Should you rent or buy camera equipment? There is a moment every filmmaker experiences that brings the question up. You rent a camera, you use it, you love it, and then you start thinking, “Maybe I should just buy one.”

Congratulations. You’ve entered the equipment rabbit hole. A few months later you’re looking at cinema lenses, wireless focus systems, monitors, V-mount batteries, tripods and cases. And you’re wondering how a camera rental turned into a $30,000 shopping spree.

So when does it actually make sense to buy? And when should you rent?

Buying camera equipment: the obvious advantage

The biggest advantage to owning equipment is simple: it’s yours. You have immediate access to it, and you know exactly how it works. You can customize it, too.

You also don’t have to worry about whether someone else has the camera available next week. When a job comes up, the gear is already on your shelf.

If you’re shooting constantly, ownership can make a lot of sense. For example, if you’re a cinematographer who shoots three or four times every week with the same camera system, renting that camera every time can become expensive. At some point, ownership starts making financial sense.

There’s also something to be said for familiarity. When you’ve used the same camera for hundreds of hours, you know where everything is without thinking about it. That matters, because on a shoot you spend less time hunting for buttons and settings.

But ownership gets expensive quickly

The camera body is only the beginning. Let’s say you buy a cinema camera.

Now you need lenses. Then you need batteries and media. Then a monitor and a tripod.

Then a cage or rig, a follow focus and a matte box. Then filters. Then cases. And suddenly your $8,000 camera has become a $20,000 camera package.

Each of those pieces does a real job. The cage gives you places to mount accessories, the follow focus lets you adjust focus smoothly, and the matte box holds filters in front of the lens.

Not having to buy all of that is one of the biggest advantages of renting. You can rent the entire system you need for the project instead of building your own warehouse. The lenses, support and accessories come with the job, and they go back when the job ends.

Renting gives you options

This is probably my favorite argument for renting. You don’t have to use the same camera every time.

Shooting a documentary? Rent the FX6. Shooting a commercial? Maybe an ARRI makes more sense.

Need a second camera? Add one. And if you need a cinema lens package for one project, or a huge lighting package for a single production, rent it.

You can build the equipment package around the project rather than forcing the project to fit the equipment you happen to own. That’s a huge advantage. When you own one camera, every project starts with that camera, but when you rent, every project can start with what it needs.

Technology changes fast

Camera technology moves quickly. The camera you buy today may still be an excellent camera five years from now.

But there’s a very real possibility that something newer, faster, smaller or simply better suited to your work will be available long before you’ve finished depreciating the old one. Depreciating a camera means spreading its cost out over the years you use it.

When you weigh whether to rent or buy camera equipment, this is particularly important if you don’t shoot professionally every week. If you’re only shooting a handful of major projects each year, owning a $10,000 camera may not make much financial sense.

Renting lets you access current professional equipment without constantly upgrading your own inventory. Each time you rent, you choose from what’s current instead of what you bought years ago.

When buying makes sense

So how do you decide whether to rent or buy camera equipment? I’d seriously consider buying if a few things are true.

First, you use the equipment constantly. If you’re renting the same camera 30 to 40 days a year, run the numbers. Compare what you spend on those rentals with what it would cost to own that camera and everything that goes with it.

Second, you need immediate access. If you’re constantly getting last-minute jobs, owning your core equipment can be incredibly valuable, because you’re never waiting to see whether someone else has it available.

Third, you need a very specific configuration. If you have a highly customized rig that you use constantly, rebuilding it from rental gear every time can become annoying. Your rig is the camera plus everything you’ve built around it, so rebuilding it means putting that whole setup back together.

Finally, you know the system extremely well. Familiarity has value, especially after hundreds of hours with the same camera.

When renting makes more sense

Now for the other side. If you’re about to rent or buy camera equipment, renting is usually the better option in a few situations. The first is when you’re starting out.

Don’t spend $20,000 building a camera package before you know what kind of work you’re going to shoot. Rent first. Figure out what you actually use. Then buy.

Renting early shows you which gear you reach for on every job and which pieces stay in the case. That way, the equipment you eventually buy matches the work you actually do.

Renting also makes sense when you shoot different types of projects. Documentary, commercial, narrative, corporate and event work can all require different equipment. Owning one setup for all of them can mean forcing some projects to fit the equipment you happen to own.

It makes sense when you want access to high-end gear, too. You may only need a $30,000 camera package for three days. There’s no reason you necessarily need to own it for the other 362 days of the year.

And it makes sense when you want to reduce financial risk. Equipment is expensive. Insurance is expensive. And expensive equipment sitting on a shelf isn’t making you money.

There’s also a middle ground

You don’t have to choose whether to rent or buy camera equipment. A lot of working filmmakers use a combination.

Maybe you own your favorite lenses, tripod, monitor and basic accessories. Then you rent the camera body and specialty equipment when the project calls for it. Specialty equipment is the gear a particular job needs that most of your other jobs don’t.

Or maybe you own your primary camera but rent a second body for larger productions. A second body is simply a second camera, so you can cover more than one angle at a time.

That’s actually one of my favorite approaches. Own the things you use constantly. Rent the things you use occasionally.

The hidden benefit of renting

Here’s something people don’t always think about when they decide whether to rent or buy camera equipment: renting can make you a better filmmaker. Not because rental cameras magically make better images.

Because they force you to think about the project before you choose the equipment. Instead of saying, “This is the camera I own, so I guess we’re shooting on this,” you’re asking, “What are we trying to accomplish, and what equipment will help us do it?”

That’s a much better question. It puts the project first and lets the equipment follow.

So, should you rent or buy camera equipment?

If you’re shooting constantly and using the same equipment over and over, buying can absolutely make sense. That’s the cinematographer shooting three or four times a week on the same camera system.

But maybe your work varies, you’re starting out, or you need specialty equipment. Or maybe you simply don’t want $20,000 worth of gear sitting in a closet collecting dust. Rent it.

That’s one of the reasons we built Agape Media Group around equipment rentals. We’d rather help you build the right package for this production than convince you that you need to own everything.

Because you probably don’t. And honestly, neither do we.

Let’s Make Something

Our camera and equipment rentals include cinema cameras, lenses, monitors, lighting, grip and support gear, available individually or packaged around your shoot. You can pick up in Fort Lauderdale or have us deliver anywhere in South Florida, and our gear rental FAQs cover insurance, deposits and delivery. Need people as well as gear? We can add experienced production crew or take on the full video production.

Agape Media Group is a small, owner-led production company built around personal service. Our production services, from creative development to the final cut, are built around your project, and our work spans documentaries, commercials and branded content. Tell us what you’re shooting, request a quote or call 954-249-0702, and we’ll send you a straightforward quote.