BorrowLenses

This is a fantastic place to rent or buy camera gear. I have rented from them several times, both Nikon camera bodies and lenses, and everything worked perfectly. The price is very reasonable, and I love that you can your items up for free, rather than having to pay for shipping.
I also bought a refurbished Nikon D7000 body from here about a year ago and it works great. I haven’t had any issues, and if I did, I’m sure they would take care of it quickly. Their customer service has been wonderful every time I’ve gone in.

Robert totally saved the day today! A huge thank you to him for going above and beyond to help me in a crisis.
My camera body read an Err message, and the Nikon troubleshooting hotline was not able to help. Nikon told me to send it in for servicing. I came in to BL today for a rental, and when I was giving my own camera one last try, Robert asked to take a look. He diagnosed it (mirror switch was broken) and he even FIXED it. I am so thankful to him for finding the problem, and going out of his way to fix it for me. With a morning of panic and looking ahead at a month of my busy season without my own camera body, he truly made my day. Thank you so much! What a wonderful experience!

In preparing for my safari, I had an excellent experience arranging to rent a camera, telephoto lens and needed accessories. First, the company’s web site is quite user friendly; it is easy to locate and price the components one is looking for. Secondly, the tech support is top rate. If (as I did) one waits too long to put in an order so that the safari packages are not available for he dates of your trip, the staff will help you assemble a package of individual components that are the same as in the package and are available individually. A rep named Jordan also steered me clear of a Nikon ⁸⁰⁄₄₀₀ telephoto lens that looked good but which had been the subject of several customer complaints. Finally, a rep named Mark from the Waltham, Mass. office helped me substitute 2 16GB memory cards for the one 32GB card I had originally ordered, to prevent an (unlikely but possible) bum card from ruining my photos. One caveat –if you want a manual for your camera, you need to specifically request it; it is not included in your package automatically.

It’s great to finally find a place to rent some photography gear nearby! I think the price is reasonable; renting here is a great way to test out new gear either for fun or for more info before purchasing something new. Borrow Lens has a great variety of selections, and I doubt that you can’t find something you’re looking for here. The renting process is easy — you go online to rent and come pick it up at this location. I prefer picking up my order to having it sent home since you never know what can happen on the road. The store is nice and everyone seems friendly. I’ve had pretty much good experience with Borrow Lens. Don’t forget to subscribe to their newsletter because you don’t want to miss out good deals!

I had a pleasant first time experience renting at BL. The equipment all worked (d750 plus 3 lenses). Easy and friendly service from the gentleman behind the desk. Will rent again.

A coworker recommended Borrow Lenses and I am so glad I checked it out!
My husband and I recently went on an Alaska cruise and I knew I’d need a telephoto lens for all the wildlife we would be seeing from the cruise ship and on the excursions we had planned. I did a ton of research and landed on the Canon EF 70−300mm L series lens. It was excellent!
The online reservation process was simple and easy. Pick up and drop off was totally painless. And the price was great — roughly $ 120 for 11 days. A bargain if you ask me!
Renting this lens for our trip was total game changer. I am so happy I decided to try out Borrow Lenses, the pictures from our trip would not have been the same. Absolutely would recommend to anyone in my situation, or just looking to try out some new gear.

I have rented from them a few times now and it is a great way to go when you’re going for trips and don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on lenses! They have a great variety of lenses and equipment to rent with great rates!
I have always been in and out of their store, just order online, pick up and deliver, no waiting, no fuss.

I rented a Nikon AF-​S NIKKOR 80−400mm f/4.5−5.6G ED VR Lens for a trip to Yellowstone. The lens worked beautifully. The entire experience with Borrowlenses was terrific with excellent and knowledgeable customer service. I would have liked to ship the lenses to and from my hotel but that was not a possibility at the time and there were no Fedex locations around the National Park. I believe they will now ship to hotels.

