Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-27)

10 21 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

THE

VEWS

EXPRESSED

NTH

SCOLUMN

ARE

NOT

NECESSAR

LYTHOSE

OF
AMATEUR

PHOTOGRAPHER

MAGA Z

NE
OR
TMED

AL

MTED

Inanageofsuper-expensivecamerakit,being

able to try before you buy is a fantastic idea

View point

Jon Bentley

©

JON

BENTLEY

I

ntellyweoftenhireourcamera

kit,andthepeopleI knowin that

particularbusinesssayit’sbooming.

I’mrarelytemptedto rentgearfor

myownphotographythough.I didhirea

fisheyelensonceto takea fewshotsof

roundabouts,of allthings,fora car

magazine,buttheexperiencewas

comprehensivelyunderwhelming.The

rentalcostwasdizzyinglyhigh;thelens

itselfwasanobsoletemodel,wornsmooth

bythefingersof previousrenters;andI

hadto goandpickit upin personfrom

therentalcompany.I endedupwishing

I’dboughtoneinstead.

However,I recentlymettheinfectiously

enthusiasticGuyThatcher,whostarted

Hireacamerain 2003.Hetoldme

thatrentingcamerastotrythemout

is increasinglypopulartoday.I thoughtI’d

sampleHireacamera’sservicetodiscover

justwhatI’mmissing– it’sworthpointing

outthattherearemanyotherrental

servicesofferingcamerakit,too.

Unliketheoutfit I dealtwithaeons

ago,hiscompanyis proudtoofferthe

latestkit.I waskeentotrythenew

OlympusOM-DE-M1XI’dseenat the

PhotographyShowearlierthisyear;its

newfangledcar-detectingautofocusis

rathertantalisingtoanoldpetrolhead

likeme.WhenI foundmyselfattendinga

VintageSportsCarClubmeetingat short

noticeoneweekend,I calledthecompany

ontheoff-chancetheyhadoneavailable.

Tomypleasantsurprisetheyhad,and

suggestedI useit withanM.Zuiko

DigitalED300mmF4PROlensand

teleconvertertogetclosetotheaction.

The‘trybeforeyoubuy’option

Thekitarrivedimpressivelypackedin

Pelicasesthenextday,withtwospare

chargedbatteriesanda 32GBmemory

card.It didrequirea quickresetto

restoresomeofthefactorysettingsbutI

wassoonupandrunning.Thoughthe

carsonthetrackwereratherspindly,

skeletalvintageaffairs,thecamera

spottedthemquickly,generating

reassuring oblongs round their buzzing

formsin theelectronicviewfinder.

ProvidedthatI didn’thavetheshutteron

itsmaximumframerate,thesystemdida

goodjobkeepingthecarsin focus.The

mainhiccupwasthatif therewasmore

thanonecarin theframe,youcouldn’t

besurewhichoneit wouldconcentrate

on,sogoingwithconventionaltracking

ora fixedfocuspointmightprove

morepredictable.

Therentalfeeforthecameraandthe

300mmlenswithteleconverterwas

£144plus£25carriage,whichI thought

a fairpriceconsideringtheycostaround

fivegrandtobuy,thoughtherewerealso

returnabledeposits,insuranceand

damagewaiverstoconsider.

Guy’skeenontheideaof rentalas

a ‘trybeforeyoubuy’optionandhe’s

negotiateddealswithFujifilmandZeiss

whereyougettherentalfeebackif you

subsequentlypurchasetheequipment.

ButI don’tthinkyouneedtobein the

marketfora newcameratojustifya

rental.Theexperienceis nowsoseamless

thatjusttryingouta newpieceof kitfor

thepureenjoymentof it is reasonenough.

JontookthisphotowiththeOlympus

cameraandlenshehiredfromHireacamera

Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround

500 wordstotheaddressonpage13 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.

JonBentleyis a TVproducerandpresenterbestknown

forTop Gear and Channel 5’s The Gadget Show

‘IthoughtI’dsample

Hireacamera’sservice

todiscoverjust what

I’m m issing ’

©

MICHAEL TOPHAM

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