Canon Dominated Gear Rentals in 2020 — Again

Canon Dominated Gear Rentals in 2020 — Again

Each December, LensRentals releases its list of the year’s most-rented equipment and it’s evident that change might be coming but it is taking its time. Canon dominated 2020 — and so did its DSLRs.

The top spots over the last five years haven't changed, with the most popular camera body being the Canon 5D Mark IV and the most-rented lens being Canon’s 24-70mm f/2.8L II — just as they were in 2018 and 2019.

The Sony a7 III continues to be a popular choice, offering a lot of versatility while also being 15% cheaper than the 5D Mark IV.  Change is coming however: mirrorless cameras saw a marked increase while DSLRs noted a significant drop.

Canon’s new full frame beasts, the R5 and R6, don’t make an appearance in the top 20 having only been released in the last couple of months and, as LensRentals notes, they’ve proven tricky to track down. With more of them now available, Canon’s RF lenses more than tripled its share of the rentals, while the proportion of EF glass dropped off.

Nikon Z’s share remained consistent but Nikon F fell considerably, down from 17.99% share to 16.24% — a change of almost 10%. This might not be a good sign given that Nikon is thought to have plans for two more DSLRs in 2021.

LensRentals makes two other interesting observations: the top 20 doesn’t feature any newly-released equipment, and fewer people seemed interested in renting Sony’s video lenses. 

Be sure to check out the full list here and let us know in the comments below what other trends you think have emerged.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

Log in or register to post comments
1 Comment

I think your Nikon numbers are a bit off!