by John Arthur on January 28, 2009 at 11:53 AM
I leased a Nikkor 85mm 1.4 from Lensesforhire.co.uk for a wedding, excellent service and the lens was immaculate and came in a lowepro lens case and more foam padding than you could shake a stick at. they have a range of canon and nikon lenses but dont think they do the 200-400, they seem to have a wider canon range than nikon.
other one I looked at was calumet but have no experience of their service
First port of call try Kev on 0121 327 9220 and see of he can help you.
if not, try www.camerent.co.uk who lease as well
.. watch you abide by the T&C's and ensure you get insurance that you are 100% happy with.
Posted by Danny Green on January 28, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Hello Ben
Try Kevin Treadwell at the flash centre as he might be able to help. I know where you are coming from I remember when I was in your boat and I was getting fustrated with the equipement but just couldn't afford to invest, once I did I never looked back and buying a 500mm prime lens was the best investment I have ever done. If you look back at Edwin Kats images though and you will see what can be achieved with some pretty basic stuff. Ed has only just invested in some better stuff but you will find it hard to find a better photographer so take a look.
Not being pedantic but for the sake of accuracy, leasing is not the same as renting.
In the context of photographic equipment, Ben is talking about leasing which is in fact hiring for (usually) a period of at least 1 year whereas renting is usually designed for a weekend or week or whatever (short term usage). Leasing is a very tax efficient way of managing equipment for a business user and it usually includes provision for upgrading and maintenance as required.
I nearly decided to lease all of my equipment when I changed from Canon to Nikon and the only reason I didn't involved a business arrangement I came to.
One of the most popular companies is PhotoLease: http://www.photolease.co.uk
Barrie
Posted by Ben Gardner on January 29, 2009 at 4:18 AM
Thankyou all some good tips.
I am a little unsure of leasing hence seeking advice since I am not one for taking credit when buying things. I have what I think is an amazing lens (80-200 AF-S) but it just does not seem to like using teleconverters with it, images come out really soft and sharpening can only help so much. check out the second lion cub image on my webpage (http://www.ecoworker.co.uk/photography.html) and your see what I mean.
Posted by Ben Micklem on January 29, 2009 at 8:11 AM
Ben, sorry if this is patronising, but did you compensate for the extra length's effect on camera shake when using the teleconverter? If you are using a 2x, then the 400mm would probably require 1/1000 on a high pixel density cropped sensor docy (assuming no additional camera support).
Posted by Ben Gardner on January 29, 2009 at 8:57 AM
Ben,
Thanks for your response. I honestly can't remember with that lion shot but since then I ahve experimented with it on a sturdy tripod and chucked the shutter speed right up but still seem to get the same effect. I am new to using them though so maybe i just need more time to figure out exactly how much light I need before I can use it.
Thanks
Posted by Ben Micklem on January 29, 2009 at 9:07 AM
One way to be sure the softness is not related to camera movement is to test the lens+teleconverter indoors, on a tripod, set camera to highest shutter speed it will sync with flash, and use flash as the only light source.
Posted by Ben Gardner on January 29, 2009 at 9:12 AM
cool will try that tonight. Been scaning forums, google etc and seems alot of people have problems with the 80-200 AF-S and 1.7tc.
Posted by Ben Micklem on January 29, 2009 at 9:24 AM
The lens and teleconverter need to be matched- maybe the older teleconverters are better tuned to the 80-200 as it is an older lens.
If you're looking at long lens options without spending a lot, you can look at older manual focus Nikkors, like the 400mm f3.5, 600mm f5.6 or 500mm f4, or if you need AF, the Tamron 200-500mm is said to be good, and there is a new range of Sigmas (and also the older 170-500 and 50-500 sigma lenses). I use the 500mm f4 P manual focus lens, and it is very usuable, even for flight shots with practice. The stability of the tripod is the limiting factor for sharpness in 90% of my shots.
Discussion
10 repliesDoes anyone have any experiences with leasing lenses? I really need to get a better setup and figure that the way forward could be a long term lease. I have my eyes on a 200-400 VR.
Any advice, contacts, experiences etc would be helpful.
other one I looked at was calumet but have no experience of their service
John
if not, try www.camerent.co.uk who lease as well
.. watch you abide by the T&C's and ensure you get insurance that you are 100% happy with.
Try Kevin Treadwell at the flash centre as he might be able to help. I know where you are coming from I remember when I was in your boat and I was getting fustrated with the equipement but just couldn't afford to invest, once I did I never looked back and buying a 500mm prime lens was the best investment I have ever done. If you look back at Edwin Kats images though and you will see what can be achieved with some pretty basic stuff. Ed has only just invested in some better stuff but you will find it hard to find a better photographer so take a look.
Danny
In the context of photographic equipment, Ben is talking about leasing which is in fact hiring for (usually) a period of at least 1 year whereas renting is usually designed for a weekend or week or whatever (short term usage). Leasing is a very tax efficient way of managing equipment for a business user and it usually includes provision for upgrading and maintenance as required.
I nearly decided to lease all of my equipment when I changed from Canon to Nikon and the only reason I didn't involved a business arrangement I came to.
One of the most popular companies is PhotoLease: http://www.photolease.co.uk
Barrie
I am a little unsure of leasing hence seeking advice since I am not one for taking credit when buying things. I have what I think is an amazing lens (80-200 AF-S) but it just does not seem to like using teleconverters with it, images come out really soft and sharpening can only help so much. check out the second lion cub image on my webpage (http://www.ecoworker.co.uk/photography.html) and your see what I mean.
Thanks for your response. I honestly can't remember with that lion shot but since then I ahve experimented with it on a sturdy tripod and chucked the shutter speed right up but still seem to get the same effect. I am new to using them though so maybe i just need more time to figure out exactly how much light I need before I can use it.
Thanks
If you're looking at long lens options without spending a lot, you can look at older manual focus Nikkors, like the 400mm f3.5, 600mm f5.6 or 500mm f4, or if you need AF, the Tamron 200-500mm is said to be good, and there is a new range of Sigmas (and also the older 170-500 and 50-500 sigma lenses). I use the 500mm f4 P manual focus lens, and it is very usuable, even for flight shots with practice. The stability of the tripod is the limiting factor for sharpness in 90% of my shots.