WHAT’S NEW?
21 May 2010 - Our availability planning chart crashed and died yesterday, which was a tad inconvenient. But in the process of rebuilding it we've managed to improve it. We still show an availability calendar for each lens, which is automatically updated in real time every time an order is accepted. But now it shows when stocks of a particular type of lens are starting to run low on specific dates. Here's an example of what it looks like:
On yellow days we have some, but not many, of that lens available. So if you've been wondering whether or not to make a reservation, seeing the calendar change from green to yellow might spur you to make a decision. It's also an indication that you MIGHT face an out-of-stock situation if there is an order in the queue ahead of yours which hasn't yet been accepted. (Remember, we process orders in strict order, and they only affect the availability calendar once they've been processed and accepted.)
 19 May 2010 - We've finally taken delivery of our new Nikon AF-S TC-20E III Teleconverter. It’s taken 11 weeks since we ordered it – apparently there’s a huge global shortage of these babies. (Why can’t Nikon ever make sufficient quantities of their new products?) The early reviews say Nikon have made a huge advance in image quality with this Teleconverter, so we hope the wait will turn out to have been worth it.
 6 May 2010 - We've just ordered another new toy. This is the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM. We've stocked the Mk I version of this lens since we opened, and it's quite popular. The Mk II is reputed to be sharper wide open, and sharper in the corners - ideal for people with newer high-resolution DSLRs.
20 Apr 2010 - We’ve made the reluctant decision today to discontinue offering Circular Polarising filters with our lenses. The attrition rate has been far too high to be sustainable – they seem to pick up scratches far too easily. We’ve had to dump 4 of our 77mm filters which had been hired out a grand total of 17 times each, and at that rate we’d have to charge about £25 per week just to break even on them. We’ll honour any existing bookings for polarisers – if the ones we’ve got left last long enough! – but as of today we won’t accept any more orders for them. Sorry.
 6 Apr 2010 - It seems to be the season for fisheyes. We've just obtained a Nikon AF DX 10.5mm f/2.8 G ED fisheye. This is a “diagonal” fisheye for users of DX cameras; it delivers a rectangular image which measures 180 degrees across the diagonal.
We don't yet quite have a full set of Nikon fisheyes, but at the current rate of progress it probably won't be long now before we do.
1 Apr 2010 - No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke, though we appreciate it looks like one. Lenses For Hire has finally been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. Yes, we now have accounts on Facebook and Twitter. We’ll be posting all our new news on there, so please go and sign up as a Fan / Follower. You’ll be able to get easy updates regarding what’s happening at LFH Towers, and we’ll get a warm feeling inside knowing how many friends we have.
 
 31 Mar 2010 - Another new lens this week, and one which completes a unique set. This is the Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM diagonal fisheye for Canon users. On cameras with crop sensors, it produces a rectangular image which measures virtually 180 degrees across the diagonal.
We now have the full set of fisheyes for Canon users, and we think we're the only UK hire company to be able to say this:
 13 Mar 2010 - We’ve got another new lens this week and it’s B-I-G. This is the ultimate sports lens: the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM. Optically it’s just about perfect, and the only downside is the fact that it’s so heavy – you’ll need to spend some time in the gym if you want to use this one hand-held!
 18 Feb 2010 - Even more new technology this week. This is the new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM which showcases Canon's new 'hybrid' Image Stabilization technology. It's supposed to be much more effective at macro distances than 'conventional' IS. Anybody fancy putting that to the test?
16 Feb 2010 - Another big milestone for us today. We acquired our 3,000th customer. It’s taken a little over 6 months to get from 2,000 to 3,000, which is a bit slower than the time taken to get from 1,000 to 2,000, but we’ve been finding that business is definitely a bit slower over the winter months than the summer. Hopefully it won’t take us so long to get to 4,000…..
8 Feb 2010 - Yet another new lens. This is the amazing Nikon AF DC 135mm f/2 D which sports Nikon's unique 'defocus control' technology. It allows you to alter the foreground or background bokeh, and in the right hands it's probably an amazing portrait lens. Unfortunately, none of us in the office are really portrait types - landscapes, sports, food, but not portraits - so we'll be waiting eagerly to find out what our customers make of it.
 25 Jan 2010 - We've got another new lens. This is the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and our first impressions are that it's a very nice all-in-one lens. We bought it for a customer who wanted to try it, and we think he's going to be very happy.
15-17 Jan 2010 - We will be exhibiting at our first trade show this weekend - the SWPP convention at the Novotel in Hammersmith. We'll be dishing out some special offers to everyone who visits us - we'll be at stand 225 on the lower floor.
