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Ready and Hire - part 2 of 1 2 3

Published 01/12/2013

It seems clear that we are now starting to see mirror-less cameras that can be used for professional applications, without having to lug too much equipment around. And, according to Thatcher, who cites his experience of meeting a broad range of people at a wide range of shows the company attends each year, the demand is there.

"Pro photographers are basically split into two camps: those who claim that they never want anything other than a DSLR and the idea of looking through an electronic viewfinder is 'the work of the devil' and then the people who have actually taken the leap to mirror-less or tried one out. We know people who have hired Fuji X-Pro1s from us who now later invested in two bodies and now use them exclusively for events. They've sold their SLR equipment. Now, not everyone is that extreme but I know people who have done the same with the OM-Ds as well, because they are very, very good. Zeiss announced its Touit range last year and I believe that is set to continue; we're going to find that demand for high-end lenses for mirror-less cameras is only going to increase. And we're seeing better glass starting to be produced. Zeiss are on the ball with this one and are going to be coming out with their own full-frame lenses to meet market demand. And there is now the option of longer telephotos or zooms with Sony announcing an E-mount 70-200mm lens to bolt on to the A7. And the great thing about the E-mount is that you can use an adapter and put any glass on it. If you've got a decent prime - whether Nikon or Canon - there's nothing to stop you putting it on there. OK, you will lose auto focus but at least you can use other lenses on it - so this is where it gets a bit more interesting in that you haven't got to dump everything if you were to embrace it."

On the Micro Four Thirds models it is again the higher-end lenses, such as the Leica branded ones, that are in demand for rental, whilst within the Fuji X series, Hireacamera is interestingly seeing greater demand for zooms than primes. "I think people up until now have bought the primes and haven't really thought about the zooms so are now quite keen to try them," Thatcher reasons. "They are surprisingly good. Yes, you're naturally going to get people wanting really fast primes - and that will happen, it's just going to take a little while and they're going to be quite expensive."

Another sensible reason why hiring is often the best route for pros!

Shoot video? Hireacamera has it covered!

A further emerging market for social photographers is shooting video alongside stills, and with the mirrorless cameras there is the option of filming utilising auto focus too.

"Sometimes it is very useful to be able to use auto focus," Thatcher admits with a chuckle. "As AF gets better and better for shooting stills in Live View, it lends itself better to shooting video and the reality is that a lot of our customers have to do more than one job. They may only be shooting a little bit of video - but the fact is that most are offering a bit of a 'fusion solution'. There is added value there; if you've got the lenses and the equipment to frame decent stills the reality is that you're on your way to being able to offer a reasonable solution on the digital side too. Obviously you're not going to be able to do everything but just offering a little bit of video is still better than not being able to offer video at all.

"Very few of our customers are hiring without a view to earning a crust.

And everything we do is centered around their wish to make money. I personally am not going to push something that we'd have to charge a reasonable amount for which I don't believe is really what they need."

In terms of finding all that you need in the one place, Hireacamera.com currently sends out an offers newsletter to its database of customers at 12.30pm every Wednesday, which gives regulars first opportunity to hire whatever it has left for the coming weekend at a reduced price of a single day's hire charge. "And then we release a link at 2.30pm to everybody else via Facebook and Twitter. That's still incredibly popular because it's such a good way for people to try equipment. Effectively you get it for the weekend for a day's hire price - which makes quite a significant difference.

We have people who have five or six jobs booked over a couple of months and they'll keep trying until they get what they want."

15% off every hire for The Societies' members The firm additionally offers a healthy discount for SWPP members of 15% off each and every hire; just phone up and quote your membership number to get it. "SWPP members always get a good deal from us," Thatcher confirms.

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1st Published 01/12/2013
last update 09/12/2022 14:58:28

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