The kit rental market was a tough place to be once again in 2025. But, for many, an upswing in production is leading to cautious optimism for the rest of 2026 and beyond
The camera rental sector has been under pressure for the past several years with many long-standing companies falling by the wayside. Despite the casualties, many think the market is still over supplied.
When asked, 40% of camera hire companies responding to our survey said there is still over supply in the market. Only 25% felt that demand had increased and conditions had improved.
Films at 59 notes that after the post-Covid boom, “we are seeing a vacuum of work after that bubble burst, but with still a lot more companies out there so competition is super tough with some companies having a much greater financial resource. This all adds up to a very competitive market.”
New Day Pictures says that while production levels are slowly improving, “the market remains structurally oversupplied, particularly in core camera inventory.”
The Kit Room adds that while business is “definitely more positive” than last year “the industry is still not firing on all cylinders. The sad demise of so many hire companies over the last two years has underlined the vulnerability of the sector. It’s made us think much more carefully about our investment decisions while also looking to diversify our range to appeal to new markets.”
Like many supplying the production market, costs have risen, but prices remain unchanged. When asked to compare prices two years ago to today’s, 52% said that hire pricing is “generally lower” with only 29% saying it was “slightly higher.”
CameraOne notes that “pricing is still far too low in general.” S+O says that “general rental prices have not kept pace with inflation” while “rental companies are still struggling with increased costs of labour and resources, lower production budgets and increased competition for work from owner operators and other hire companies.”
Many complain that the industry is running a race to the bottom. As one puts it “too many companies are renting kit out for FA to pay the finance companies.” Another says, “the rental industry stills feels like it’s in a race to the bottom – prices are generally unchanged or lower than previous years despite all overheads increasing significantly.” Another hire company comments, “TV generally is in the doldrums so prices cannot be increased too much as there are too many companies willing to undercut just to get their kit hired out.”…
At the beginning of the year, Televisual sent survey forms to a wide range of camera hire companies. Each was asked to list their five most rented cameras of 2025, along with the percentage of hires each model received. An overall ranking of the most rented models was then created by multiplying the average percentage usage of each model by how many hire companies listed it in their top five.
Jon Creamer
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