10 Jan 2010 - Today we've implemented a major change to the way we handle insurance premiums.
We still include comprehensive insurance in our prices by default. But we've moved away from the rather clumsy £X-per-week approach which required customers to tell us how long they wanted their lens hire to be AND tell us how long they needed insurance cover. Now it just works the way it should have done in the first place!
If you DON'T need insurance, the way to achieve this is to input the discount code NO-INS at the checkout. This will reduce your hire prices by 10%.
 12 Nov 2009 - Lenses For Hire Ltd is two years old today! And to celebrate we’ve added another new lens to our range. We’ve got a few examples of the new-ish Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED.
9 Nov 2009 - We’ve devised another improvement to the web site, which we’ll be rolling out over the next few days. The new feature is to show an availability calendar for each lens. This is automatically updated in real time every time an order is accepted. Here's an example of what it looks like - this one is for the Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM:
 19 Sep 2009 - Another couple of new lenses this week. Firstly, we’ve never been entirely happy with the range of Nikon telephoto lenses that we’ve had to offer – there just don’t seem to be as many options as with Canon – so we’ve decided to augment our range with the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR. And we’ve also fleshed out our collection of tilt-shift lenses by getting hold of a Nikon PC-E 85mm f/2.8 D.
If we’ve counted correctly, that’s now 75 different lenses we stock – 42 for Canon cameras and 33 for Nikon.
5 Aug 2009 - Another big milestone for us today. We acquired our 2,000th customer. And only 5 months after the 1,000th, whereas the first 1,000 took 14 months. If you’d offered us those numbers when we started the business, we’d have bitten your hand off!
 5 Aug 2009 - Another new lens – the last one of our major summer spending spree – and it’s absolutely awesome. We are seriously impressed with this one. It’s the Nikon AF-S 200-400mm f/4 G IF-ED VR. Certainly one to make the Canon shooters envious!
We now have 250 lenses in stock.
31 Jul 2009 - We've rolled out a big change to the way we show the availability of our lenses this week. We now have a LIVE AVAILABILITY CHART. Comments and suggestions welcome.
31 Jul 2009 - Surprise surprise, we've got yet another new lens. This one is actually owned by a professional photographer who works with us from time to time, and he's happy for us to hire it out when he's not using it. It's the Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8 D IF-ED. It's the older non-VR version of this lens, but from what we can see the lack of VR doesn't really hinder its usefulness very much. Obviously a lens like this benefits from a monopod or tripod, but if you do use it handheld the weight sort of dampens out camera shake; it seems to be more stable than a lighter lens.
8 Jul 2009 - We’ve acquired a few more lenses. First up is the Sigma APO 150mm f/2.8 Macro EX DG HSM again, this time for Canon users. And next we have the Sigma APO 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM, aka 'Bigma', available in both Canon and Nikon mounts.
17 May 2009 - We’ve got hold of another “Sigmonster” - Sigma APO 300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG HSM - and this one’s for Canon users.
24 Apr 2009 - And another new macro lens. A customer asked for this one, and it fits nicely into our product range, so why not? It’s the Sigma APO 150mm f/2.8 Macro EX DG HSM, for Nikon users. (Canon users can play with the Canon 180mm macro – see below.)
16 Apr 2009 - We've been concerned that we don't have many fast primes for Nikon users, so this Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM will go some way towards redressing the balance. We bought this in preference to the new AF-S Nikon version because it's a better performer wide open.
14 Apr 2009 - Time to announce results of the post-Easter customer appreciation sweepstakes. And it’s a dead-heat between these two customers:
 
31 Mar 2009 - It’s bigger than you think it is, even after we’ve warned you that it’s bigger than you think it is. Yes, it’s the Sigma APO 300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG HSM, affectionately known as the “Sigmonster”. Available for Nikon users now!
This brings our total range to 65 different lenses, which we think makes this the widest range of DSLR lenses available for hire in the UK.
5 Mar 2009 - Another huge milestone for us today. We acquired our 1,000th customer. Many thanks to all of you.
18 Feb 2009 - Another new lens. This is the Holy Grail of macro nature photographers, the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L macro USM.
17 Feb 2009 - We thought it was about time we stocked the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, because the Nikon equivalent has been so popular. So now we do.
29 Jan 2009 - Fancy a bash at extreme macro? Our newest arrival is the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro. Totally unique and totally bonkers.
6 Jan 2009 - We have a new favourite customer, and a handy little tip for all our other customers. If we want to be assured of absolute top priority treatment, simply enclose something like this when you send back your lens!
16 Dec 2008 - An interesting little milestone was reached today. We’ve just commissioned our new Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8 (which we bought because a customer asked us to) and we found that this brings our total stock to exactly 150 lenses.
