FAQ (General)
- Reservations
- First-time renters
- Is a deposit required?
- Terms and Conditions
FAQ (Equipment rental)
- When does my rental period begin and end?
- Can I extend my rental?
- I have an important shoot...
- Delivery and pick-up service
- Damage insurance
- Equipment
- Can I take the equipment out of Singapore?
- Will you match a competitor’s price?
- You don’t carry the equipment I need
- Do you ship outside Singapore?
FAQ (Studio rental)
- Studio slots
- Is a deposit required?
- Can I extend my studio rental?
- Studio equipment
- Rental of additional equipment
- Do you provide make-up artists, models, photographers?
- More information
Reservations
You can reserve any equipment from us in three easy steps:
Step 1: Visit our website and look for the equipment you need.
Step 2: Contact us (call/sms: 9650 4158, e-mail: info@camerarental.biz) to reserve.
Step 3: Collect the equipment at our premise, or have them delivered to your doorstep.
Note: Enquiry of equipment availability and request for quotation does not constitute
a reservation of equipment. We require your details before we can put your reservation into
our booking system. Once reserved, we will confirm your booking by phone, sms or email.
First-time renters
If you are renting from us for the first time, we will require some documents from you to
verify your details, before we can issue any equipment to you. The documents required depends
on your residency status in Singapore, and can include a combination of your NRIC/FIN/passport,
latest official bill addressed to you, your namecard, hotel billing and key etc. Please
contact us and we will be happy to advise you on what is required! On the day of collection,
remember to bring along your documents - without your documents, we will NOT be able to
issue the equipment to you.
Is a deposit required?
We do not typically require a deposit for rental. However, we may request for a deposit
or a guarantor depending on your residency status and the value of the equipment. During
your enquiry, we will notify you of the requirements in advance of your collection.
Terms and Conditions
You can review the full terms and conditions here. It's long, but it's there to ensure that
the rental experience will be a pleasant one for both you and us.
When does my rental period begin and end?
We generally allow collection of equipment one day before your shoot, and return of equipment
one day after your shoot. For example, if you have a shoot on Saturday and Sunday, you can
collect on Friday between 4-7pm, and return on Monday before 1.30pm. Of course if you want
to return the equipment earlier, say on Sunday evening, that’s perfectly fine with us! The
rental charge will be for 2 days in either case.
If you are around the area and like to have an earlier collection during your lunchtime,
do give us a call to check if the items are ready. If they are, we will be more than happy
to release the items to you at no extra charge. Just our way of making rentals more convenient
for you.
*Please note: Typical Weekday collection is 4-7pm. Weekend collection is 3-5pm.
Can I extend my rental?
As long as we have stock available, and the equipment you are holding is not expected to
go out to another client, we are more than happy to extend your rental. Do let us know one
day in advance of your return date if you like to extend, so that we can make the necessary
arrangements. The earlier you inform us, the better we can find alternatives for the next
client and the more likely your equipment can be extended.
Extension charge is based on your entire rental period. For example if you have originally
rented for 3 days and would like to extend for 2 more days, the extension charge will be
a 5-day charge minus a 3-day charge. The extension charge is payable when you return the
equipment.
If at any time an extension is turned down and you do not contact us or return your equipment
to us before the due date, we will have to turn your account over to debt collectors. There
will be a collection fee imposed which comprise the retail cost of the equipment plus collection’s
and attorney’s fees and opportunity cost at non discounted rates. All fees are chargeable
even if you return the equipment to us at a later date, as we cannot reverse the process.
I have an important shoot...
If your shoot is really important, i.e. you can’t afford to receive your equipment late,
or have the equipment fail on you, or face compatibility issues between your equipment and
ours (e.g. your lens don’t work on our camera body), then we urge you to consider the following:
-
Collect in advance: Tell us your ACTUAL Shooting Date. We advocate collection the day
before your shoot for good reasons. One, to ensure you get your equipment for your shoot
(i.e. There have been cases where clients try to save money by saying their shoot is only
on Sunday when it is also on Saturday at 3pm. Then attempt to collect at 2pm and rush to
their shoot. Only to have that plan screwed up as the equipment is reserved for them to
be collected only at 4pm and only available then.) Two, so that you can test the equipment,
get familiar with the knobs and buttons, and be absolutely prepared for your shoot. If you
intend to run straight from our rental office to your shooting event, we cannot be liable
for any rental delays, equipment failures, or equipment compatibility issues that may affect
your shoot. Please make full use of the FREE buffer period that we provide to familiarise
yourself with the equipment.