I dropped by to pick up some equipment and asked to use their bathroom while I waited. I was informed it was against company policy to allow customers to use their bathroom, which was located in their warehouse. I asked to speak to a manager who informed me of the same thing.
Flustered and embarrassed, I actually had to leave to find a bathroom in a restaurant. As funny as this sounds, I’ve rented from many other places local to boston — talamas, calumet, lensprotogo, rule — and yes, probably used all of their bathrooms (ok, now I’m sounding like a serial bathroom user). Anyways, this totally soured me on the borrowlenses experience. The employees were nice enough — it seems company policy is to blame. Still, I like to be treated like a human, and instead felt like a total idiot. BTW, I believe this is the only one-​star review I’ve written. And yes, their service is cool and everything, but I’d rather go with LensProToGo — where the art on the walls is not generic and where the experience is much more human.

Good selection of well maintained equipment; prompt availability for local pickup; good value in pricing; smooth and efficient service once you’re in their system.
Highly recommended.

This was my first time renting from Borrow Lenses and I was very happy with my experience. They were able to rent me a lens that was in high-​demand at the last minute with very little hassle. The only reason I am not giving them 5 stars is because I wasn’t thrilled with the attitude of the person I spoke to on the phone. I had called the Waltham, MA office to let them know that I might be 2 minutes late (because of traffic) to pick up the order, and the man I talked to basically said it wasn’t his problem, it was a personal problem. When he said he could ask if someone could stay late I asked to speak to her directly. She was very nice and said she could stay 5 minutes later for me. I didn’t end up needing anyone to stay late because I was on time, but I still didn’t appreciate the way he handled the situation. Overall, this is a great company and I would rent from them again.

This is a really great company, and a really cool location right down the street from where I work. I went in the Waltham office to pick up a rental camera, and was surprised how cool the office was. There’s a front waiting area that has photography related stuff around and places to sit. There’s a room off the side that has a little studio set up (strobes and seamless) I’m guessing to show people white seamless and strobes. While I was there picking up my rental, there was another customer (with lots of questions) chatting with an employee. The staff is very knowledgable and friendly and answered every question this customer had. It was a very nice experience. I’ve used BL for a few years now, and have had a 100% positive experience every single time.

was recommended to me a while back by a friend who rents from them all the time way on out in sunny California (where the big movie stars live!). I checked them out and what do you know they have a spot in Waltham. That town has no association with movie stars, but they are right here in MA. Which is great because right here means at my door faster and when I want a lens I want it ten minutes ago!
Seriously I like my stuff fast. These guys, I click, I order, I get it.
I’ve also been known to change my mind and need to rearrange my order once in a while, and the customer service at BL is so nice and accommodating. When I had to call because I changed my mind but didn’t know what I wanted, I felt so lucky to get Mark, who not only canceled my order before it went out, but recommended a lens that was completely different than what I was going to get but was absolutely perfect for the job, and the pictures I took with it got me another job. So they know their stuff over there too. Oh and the rates are cheap.
Yay BL! A+. All the candy.

I’ve rented from Borrow Lenses several times but this past shoot was the first time I didn’t just have the order delivered. I picked up the camera and lens on Saturday and was quickly waited on and out the door with my gear.
While on the shoot I discovered a battery in my camera bag from a previous order. When I returned everything Kim was able to not only square away the situation with the battery but the warehouse even kept my battery I had mistakenly left in the camera and she returned it to me right on the spot.
Borrow Lenses is fantastic resource for Indie Film Makers and Photographers. Rental prices that can’t be beat, great service and all the latest gear. I’ll be using Borrow Lenses many, many more times in the future.

I got the gear I wanted for a trip to the Galapagos. I got the package on the exact date they said I would receive it. And I sent it back on the exact date I said I would. The rates on the site are WAY cheaper than some of the local stores in my DC area.
So my credit card billing address is different than the mailing address which raised some red flags on their end. I received an email stating that I would have to call my credit card company and add in a new mailing address. My credit card company didn’t seem to understand why this was necessary or even how to do it (Charles Schwab) but they did add it in their notes. I told BL that my credit card company has it on record but when they called, it wasn’t on there. So a guy from BL called me and we went over some verification and the reason why they have this policy. It makes sense and it’s great that they are secure. Still, it’s a pain. The guy trusted me and what I had to say and went ahead and proceeded my order. He was very understanding and super helpful. Glad that worked out and is a major reason why I’m giving this 5 stars. Thanks BL!