10 Dec 2008 - Our Nikon version of the Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM circular fisheye has now arrived.
2 Dec 2008 - Yet another new lens. We now stock the Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM circular fisheye. This one is only for Canon cameras but we also have a Nikon version on the way. And yes, that’s not a typo. It really does have a focal length of 4.5mm!
1 Dec 2008 - Everybody seems to be having Christmas sales at the moment, and we didn’t want to feel left out. So, for the whole of December, we’ll be offering 10% off the marked price of all lens hires. It doesn't matter which lens, how long you want it for, or when you want it. (Remember you can book in advance.)
You don't need to do anything to receive this discount. It will be applied automatically at the checkout.
1 Dec 2008 - VAT rates have been (temporarily) reduced today, from 17.5% to 15%, in order to stimulate the economy. It would be very easy for us to do nothing to our prices and thereby collect an extra 2.5% profit. But that doesn’t seem right. So we’ve reduced the prices of every single one of our lenses. We’re doing our bit to stimulate the economy - now you need to do your bit too, by hiring from us!
28 Nov 2008 - The other day a customer asked us if we offered discounts on multi-lens hires. At first we thought no, our prices are low enough already. But then we thought what the heck, Christmas is approaching, it’s the season for good will to all men and all that, and we’re still feeling good about our 1,000th order. So we’ve programmed the web site to give a discount of 5% on all orders containing 3 or more lenses. No codes or coupons needed.
26 Nov 2008 - A huge milestone for us today. We took our 1,000th order. Many thanks to all our customers who have made this possible. It seems like we’ve come a long way since January.
24 Nov 2008 - Yet another new lens. This time it’s the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye.
12 Nov 2008 - Today is the first anniversary of the registration of Lenses For Hire Ltd, and we thought it's probably a good time to look at our pricing structure. Lots of things have happened since we started up.
Anyway, the good news for our customers is that we've been able to reduce the prices of some of our big lenses quite significantly – for example a week's hire of the Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS or the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8 VR is now only £104 (including VAT but not insurance or delivery). We've also been able to reduce the prices for longer hires too; the costs for extra days have come done by broadly 20% across our entire range.
To be honest, though – we think you'd expect us to – there is a small downside. When we looked at the numbers we realised that we weren't actually making any money on some of the shorter hires of cheaper lenses. (You'll appreciate that most of our costs are independent of the value of the lens or the length of hire.) So unfortunately we've tweaked some of those prices up. But usually only by a few pounds, and we think our rates are still pretty competitive. As we grow and are able to invest in better systems and streamlined processes, we'll keep this under review and hope to be able to reduce prices in the future.
If you have any views on this, do please feel free to let us know.
10 Nov 2008 - Two more new lenses. Not very glamorous ones this time, though. We were amazed to find out that the Nikon version of the Sigma APO 120-300mm f/2.8 wasn't compatible with Nikon teleconverters, and we've heard that this lens actually works pretty well with teleconverters, so we went out and got a couple of the Sigma ones – the APO 1.4x EX DG and the APO 2x EX DG.
29 Oct 2008 - Two more new lenses. We've got hold of the Sigma 12-24mm EX DG zoom in both Canon and Nikon mounts. This is one for real wide-angle junkies - it's the widest non-fisheye lens available for full-frame cameras.
16 Oct 2008 - Yet another new lens. A customer asked us to get the Canon 70-300mm DO IS. Very distinctive with its green ring and surprisingly short for a zoom of this range, it's reckoned to be a great travel lens.
6 Oct 2008 - Our latest addition to the range, again at the specific request of a customer, is the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for Nikon. It's a decent affordable alternative to the much more expensive Nikon equivalent.
2 Oct 2008 - Another new lens! This time it's the Nikon PC-E 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift lens. Now Nikon owners can have the opportunity to get headaches working out how to use this, just as Canon owners have been able to for much of the year.
8 Aug 2008 - Our latest addition to the range is the Canon 14mm f/2.8 L II. It's pricey, but that's perhaps not too surprising – there’s really nothing else this wide and this sharp for Canon users. It brings the total number of different lenses we offer to 50 - the widest selection available online in the UK, we believe.
3 Aug 2008 - Now that we’ve got a few months of trading history behind us, we’ve been able to negotiate some reduced delivery prices with our couriers. For lenses which weigh up to 5kg - i.e. everything smaller than a 300mm f/2.8 - it now costs £9.00 to have a lens delivered (previously £10.50), and £30.00 to have it delivered and then collected (previously £33.00). Larger lenses are a little more expensive but their prices have also come down, by the same amount.
