Anyone ever rent an SLR?

[finbarqs]

I don't really know why everyone jumped in with comments about getting a P&S, since the OP doesn't seem to want to go that route.

OP, if you are going on vacation or something though, their suggestion does have merit - a P&S is a lot easier to carry around and whip out than an SLR.

That said, what exactly is your goal?
If you want to take some pretty pictures first and foremost, but are simply unsure about getting an SLR, it would be the perfect candidate for a rental, in my opinion.

Personally, when I first started, I had a cheap P&S like everyone else, but I was curious about an SLR. I had no idea if I'd even like it, so I couldn't justify putting down $900+ for a starter kit.

I went to lensrentals.com instead, and rented my first SLR, a Canon T1i, for about a week to take to an event and shot with it. I had a great time with it, since I already knew about manual exposure modes and shooting in RAW from the Canon G9.
After that, I decided it would be worthwhile to buy one.

As far as the rental experience itself goes, it varies from place to place.
I would highly recommend LensRentals.com as they are very good at what they do.
The owner is a guy named Roger who's very active on various photo forums such as FredMiranda. Their inventory is checked at all stages, even before going out to you, and they retire all equipment after something like 20 rentals, so you know you are getting good/clean gear every time.

I've also emailed them a few times with random questions and their staff is always quite friendly, and responded in a timely manner.

On the other hand, my friend has rented from Adorama for a last minute event. Adorama is a great place for buying new gear, but the lens he received for his rental, although worked, felt very heavily used.

Just my experience.

Good luck!

Agreed. A DSLR "may" seem like the way to go, but I'd say go buy yourself a modern FILM SLR, and get a roll of film. Hell even have the people show you how to load it.

EXPERIENCE using a SLR with it's control before moving to DSLR. The reason why I say this is because buying a film slr is cheaper than renting a decent DSLR these days. And guess what. You get to KEEP your equipment, and possibly re-use the lenses for your transition to DSLR!

AND THE BEST PART: THEY DO THE POST WORK FOR YOU!!!!!

A lot of people "imagine" that a DSLR with the right lens will take the photo for you. Many pro photographers have been trying to prove to the new breeds that if you really want to take the dive into DSLR, you'll find that you need to know what to do with it. If you're just gonna post on facebook, then i'll say that P&S (small sensor) will do just fine. If you want a shallow DOF, then consider a P&S with a large sensor and aperture. If you're actually making prints, then DSLR will definitely make better large prints.

But if you want to snap photos while you're skiing, Go Pro Hero 3 black edition

 

[Gintaras]

Did you read this?

No...I'm too stupid to read anything...plus, I dont spik inglish.....

 

[camoxiong]

Since you are still a beginner, get the Canon t3i, it's cheap and good. I still have a 400D

 

[blastingcap]

I can't believe all the bad advice I've seen in this thread. Oh wait, I can.

 

[finbarqs]

ipad 4 takes pics just fine

 

[yhelothar]

I normally defend DSLR vs P&S in these cases, but truly, in the snow and in broad daylight is where the advantage of the larger sensor/shallower DoF is minimal.

You can't even use a fast aperture with a DSLR in the snow in daylight, it'll overexpose at the fastest exposure.

With that said, I don't really get the point of getting expensive P&S that has small sensors when DSLRs are so cheap now, and often cheaper than those P&S(unless you're getting one that's compact).

 

[xSauronx]

I normally defend DSLR vs P&S in these cases, but truly, in the snow and in broad daylight is where the advantage of the larger sensor/shallower DoF is minimal.

You can't even use a fast aperture with a DSLR in the snow in daylight, it'll overexpose at the fastest exposure.

With that said, I don't really get the point of getting expensive P&S that has small sensors when DSLRs are so cheap now, and often cheaper than those P&S(unless you're getting one that's compact).

i got the lx7 because it was:
on sale (300? done)
small (jacket-pocketable)
i cant be tempted to spend money on lenses

but i just intend to use it for a year or so to learn a bit, after that i may graduate to a m4/3, but honestly....i hate carrying stuff around and the lx7 is easy to take places.

kinda wanted the rx100, but...not for the price tag.

 

[iGas]

I normally defend DSLR vs P&S in these cases, but truly, in the snow and in broad daylight is where the advantage of the larger sensor/shallower DoF is minimal.

You can't even use a fast aperture with a DSLR in the snow in daylight, it'll overexpose at the fastest exposure.

With that said, I don't really get the point of getting expensive P&S that has small sensors when DSLRs are so cheap now, and often cheaper than those P&S(unless you're getting one that's compact).

Neutral density filters solves the problem.

I own a ND4, ND8, and polarizer filters that can also be stack.

PS. Sunny 16 rule: f16 at ISO 100 = 1/100s, that mean you can shoot f1.4 at ISO 50 = 1/6400s with out neutral density. And, need to stop down to f2 at ISO 50 = 1/6400s for full sunny scenery in snow.