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 4-6.30pm, 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.

Please note that our typical weekday collection time is 4-6.30pm, while weekend collection is 2.30pm - 4.30pm. Equipment collected earlier than the typical collection timings are usually subjected to an additional day charge (unless collecting day of shoot).

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 at least 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 Sony 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 Sony 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. The equipment manufacturers won't put themselves liable for any shots you missed, neither will we.

No Show

We will advise the delivery / pick up time frame upon confirmation of your booking.If you are not present during the delivery/pick-up time frame, we will consider this a "No-show"; no refund will be allowed. Any subsequent re-delivery/pick-up arrangement will be chargeable at normal rates.

Delivery and pick-up service

We provide delivery and pick-up service anywhere on mainland Singapore.

Delivery charges

1) An additional $11 is chargeable for delivery / pick up to / from Sentosa Island, Jurong Island, and Marina Bay Sands.
2) Assembly and set up of equipment will not be provided.

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, carparks, Changi or Paya Lebar Airport, offshore islands and protected or military areas. Also, we need you to be contactable and present during the delivery time frame in order to deliver the equipment to you and have your signature. Nothing can be left on the porch, behind the door, etc.

No Show
We will advise the delivery / pick up time frame upon confirmation of your booking.If you are not present during the delivery/pick-up time frame, we will consider this a "No-show"; no refund will be allowed. Any subsequent re-delivery/pick-up arrangement will be chargeable at normal rates.

Payment of rental and delivery charges
Pre-payment (by the confirmation deadline) is required for all deliveries; we will not proceed unless the rental is made in full. Payment is via PayNow/ Bank Transfer Only.

Contact
We will require you to provide a contact number (preferably mobile number) that we can reach you on the day of the delivery/pick-up, in case we need to clarify your location, inform you of any possible delays or for other emergencies.

Return of equipment / Pick-up instructions
All equipment should be packed in the same way as they have been received when you pass the equipment to our courier personnel for pick-up. Do ensure that the correct postage label is visible (if applicable). Equipment that are returned via our pick-up service is only deemed to be in satisfactory condition after the equipment arrives at our office for checking.

First time renting
If this is your first time renting with us and you wish to arrange for a delivery, we will require you to register personally at our office before the deadline with your NRIC (Singaporean/Permanent Resident), or FIN card and Passport (Foreigners/ Permit Holders) and any latest utilities / credit card bill / bank statement / residential proof in Singapore which is addressed to you.

Additional note
If an equipment is scheduled for return at 1.30pm and you require a pick up service, please inform us the day before by 4pm. We will unlikely be able to schedule a pick up from you inform us any later than that, and you may either have to make a trip to our office to return the equipment, or have us pick up the equipment from you at a later time with an extension charge.

Insurance

We do not provide any insurance during the rental of our equipment. For peace of mind especially during overseas travels, you might want to get your travel insurance to sufficiently cover the rented equipment. Do take note that you are fully accountable for any loss or damage to the rented equipment.

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?

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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!
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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 weekdays from 9am to 9pm and weekends from 9am to 6pm. The minimum period of rent is 2 hours, and the latest start time is 7pm. Do note that our studios are unmanned from 7pm (weekdays) and 5pm (weekends) onwards and you will need to be proficient in handing the studio and its related equipment for a successful shoot.

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 4 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.

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, 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.

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 arrange the list for you. 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.