-
Test, test and test: We cannot emphasise enough that you should fully understand the
equipment before you go for your shoot. We have too many anxious clients who ring us for
technical help while they are on assignment. While we would like to help, our experience
tells us that this is extremely difficult over the phone - especially when the user is already
on the panic button! Take your time to familiarise with the equipment, and then test it
some more before you go for your shoot.
-
Have a backup: We try our best to maintain our equipment in the best condition, but we
cannot guarantee 100% that our equipment will never fail. Even a brand new equipment out
of the Nikon or Canon wrapper may fail on their first day of use - electronics are electronics
after all. If you are covering an important moment, say a wedding kiss, a once-in-a-lifetime
lunar eclipse, a return mission from Mars, please have a contingency plan – bring/rent a
backup camera! Canon or Nikon cannot help you when your equipment fails in times like that,
and neither can we. In fact, many serious photographers rent equipment from us as backups
for their own gears!
In short, be well prepared for your shoot. Canon/Nikon/Sony won’t put themselves liable
for any shots you missed, neither will we.
Delivery and pick-up service
We provide delivery and pick-up service anywhere on mainland Singapore during the following hours:
- 10:00 - 22:00 Monday - Saturday
- 13:00 - 22:00 Sunday
Delivery charges
Normal delivery / pick up charge is at $10 per trip (for equipment weighing 10Kg and below),
and no minimum order is required. Do inform us 24 hours in advance if you require this service.
As we usually have a very tight delivery schedule, we may not be able to cater to shorter
notices. Delivery / pick up with shorter than 24 hours notice are chargeable at $20 per
trip.
Note: 1) An additional $5 is chargeable for delivery / pick up at Sentosa and Jurong Island.
2) Delivery charges do not include the setting up, installation or dismantling of equipment
(additional charges apply). 3) Total equipment weight exceeding 10Kg will incur an additional
charge of $10 per trip (e.g. a 20kg delivery with more than 24 hours notification will be
$20 instead of the usual $10).
Location
We service only addresses that are specific, and accessible by van. We will deliver and
pick up from home and office addresses, and from prominent events or functions. We will
not deliver or pick up from public areas such as void decks, MRT stations or carparks. Also,
we need to meet you in person to deliver the equipment to you and have your signature. Nothing
can be left on the porch, behind the door, etc.
Timing
Do let us know if you have a preferred time of delivery or pick up. We will endeavour to
reach you at, or if not possible, within 1 hour of your requested time. Unfortunately, we
cannot guarantee on-the-minute delivery/pick up due to the unpredictable nature of traffic
conditions and delivery schedule. Our delivery personnel will give you a call about 30 minutes
before arrival to confirm delivery. If you are not present within 10 minutes of our arrival,
we will consider this a no-show. This trip - and any subsequent trips we make - is chargeable
at normal rates.
Contact
We will require you to provide a contact number that we can reach you on the day of delivery
/ pick up. If we are unable to contact you on the day, we will not make the delivery. We
will also require you to be contactable at all times – especially around the time of our
arrival - in case we need to inform you of traffic delays or clarify your exact location,
or for other emergencies.
Payment of rent
Rent is payable in CASH to the delivery personnel upon delivery of equipment. Equipment
will not be released if payment is not received in full. Cheques, NETS, credit card and
other forms of payment are NOT accepted for delivery.
Return of equipment
All equipment should be kept and packed in the same way as they have been received when
our delivery personnel pick up the equipment from you. Equipment returned through our pick
up service is only deemed to be in satisfactory condition after the returned equipment arrives
at our rental office and are checked by our office staff.