Excellent customer service!
I usually order online and then go and pickup at their San Carlos location since it’s only about 15 minutes from where I work.
It would be real nice if they put a store here in San Jose ;) (hint, hint)

I rented a Canon 5D Mark 3 + 24−105mm IS USM lens + Singh-​Ray 77m VariND filter. The whole experience was very easy after I got through the security hurdles of uploading images of my driver’s license, credit card, and another paper validating my identity since my order was costly. This was a reasonable security step, though once again a bit nervewracking as it was down to the wire. But I called their customer service and they expedited the verification and told me over the phone that it would be fine. Package arrived the next day and I was in production for the next month thanks to their 4-​week rental. Equipment was in great working condition and allowed me to test the goods before buying, experiment with different lenses, etc. Shipping back was simple as well.
Two frustrating issues:
1) I tried to order the 5D Mark 3 the previous week as well and was told only at checkout that it the camera may not in fact be available despite its status as «available» on the website… and then it turned out it wasn’t available once I called them. As it was the end of the day and I’d been expecting it to be available based on its indicated status on the BL website, I ended up without any equipment for the next few days (over the weekend). Guess I shouldn’t have put all my eggs in one basket. But they had the equipment the next time around and it all worked out, per my review above.
2) It turned out that I didn’t really need the Singh-​Ray more than a few days, but upon contacting BL to see if I could return (shipped at my own expense, I suggested) the Singh-​Ray early to have that item pro-​rated for the shorter rental period, that was not an option. I think this should be an option and don’t really see why it would matter to BL. So the Singh-​Ray sat around for the next 3 weeks unused, and I paid for it.
Despite these two complaints, I still find BL’s offering, customer service, and price to be unbeatable and extremely useful for the filmmaker and photographer. I would highly recommend
!

These guys are great. been ordering from them almost a year. Lenses, Cameras, Sound, Media recorders… everything. Always in great condition, nothing missing. Everytime i call to change/​adjust or add to order, always with a smile. Awesome.
Can’t beat that.

I ordered the rental online for pick up at their HQ in San Carlos, to test out a 24−70mm Nikkor lens for a recent photo shoot — just to see if it was worth the money to buy it, as everyone and their photog mother seems to think so.(i’m still on the fence). At the time I wasn’t planning on renting anything else except — I decided I wanted to try out a soft box, and test out my new to me D600’s master commander mode with a (also rented) SB-​910 — luckily I was able to add the rental right on the spot. The people there were nice, knowledgeable and friendly.
The return was a piece of cake as well — except there happened to be another return rental with the same last name and I hadn’t had my coffee yet so I wasn’t paying attention when I signed the return ticket — OOPS! Good thing one of us was paying attention. The guy was nice about my mistake and checked in my rental — all was good.
I would definitely rent from them again as well as recommend the place.

I was a tricky customer. I had Borrow Lenses ship the lens to a participating camera shop in the city I was traveling to for work. I then brought the lens on the plane home with me, but extended the rental online for a few more days so that I could cover another event. When I was finished, I called BL on the phone and arranged to have it shipped over to their warehouse, regardless of the fact that I hadn’t established to do so beforehand. They said all I had to do was call with the tracking number and we’d be set. As an aside, I live about 90 minutes away from the warehouse where they store their product, They had offered the option for me to drive down and drop off the lens in person, but I don’t have the kind of time (or patience!) to deal with the traffic it would take to get down there.
The fact that I can call up the warehouse to discuss such things is wondrous. I’ve rented lenses from local camera shops before and while I like to support the Mom-​and-​Pops (or so to speak), I’m often met with rude, haughty clerks, or paying $ 60 a day for lens rentals. I’ve never met such nice folks in the photography realm.
If you need lenses and can afford to drop $ 150 from time to time for professional-​grade kit, consider doing so only from Borrow Lenses.