Premium Members Alan Rencher Posted October 12, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I have a Steadicam Pilot that I would like to rent out to other operators. I'm pretty new to the Steadicam community, and I'm not sure what a fair price would be for it. Also, could anyone give me pointers for renting it out (ie contracts, do's and don'ts, etc)? I don't have a follow focus or any other accessories. On that note, does anyone rent out their follow focus kits, or should I just go to a rental house? Thanks - Alan Rencher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant Swanstrom Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 All I know is that Samy's Camera rents out Pilots for 250 a day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted October 12, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Basically, you are now a rental house, treat yourself like one. Check out Pilot/Flyer rental prices from rental houses, see what is included in their package, and base your rental on that. Samy's is overly expensive (though I hope that comes with excellent service, I wouldn't know). You can rent a Flyer elsewhere for $250/day. It's okay to go lower, but I don't recommend going undercutting crazy. If Samy's is $250 and a lesser quality place is $150, maybe you feel okay at $200 (just an example, not gonna be upset if you don't). $100 on the other hand may get your gear rented more often (but is it more than twice as often?) but it will also give you a bad reputation, both among colleagues, and as "the cheap guy" so it'll be difficult to raise your prices later. You should absolutely have a contract. Go to a rental house and ask for their terms and conditions. That's what yours should look like. Anything else I could specify will be covered in that. (hint: insurance) If your follow focus concern is for rentals: It might be simpler to just not offer it. If someone asks, you can refer them to your favorite rental house/person who rents one. If it is for yourself: Find what you like and what works for you. Maybe a rental house, maybe a friend, maybe someone on the forum. What about wireless video? Otherwise you'll have to be tethered. Maybe you need to rent/buy a solution for that as well. Etc... Remember that people do not treat rented equipment like their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Sydney Seeber Posted October 12, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 You can rent a Flyer elsewhere for $250/day whoah... What the? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted October 12, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 You can rent a Flyer elsewhere for $250/day whoah... What the? How very vague! Surprised? Did you expect that to be higher or lower? Or do you just want to know where? :) Birns and Sawyer rents theirs for $250/day (12v, SD monitor), they have a Pilot too, $175/day HD Camera rentals rents a Flyer F24 with an HD monitor for $245/day. Those are the 2 I was referring to, out of curiosity, I checked Indie Rentals, thought they had a Pilot or Flyer. They have a Merlin w/ Arm/Vest for $150/day and a Glidecam V-16 for the same. Free research for ya Alan, though if I was you I wouldn't trust me. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alan Rencher Posted October 12, 2010 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Basically, you are now a rental house, treat yourself like one. Check out Pilot/Flyer rental prices from rental houses, see what is included in their package, and base your rental on that. Samy's is overly expensive (though I hope that comes with excellent service, I wouldn't know). You can rent a Flyer elsewhere for $250/day. It's okay to go lower, but I don't recommend going undercutting crazy. If Samy's is $250 and a lesser quality place is $150, maybe you feel okay at $200 (just an example, not gonna be upset if you don't). $100 on the other hand may get your gear rented more often (but is it more than twice as often?) but it will also give you a bad reputation, both among colleagues, and as "the cheap guy" so it'll be difficult to raise your prices later. You should absolutely have a contract. Go to a rental house and ask for their terms and conditions. That's what yours should look like. Anything else I could specify will be covered in that. (hint: insurance) If your follow focus concern is for rentals: It might be simpler to just not offer it. If someone asks, you can refer them to your favorite rental house/person who rents one. If it is for yourself: Find what you like and what works for you. Maybe a rental house, maybe a friend, maybe someone on the forum. What about wireless video? Otherwise you'll have to be tethered. Maybe you need to rent/buy a solution for that as well. Etc... Remember that people do not treat rented equipment like their own. Thanks Brian, that helps me a lot. I really appreciate the advice I've gotten from you and the Steadicam community on this board. Keep it up guys! I look forward to joining your ranks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Sydney Seeber Posted October 13, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 How very vague! That's how I roll, unfortunately my keyboard is incapable of creating a smiley thingy, otherwise I would totally insert one here for emotional emphasis and whatnot. Anyhoo, yes, that is low... Talk about devaluation, was where I was going with all of this until I got sidetracked by the other nonsense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted October 13, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 $250 is just the rig and batteries, nothing else, at least from Birns. I assume the one from HD Camera Rentals includes batteries! I don't see that as being low for a rig with a max payload of 15 lbs (okay, we'll stretch that to 20, I can't be the only one who has) and nothing else. Add in a BFD, transmitter, receiver, maybe a down converter, yeah, package price will be higher. Birns and HD Camera Rentals have had those prices for at least 3 years since I first called them to find out, so it's not like they've lowered it over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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