First time renting
If you are renting from us for the first time and require a delivery, we will require that
you email us a scanned front and back copy of your IC and latest phone bill or bank statement
before we can deliver the items to you. We will only deliver to the address stated in both
your IC and your bill.
Additional note
If an equipment is scheduled for return at 1.30pm and you require a pick up service, please
inform us no later than 11am on the same day. We will unlikely be able to reach you in time
if you inform us any later than 11am, and you may either have to make a trip to our office
before 1.30pm to return the equipment, or have us pick up the equipment from you at a later
time – with an extension charge.
Damage insurance
Equipment
Is the equipment in good condition?
Before and after each rental we check each lens visually, test it for focus and sharpness,
and take pictures with it. We guarantee the glass is clear, the lens works normally, the
pictures it takes are sharp. We also check each camera body to ensure that the sensor is
clean and the buttons are fully functional. Our equipment are used regularly so there will
probably be some scuff marks on the surface of the equipment, etc. There may be some internal
dust in the lenses and in viewfinders of the cameras. This is common and will not affect
the quality of your shoot. If there is any effect on image quality, the equipment goes off
for servicing, otherwise it remains in service.
What if I think there is something wrong with the equipment that I have just rented?
Give us a call (during office hours) or sms us (after hours), let us help you check the
equipment. Most of the time, the “problem” turns out to be a case of wrong equipment settings,
weak battery, or user error.
That being said, there are the rare occasions when an equipment genuinely fails. Electronics
are electronics after all. If this happens we will replace it immediately within the limitations
of our stock. If time constraints prevent us from getting a replacement to you, we will
refund the prorated rental price to you when you return the equipment. By renting, you agree
that if you don’t notify us of a problem during the rental period and receive an sms or
email acknowledgment from us, we are not responsible for replacing or refunding the equipment.
If you rented the wrong item, we will work with you to get you something more suitable,
but we will not be able to give you a refund.
What if I damage the equipment?
Let us know immediately, and return the equipment to us so that we can assess the damage.
Please do not attempt to repair the item yourself or send in for repair. If repair is required,
we will require a $200 deposit upon its return. The final repair cost will be charged based
on the cost advised by the service centre. If it is not repairable, we’ll charge you the
cost of a used equipment of comparable quality. In either case, we will not charge you rental
while the equipment is out of service – unless you decide to repair or replace the equipment
on your own.
What constitutes a damage?
Any major scratches or scuff marks on the glass of a lens, impact damage to the body or
the mechanicals, water or moisture damage. Minor scuff marks to the barrel or hood of lenses
and body of cameras are considered normal use, not damage. We have included a UV filter
(except those that do not have filter threads) and a lens hood (where available) for all
our lenses as they serve two important protective functions – to cushion the lens against
knocks and falls, and to minimise accidental scratching of the glass. Our clients often
tell us how the filters and the lens hoods have saved their lenses – so our advice to you
is to leave them on the lens as far as possible.
Can I take the equipment out of Singapore?
Yes. In fact, we encourage you capture the best corners of the globe. All we request of
you is to take good care of the equipment, and return them the same way they left our office.
Will you match a competitor’s price?
We will not match a competitor’s price. To be blunt, there’s lots of ways to cut corners
in the rental business. We choose not to cut corners, which may make us occasionally a bit
more expensive. Why do we say that?
- We are a fairly large, full-time business that keeps technical and customer support staff
in the office every weekday and weekend. This means we have dedicated staff whose sole responsibility
is to maintain our equipment in tip top condition, attend to your technical queries, or
assist you at our counters. You can be assured that you are getting the most reliable equipment
and best service in the industry. For this reason, we can’t match prices with somebody who
runs their rental business after they get off their day job.
- We maintain the largest inventory in town, and hold multiple copies of most items. This
means that we are well prepared for unforeseen circumstances, such as when a particular
item you have reserved needs to be sent for immediate servicing. We maintain a comfortable
buffer so that will still be able to provide you with the equipment that you have asked
for. We are obsessed with this, just so that you will never be disappointed!
