Review: Lens Rentals Canada
http://www.lensrentalscanada.com/
I recently used Lens Rentals Canada to rent a Nikon 10-24mm for my trip trip to Hawaii. They have a fairly complete selection of Nikon/Canon lenses, flashes, and accessories but their main business is lenses.
As far as I can tell it's a 1 man show run by a gentlemen named Craig Blair. It's based out of Ownen Sound, Ontario.
Their prices are WAY better than anything you will find locally at Vistek or The Camera Store. Insurance is only a small additional fee and covers you for everything except loss/theft and water damage. Deductible is 5% of the lens cost - pretty reasonable.
My rental situation was somewhat unique so I thought I should write a review.
How it Works
You call them, or reserve online the lens/equipment you want. The equipment arrives on, or slightly before the day you need it by via mail. Inside the box is of course the lens, convenient packaging, and a return shipping label. When you're done with the lens, you simply re-package it in the box using everything it came with (memory foam and bubble wrap, so it's easy to deal with). After that, you just tape it up, stick the included return shipping label on the box and drop it off at the nearest Canada Post. Done.
My Experience
First of all, I needed the lens slightly more than 2 weeks, because my vacation was Saturday July 30 - Sunday August 14. This meant I couldn't return it until Monday August 15th, and late lenses are subject to extra charge. I told the owner (Craig Blair) the situation and it was no problem at all, I was just charged the 2 week rate even though I needed it 2-3 extra days. I reserved about a month in advance and it was no problem.
Come Thursday, July 28th, I hadn't seen the lens yet so I got a little worried. I checked my e-mail and saw I had an e-mail from Craig saying that the lens was returned late by the previous renter, but he was using Purolator to overnight the lens to me so I would still get it on time. Overnight shipping isn't cheap, so I was impressed that he had done this for me.
On Friday, July 29th, I was waiting around at work for the lens to arrive (I ship everything to my office so I'm around to pick it up). Nothing showed up, and since I left for holidays the next day I stayed at the office until 6pm (6 hours after closing on a Friday) only to finally learn from Purolator that they decided they were going to deliver it on the following Tuesday (!) instead. Needless to say I was not at all pleased, because I could have been at home for the last 6 hours preparing for my vacation. I called Purolator (for probably the 5th time that day) and they said it was able to be picked up at the airport by 7:30pm, so I had an hour and a half to get home and drive to the airport. I ended up making it on time and getting the lens, so that was good at least.
The lens came in a box wrapped in bubble wrap, and memory foam on the top and bottom cut to match the dimensions of the box. It also came with the return shipping slip, of course. The lens itself was in 10/10 condition so I didn't have to worry about it not performing.
After receiving the lens, I e-mailed Craig simply to tell him that I had received everything, but since Purolator put me through such hassle (wasted 6 hours of my time plus a drive to the airport) and the lens was not delivered on time (guaranteed by 6pm) perhaps he could get his shipping money back and some good could come of the situation. I also suggested that maybe in the future he try a different overnight shipping option (maybe the one guaranteed by 10am) if the shipping companies can't meet their deadlines. I did not ask for anything back because this of course is 100% not the fault of Craig/Lens Rentals Canada and entirely on Purolator. Craig had already gone out of his way to ensure I got the lens on time by overnighting it to me. During my holidays I checked my e-mail and to my surprise I saw a receipt for a full refund for my lens order, including GST and the cost of insurance. I sent Craig an e-mail to thank him for this unexpected surprise and he simply stated that he hates when things don't go smoothly and a refund was the right thing to do in his opinion.
So, aside from my hassles which were in no way the fault of Lens Rentals Canada, the experience was excellent. A big thumbs up to Craig Blair who went out of his way to make sure I got the lens on time even though it was returned late, as well as compensating me for my hassles even though it wasn't his fault. I highly recommend Lens Rentals Canada to anyone looking to rent/try out a particular lens!
I think some others here have used the service so feel free to add your thoughts or anything I missed.
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