First off, why would a photographer consider renting equipment?

Many reasons:

For the professional, if they’re in need of a product they may not currently own, or perhaps a piece may be too expensive for them to purchase at that time; this is where we can help out. Other times, we may have a photographer that’s called to do a very particular type of job where they may only need specific equipment once.

For passionate amateurs, renting allows them to take various gear out for test-drives to see what works for them. While at the same time, it gives them access to a broader range of gear when special occasions like vacations, weddings, births or graduations come up.

Most of the time it’s more economical, technology moves faster than the time it takes some equipment to pay for itself (especially digital and hybrid video cameras)

How do I choose a good Rental Facility?

Honestly, price shouldn’t be the primary consideration. Most rental houses are in the same ballpark. For us, we pride ourselves on working with our customers based on their budget restrictions or working within the specific budget for the project at hand.

Proximity and accessibility should be factored in as well. There may be times where on site training on a product may be the best way to learn.  Most importantly, a facility’s breadth and depth of its equipment is the leading reason as to where one should rent. Can a facility support what it rents? Can a facility suggest the best tools for the job? At Foto Care, this is what we pride ourselves on.

Talk to us about your staff’s knowledge:

Our staff has been with us an average of eight years, with some having been here for decades. The fact that we’re all passionate techies makes this not seem like work. We go out of our way to test drive every piece of equipment. It’s amazing how eager everyone is to get to know the hardware as soon as it comes in.  Plus, part of our job is to be able to troubleshoot with our customers over the phone so we all need to understand the ins and out of each piece of gear we rent.

All of us have our particular areas of expertise but everyone seems to have jumped on the video bandwagon in a big way. We are becoming video hybrid experts. Things have been moving so fast that keeping up is critical. Video is just exploding. We’re adding microphones, special lighting and lenses that we’ve never had before based on demand and interest.

Talk to us more about the depth of equipment you offer?

Having the newest/latest equipment available for our customers is critical. And not just one or two either. Our depth of equipment and inventory (usually having 10 or more of something) is key. For example: We have more then 90 broncolor powerpacks; more than anyone in the country.

Foto Care has built a reputation on Outstanding Customer Service. How does that apply to Rentals?

It’s always been important, I remember one time Avedon Studios called from India with a problem:  They were shooting the Dalai Lhama in 8 x 10 format with very limited time restrictions so every piece of film needed to be usable. With exposures all over the map, they needed to process the film by inspection so we ended up finding them night vision equipment to help them process their film.

These days, some of our newer customers will call to discuss various lighting scenarios they are considering and ask for our recommendations. Helping problem solve with them is one of the highlights of our day. In fact, often we’ll set up lights here at our facility to show them a particular setup. Fortunately, our facility is quite large and allows us to show a variety of setups to our customers. The time investment for us is important because this is their job at stake, and we see ourselves as a trusted partner in their business. And this doesn’t just apply to the working professional. We want all of our customers to be comfortable with the gear they rent from us. That’s why they keep coming back.

What can a customer do to ensure they get the best results?

1. Call orders in advance:

Most errors are made when under pressure. If this is unavoidable, check your equipment before you leave. Ten minuets at the counter can save you two hours in set.

2. Ask questions:

We’re not just handing out a box with no support. We expect our customers to ask us questions. In fact, we encourage it. We’d rather help answer all your questions when you’re placing an order or when you pick it up as opposed to when you are out on location or back in your studio. And b all means, keep asking questions until you are comfortable and satisfied. In photography there is more than one way to achieve most goals.

What do you recommend for customers consistently ordering over the phone?

If you start an order over the phone, get the name of the rental technician. This way, if you call to follow up with questions, there is continuity by dealing with the same person. We also except orders via email. Really, its whatever works best for you as a customer.

When picking up an order, what should customers know and do?

Go through your equipment. Look at it. We try to pack orders as accurately as possible but there can be misunderstandings. Sometimes funny ones:  Someone the other day asked for a “Gary Coleman” C-Stand. Huh? Hadn’t heard that one before. What they wanted was a short 20” C-stand versus a 40” stand. With all the slang in our industry, it’s easy to misunderstand what folks are sometimes looking for.

What are some of the things to keep an eye out for?

Clean, maintained equipment, especially clean sensors. It’s a matter of pride with us. You can tell a lot about a rental facility by how clean and well maintained their inventory is.

Anything else people need to know?