29 Jul 2008 - Another interesting little milestone was passed today. We just ordered a new lens because a customer wants to hire it for 2 weeks, and he gave us 2 weeks notice. (Yes, we'll do that if you really really want a lens we haven't got.) The milestone is that it seems we’ve now spent £10,000 buying lenses specifically because customers requested them. Are we mad?
23 Jul 2008 - Now Nikon users can also go fishing, if they want. Our latest addition is the Nikon 16mm fisheye. It’s not quite as “fishy” as the Sigma 8mm we have for Canon users, but it’s by no means an ordinary lens.
2 Jul 2008 - An interesting little milestone was passed today. We took delivery of another batch of lenses, which brings our total stock to over 100. And to think we only had 35 when we started out, just 5 months ago. This delivery included a couple more copies of the amazingly popular Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS – we now have fifteen copies of this lens!
11 Jun 2008 - We read somewhere that fishing is the UK's most popular 'participation sport', so now you can join in too. Or at least you can if you’re a Canon user. Our latest addition is the Sigma 8mm circular fisheye. Great fun if you can get the hang of it.
10 Jun 2008 - If Nikon users want to go w-i-i-i-de, well now they can too? Our latest addition is the Sigma 10-20mm ultra-wide-angle zoom.
5 Jun 2008 - Courtesy of Maidenhead Camera Club, we’ve got our hands on a huge video tripod. It's old, and it doesn’t offer the same kind of technology that you’d find on a modern Manfrotto tripod, but incredibly sturdy and solidly built. 50% of the hire income from this tripod will go to Maidenhead CC.
7 May 2008 - More good news on the insurance front. Our insurers have agreed to upgrade the insurance that our customers can purchase, so that it covers loss and theft as well as accidental damage. And at no extra cost!
26 Apr 2008 - We've been umming and ahhing about filters for a while, but we think we've got a way forward. The easy decision is polarising filters - we'll be offering them with all our lenses very soon now, just as soon as we can get the packaging issues sorted out. We weren't so sure about protective filters though - some people prefer to use them and some don't - but after having a couple of scares with minor damage to the front elements of our lenses we've decided to include them as standard with all our lenses. That will take a little while, as we have a lot of filters to buy, but we'll be rolling them out as soon as we can.
25 Apr 2008 - We took delivery of our first main batch of Nikon lenses today, including some absolute gems such as the AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8 and the AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8.
14 Apr 2008 - It's NIKON time!!! We've convinced ourselves that our basic operating model is sound enough, so we've decided to diversify into Nikon lenses to complement our Canon range. They'll be appearing on the web site in dribs and drabs over the next couple of weeks.
26 Mar 2008 - Another new addition - the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8. The favourite lens of UK motorsport photographers, amongst others.
25 Mar 2008 - Put those eyeballs back in your head! Our latest addition is the legendary EF 200mm f/1.8L - simply the best SLR lens ever made, full stop. As far as we know, we're the only internet-based lens hire shop in the world to offer this beauty...
24 Mar 2008 - We've finally got a proper solution to the insurance issue! We've teamed up with a specialist insurer - Imaging Insurance - to allow you to insure the lenses you hire, directly from the LensesForHire web site. This covers you for any accidental damage that might occur whilst a lens is on hire, but for reasons which should be obvious it can't cover against loss or theft.
1 Mar 2008 - Want to go w-i-i-i-de? Our latest addition is the EF-S 10-22mm ultra-wide-angle zoom.
8 Feb 2008 - We can now deliver to Northern Ireland and the Isle Of Man. Delivery costs are a bit complicated, but we’re looking for ways to make them a bit simpler.
8 Feb 2008 - We have a (partial) solution for the insurance issue. We’ve found an insurer who will cover hired equipment, and it’s not very expensive. It's not a perfect solution, to be sure, and we're still looking for a way to be able to offer customers insurance directly from the LensesForHire web site. But hopefully this is better than nothing.
29 Jan 2008 - We've worked out how to deliver to BFPO addresses overseas. It's not straightforward and there are some restrictions, but we can do it.
28 Jan 2008 - We've bought a TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L tilt-shift lens, specifically so that a customer who requested it can hire it. Yes, really. We'll do that if you really really want a lens we haven't got.
23 Jan 2008 - Our first customer, just a few hours after the site went live. That was quick. Obviously somebody's been practising 'Fastest Finger First'!
22 Jan 2008 - LensesForHire opens for business. Our stock includes 35 copies of 23 different Canon lenses, from the EF 85mm f/1.8 at the inexpensive end of the range to the EF 500mm f/4 L IS at the expensive end. We wanted to get an EF 1200m f/5.6 L, but when we searched under the sofa cushions we only found £1.73 - a little matter of £49,998.27 short.
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