Photo Credit: Lori Nordstrom. This was shot at F 2.8 @1/640 sec. using Canon MIII @ 150mm.
As photographers, to say that our lives depend on our gear is an understatement. It is our livelihood the same way a scalpel is to a surgeon. Seeing that September was my busiest month of the year it would only make sense that my workhorse lens (Canon 70-200mm) would stop working (or focusing which is pretty much the same thing). I immediately called Canon. As I am “Gold” member, I knew that they surely would send me a loaner while my lens was in for repair. I was wrong. They would only send me a loaner if the repair took more than 3 days … which they wouldn’t even know until they received my lens and they had time to evaluate it. Crap. This was obviously not a solution in the midst of back-to-back jobs (why couldn’t this ever happen in say … January?). In a bit of a panic I had my assistant call all the lens rental houses in San Francisco – living close to a big city has its advantages! … Right? I mean, how hard could it be to find such a standard lens? Evidently, VERY difficult. Every rental house was out of stock for at least 2 weeks.
At this time I had to reach beyond my typical habits and think about alternatives. I had heard many good things about BorrowLenses but I assumed due to their popularity they would also be out of stock. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did they have the lens I needed, I got it the next day, in immaculate condition. After a few days, Canon sent me back my lens. It was still broken. And because they had shipped it (broken) to me within three days of receiving it, guess what? … Still no loaner lens. Canon’s solutions were obviously useless for my work. BorrowLenses, however, saved the day. They easily accommodated my needs and extended my rental on the fly. A Big Thank You to Jim Goldstein, Samantha Strauss and the rest of the BorrowLenses team. For the next (inevitable?) crisis, I’m happy to know there is a company I can depend on.
I’m a long time customer of Borrowlenses.com and I can confirm that they are an AWESOME company.
Catherine,
Looks like you need to take talents to Nikon or Sony. Either company would treat you with more respect and with a sense of urgency.
I would have sent you my lens to use. Unfortunately, it’s a Nikon. However, glad Borrowlenses was there to help.
Surprised to hear that Canon would treat a Gold member that way…
I’m so glad Borrow Lenses came through for you. I have been able to borrow locally from friends, but I have also heard fantastic things about Borrow Lenses.