All rental houses in NYC require deposits, valid identification, and, in some cases, proof of insurance. It’s a very good idea for photographers to have insurance. This not only protects the photographer but the rental department can take a reduced security deposit for the value of the deductible.

Is there anything else you want customers to know?

Foto Care constantly offers seminars and lectures for continuing education of our customers so check our website and sign-up for the Foto Care Newsletter which comes out twice  month.  And get out and shoot.

A few weeks ago I attended the National Society of Photographic Education (SPE)  conference in Dallas.  It was a great show.  Students and faculty from around the United States gathered to speak about all that is state-of-the-art in photographic equipment and education today.   Sinar Bron Imaging, along with several other vendors, had all their latest equipment on display along with their educational material and discount programs.   Sinar Bron has been making a huge push into the educational market with an aggressive discount program, educational competitions, and seminars and educational materials for photographic educational programs across the country.

Our booth at SPE contained a great amount of  Sinar, Broncolor, and Foba gear. Educators and students took advantage of SBI’s presence by getting hands on with the equipment and learning about the new and best technology on the market today.     —–DMW

If the snapshots from the trip that were posted on facebook after our return are any indication, this wasn’t a typical factory training trip. The attendees showed great discretion in keeping most of the really incriminating images off of Facebook. From the sleepy Sunday AM arrival and a bunch of everyone-on-their-best-behavior reserved introductions, to the final fondue-filled night of Kirsch toasts, our guests developed a greater understanding and appreciation of why we all have such a passion and commitment to the products we represent.

The first stop on the trip was at broncolor and the bedroom community of Allschwil just outside of Basel. Training was held in the famous broncolor school house. The schoolhouse is in the building that housed the original broncolor factory. The building was converted from a barn, to a factory, and then to its current incarnation – a modern day commercial studio on the first floor and a school room and training center on the second floor.

We spent a good deal of our time reviewing the tech specs and philosophy behind the completely new Scoro Packs. From the group you heard the question several times: “Why don’t other manufacturers do it that way?”. Our well mannered hosts were gentlemen enough to let that pass. The bron training sessions were not marketing sales days. Instead, they were hard core technical reviews of the products and how they outperform the competition. The folks at broncolor even went so far as to review their new patent on the ECTC color control technology that makes the Scoro the untouchable unit that it is. I don’t think you’d get the same openness from our competitors.

Marcel Greissman, the technical manager for Bron Elektronik, presented the technological overview and is just a brilliant man to listen to. One of my favorite comments from the group was: “This guy is just really cool and fun to listen to…. and he’s an engineer, where do you find that!”

You need to understand something about this group. These guys aren’t wet behind the ears, newbies to the industry. They’ve seen it all and pulled most of it apart. They know the value of “matched capacitors” and understand the difference between being compatible with “sine wave or square wave” generator output. On the walking tour of the factory led by Jacques and Claude Bron themselves, you heard a lot of “look at that construction!”, a good deal of knowing nods, and some more of “why doesn’t anyone else build them like this?”.

Our next stop on the tour was at the FOBA factory. FOBA is a hard-core precision machine shop. They can make anything and everything you could possibly need that could be coaxed, twisted poured or hammered out of metal. I think everyone was struck by the diversity of the FOBA line. The product is just a dream for any grip out there. Philippe Von Ehrenberg – the owner of FOBA – was gracious enough to show us the line and treat us all to a traditional Swiss luncheon. Mr. von Ehrenberg is so obsessed with product quality that I once saw him scrap a pallet of lead counterweights because the molds used to make them were not clean enough. All the Foba products are built and tested by hand…and they are all made to last for generations. If Philippe doesn’t think it will last longer than a lifetime then he just wont sell it. His tour was packed with new ideas – how to use combitube to mount cameras to automobiles, how to connect a DSLR to a Sinar view camera, how to make a pulley for seamless last forever, and how to drink lots of wine at lunch and still be fully functional in the afternoon.

When we pulled away from FOBA, Philippe and his daughter stood by the front doors waving goodbye. From the back of our tour bus, one of our guests commented, “Look at them, I just met them and I love those guys!”. I think that’s the basis of why these companies are so successful and put out such a great product. Broncolor and FOBA are both family organizations. When you visit these places you understand that everyone in the company belongs to that family. It shows in the commitment to the quality of the product, a genuine pride in what they’ve all accomplished and the achievements they’ve reached.

Yeah, this is how we stormed the city.