Find out what this year’s top rented camera kit is in the USA

Lots of data flying about today, and one of the most interesting ones of any year is the Top Rented Photo and Video Products list that is produced by Memphis, Tennessee-based Lensrentals. The company is the largest online rental provider for photography, videography, and lighting equipment and accessories in the United States, so when it digs deep down into its data, you always get some interesting results about the market and who’s using what — and how much of it.

The complete analysis is over at the Top Rented Photo and Video Products of 2023 blog post and it makes for some very fascinating reading. Here’s the chart of the Most Popular Photography &Videography Gear of 2023.

As a caveat, it’s worth pointing out that Lensrentals typically calculates all this by revenue.  As they admit, that means that it takes a $40k cameras much less time to climb to the top of the chart than it does a $600 once. So, while they’re not releasing any numbers, thery have also come up with a popularity chart based on the absolute number of rentals alone. That gives us this:

Unsurprisingly, it’s the practical stuff that floats to the top: batteries, memory cards and the like, but Canon and Sony's dominance is as notable as it is absolute.

There’s more too. Lensrentals also looks at camera brand market share and lens brand market shares, as the following two tables illustrate.

And this is interesting too. Here’s the table of lenses rented by lens mount, which reveals that for all the noise and bluster surrounding it, L-Mount is still a very niche proposition.

Lastly, Lensrentals thoughtfully dived into the data and generated a couple of extra charts for us that look at high-end production. 

Top 10 Cinema Products by Revenue

1. Sony FX6 Full-Frame Cinema Camera
2. Canon EOS C70 Cinema Camera (RF)
3. Sony FX3 (Body Only)
4. Sony FX3 Full-Frame Cinema Camera Kit
5. Sony PXW-FX9 XDCAM 6K Full-Frame Camera
6. RED KOMODO 6K
7. Canon EOS R5 C Mirrorless Cinema Camera
8. Canon Cine-Servo 25-250mm T2.95 EF
9. Canon Cine-Servo 25-250mm T2.95 PL
10. DJI Ronin 4D 4-Axis Cinema Camera 6K Combo Kit

Top 10 Cinema Products by Rental

1. Sony FX3 (Body Only)
2. Canon EOS C70 Cinema Camera (RF)
3. Sony FX6 Full-Frame Cinema Camera
4. Sony FX3 Full-Frame Cinema Camera Kit
5. Impact 15-lb. Shot Bag*
6. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (EF)
7. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (EF)
8. Canon EOS R5 C Mirrorless Cinema Camera
9. Sony FX30 (Body Only)
10. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (MFT)
11. RED KOMODO 6K

* “Yes, this is a sandbag, and yes, we've had more than 1000 orders for it this year. And yes, it arrives fully weighted,” they tell us (which is why they went down to Number 11 and included the KOMODO as well.)

All of which says that if you really want to get ahead in the movie industry, get into sandbags…