Renting Photography Equipment

I recently rented some equipment from Borrowlenses.com for a Bikini Shoot at Baker Beach in San Francisco, CA. I have a strobe, but I thought that it might be slightly under-powered. Plus, I would be portable, so I decided to rent a battery-pack.

For the strobe, I chose the White Lightning X-Series X800 Flash Unit. The X-Series X800 is a self-contained studio flash unit, producing 330 true wattseconds and 800 effective wattseconds of power, with 14,000 lumenseconds of output. The flashpower is independently adjustable over a stepless 5 f-stop range from Full down to 1/32nd of the total power, in whole f-stop increments, and everywhere in between. This flashpower is easily adjusted on the back control panel, with a slide fader.

To power the strobe while on location, I went with the Vagabond II. The NEW Vagabond II Portable Power System provides portable, battery power for all of Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ flash units and power packs, giving you the ability to power your AlienBees™, White Lightning™ and ZEUS™ systems in the field or on location where power lines are unavailable or unreliable. The system additionally includes a built-in global charger (for 100VAC to 260VAC charging), making it truly plug-and-play with no need for the user to disconnect or reconnect cables. The Vagabond II also allows for easy battery changing and for connection to car batteries for all day shoots. Packaged in a heavy-duty nylon carry bag with padded shoulder strap, the Vagabond II system weighs 18.6 pounds, measuring 10.5" (height) x 8.5" (width) x 6" (depth).

Renting equipment is a cool way to go if you want to "try before you buy". I also rented a beauty dish, but in a last minute rush out of the door, forgot the damn thing. It probably worked out for the better because it was too windy, and I'm afraid it might have tipped the strobe over. Overall, I was happy with my experience with Borrowlenses.com. I was able to pick-up the stuff same day as ordered from a local office. I had been considering the Vagabond II for a while now. But, doing a location shoot with strobes has convinced me.