- We own 99% of all equipment that we rent out. We are therefore as concerned about the wellbeing
of our equipment as any owner will be. Before we put any equipment up for rent, we will
thoroughly test our equipment, clean it, and ensure that we are comfortable with using it
ourselves, before we issue to you. We don’t rent other peoples unwanted equipment on “as
and when a client needs” consignment. We KNOW how good every one of our equipment is and
where it is.
- As far as possible, we offer the most reliable accessories to go with your equipment. For
example, we spend thousands of dollars on top-of-the-range B+W UV filters for our professional
lenses. We also issue original batteries rather than cheaper 3rd party ones to go with our
mid to high end camera bodies. We will never compromise your shoot as long as it is within
our means.
If you want a common lens to try for a day or two, and quality isn’t too critical, you may
find it a few dollars cheaper at another rental house, and we welcome the competition. If
you want to know that the equipment has been thoroughly cleaned (i.e. where humanly accessible
without dismantling the camera or lens) and tested before it is handed to you, that there
are people who answer your questions the minute you call in during the day, that you’re
doing professional work and need to know you can order 5 different items for your shoot
and they’re all available, that replacement equipment is on hand if you have a problem,
then we are probably the right place.
You don’t carry the equipment I need
Do contact anyway! We are constantly adding new equipment, and if we have two or three requests
for an item, we’re likely to add it. Also if you want an item for an extended period, we
will almost certainly be able to accommodate you.
Do you ship outside Singapore?
We do not ship outside Singapore. You will either have to drop by our office for collection,
or have a local address for us to deliver.
Studio slots
Our studio is open from 10am to 10pm daily. The minimum period of rent is 2 hours, and the latest start time is 7pm.
In addition, we provide a buffer of 15 mins before and after your designated slot. For example
if your booking is for 4-6pm, the studio will be ready for your use at 3.45pm, and we will
appreciate if you can leave the studio by 6.15pm.
Can I extend my studio rental?
You can extend the use of the studio as long as it is available. Do give us a call before
the end of your session to inform us of your intention. We will check on the availability
and advise you accordingly. The charges for extension are as per normal rates.
Studio equipment
What equipment comes with the studio?
If you are renting our studio, you will have the free use of a suit of studio equipment
and accessories, including 3 sets of strobes, strobe modifiers, strobe triggers, backdrops,
reflectors and studio props. Our studio also comes with a changing area, a makeup table,
and of course a lounge where one can relax while the shoot goes on. Details of the equipment
and facilities in our studio are available here (http://sg.camerarental.biz/Studio/StudioRental.aspx).
Is the equipment in good condition?
Before and after each studio session, we will check all our equipment to ensure that they
are in working condition and that the settings are reset to default. Our backdrops are used
by the previous client, so naturally there will be some crease and soil marks. However,
these marks should be very minimal, and should not affect your image. And if they do, we
will gladly change a new one for you. Each reel of backdrop cost more than a 2-hour studio
session, so we urge all users to take good care of the backdrops, e.g. taping the base of
the shoes before stepping on the backdrop (we will provide the tape), and releasing and
winding the backdrop with care.
What if I think there is something wrong with the equipment in the studio?
Give us a call and we will come by to help you check the equipment. We also have spare equipment
on standby, so be assured that your shoot will not be disrupted even if any equipment should
fail (extremely rare by the way, and that’s from our 4 years of experience!).
Rental of additional equipment
If you require additional equipment for your studio shoot on top of our standard studio
setup, say a camera, a lens, or an extra strobe or trigger, we will be happy to provide
that at a 40% discount off the usual rate. Let us know your requirements in advance (preferably
when you book the studio) so that we can reserve the equipment and have them ready for you
when you arrive.
Do you provide make-up artists, models, photographers?
We do not provide wet hires, but will be happy to refer you to people in the industry who
provide these services. We will leave you to negotiate the price and services directly with
them.
More information about our studio, including price, equipment and reservation procedures,
can be found here (http://sg.camerarental.biz/Studio/StudioRental.aspx).