A new company is changing the way photographers, videographers, and even drone enthusiasts look at gear rental. KitSplit, considered the Airbnb of the photography industry by Forbes, is expanding their peer-to-peer rentals to the Philadelphia, Boston, and greater Washington DC area after a successful launch in New York City.
KitSplit allows photographers to rent gear from other photographers, while taking care of the logistics like insurance. Founded by a group of photographers and videographers in New York, the platform has gained about 5,000 members after only about a year.
“We’ve had an amazing response in these new cities,” KitSplit said in their expansion announcement. “We already have millions of dollars worth of gear, and hundreds of members in these new spots, joining over $40 million dollars of gear and 5,000 members already on KitSplit.”
According to the KitSplit website, a photographer with $20,000 worth of gear could earn $22,464 a year just by renting out gear for three days a month.
Along with finding a way for photographers to earn some extra cash without worrying about insuring their gear to renters, KitSplit aims for a more competitive pricing model than traditional gear rental companies. A Freedom 360 GoPro VR kit is $350 a day, the Sony a7S II just $100 a day, for example.
KitSplit also offers more than cameras and lenses — including drones, follow focus kits, microphones, computers, and even cables and batteries. Lighting gear from flashes to strobes and accessories are also available for rent. Virtual-reality videographers can find a pretty good selection too, from multi-camera rigs and processing stations to VR headsets. Live-streaming gear is also available through KitSplit.
While the gear rentals are currently only available in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington DC, photographers worldwide can register their gear — according to its website, KitSplit uses those registrations to determine where to expand to next.
