Rental company round-up
Lens Lab
• Haywards Heath, West Sussex
• 0739 1634 879
Lens Lab stocks a variety of Canon, Nikon, Sony and Micro Four Thirds lenses. Unfortunately the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM I wanted to hire didn't show as available, but I received a fast response after making an enquiry online, with confirmation that the lens could be sourced through one of Lens Lab's partners. Lenses can be reserved up to six months in advance and you're required to sign and return a hire agreement form, supply two forms of identification and pay a 90% deposit of the equipment cost on your first hire. On all standard hires, the hirer is liable for the full value of the equipment should anything go wrong including theft, loss and damage, so you may wish to take up Lens Lab's insurance option (£25 per hire), which limits your liability to £250 per item. Its insurance is only valid in the UK so if you're planning to go abroad you'll need to arrange your own cover.
The lens I hired arrived the day before my hire started; it was packed in a cardboard box labelled with ‘Fragile' stickers. Inside, the lens was protected in a Tenba lens wrap bound in bubble wrap. All the documentation, including return labels, was neatly grouped in a plastic slip, alongminimum one day hire fee (£44). Helpfully, a drop ship label was included, so I could leave the lens at a local drop point at a time that was suitable for me.
