Lensrentals is the largest online rental provider for photography, videography and lighting equipment and accessories in the United States. At the end of each year, the company publishes details of the most rented cameras and lenses over the previous twelve months. We now have Lensrentals’ report for 2024.
The most popular photo and video gear in 2024
Top of the Lensrentals rentals for 2024 is the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L II zoom lens. This is a jump up from 6th place in last year’s charts. Despite the growth in mirrorless camera sales, it’s interesting that this is an EF mount lens. Canon also dominates the camera body choices with the EOS R5 (6th most popular), EOS R6 Mark II (7th) and 5D Mark IV (10th). The first Sony cameras in the chart were the Alpha 7SIII which was the 11th most popular rental, and the Cinema Line FX3 at 12th. In addition, the Sony FX6, which was the 5th most popular rented piece of kit in 2023, doesn’t even make the top 20 this year.
Most popular brands
Looking at the most popular brands rented from Lensrentals, Canon is again continuing to consolidate its lead. Its market share for 2024 was 25.68%, up from 23.96% last year. Sony products have also been in more demand, up to 20.4% from 19.15%. In addition, Nikon, DJI, Fuji, and Aputure have all seen double figure percentage increases in their rental figures at Lensrentals. However, it is important to note that these companies still only have market shares of 5% or less. RED is another big loser in the 2024 charts, with rentals down over 35%, accounting for only 1.18% of total rentals at Lensrentals.
Most popular lens brands
Canon’s dominance is even more apparent in the lens brand chart. The company has a 37.30% market share, up from 35.65% last year. Customers are renting more Sony lenses as well, up to 20.38% from 19.59% in 2023. Nikon’s increased popularity as a brand is also reflected by the figures for lens rentals. The company has captured a market share of 9.41%, an increase of 15.61% compared to last year. In addition, the award for the biggest growth in rentals goes to Venus Optics. The company has seen a jump of 30.36% in popularity, although this is against a market of 1.31%
Most popular lens mounts
Canon’s mirrorless RF mount tops the Lensrentals’ most popular lens mount chart. At 29.94% market share, the demand for RF mounts is up nearly 20% in 2023. Sony’s market share of 19.39% is also an increase from last year, but only by 3.76%. However, the biggest growth is yet again by Nikon, with Z Mount lens increases jumping by over 50% to a market share of 6.61%. The big losers in the lens mount market are Canon EF, almost 17% lower, and PL Mount lenses, where rentals are down by 33.25%.
What we think
It’s interesting that an EF lens was in more demand than any mirrorless mount choices. However, looking at the bigger picture, it’s clear that mirrorless cameras and lenses are increasingly in demand. It’s also obvious that Canon is continuing to dominate the photo and video world, at least for rentals. In addition, Lensrentals has offered some explanation for the drop in Sony FX6, RED camera and PL Mount rentals. The company says it has been a slow year for large productions with film and TV productions down nearly 40% in 2024. This is largely because Hollywood is still recovering from both the pandemic and labor union strikes
