Advice on X2D100c rental and purchase in the UK

[Ian Piper]

Hello everyone,

I am considering buying a Hasselblad X2D 100c. I would ideally like to try one out before making the final decision. Can anyone suggest a dealer in the UK from which I could rent one for a day or so? I have found one website: https://www.procentre.co.uk/rental-cameras-hasselblad.php; it would be good to know whether others have used this or other rental places. I am located in Warwickshire.

I would also welcome suggestions for UK dealers. This purchase would comfortably exceed several-fold what I have previously spent on photo equipment, so peace of mind and a reliable supplier is very important.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Ian.
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[Pablo14]

Hi Ian

I think Pro Centre is the only place to rent Hasselblad equipment in the UK. To be confirmed as maybe I got that wrong.

Definitely worth a try. Living in London I have been to their place and can recommend.

They do good very good deal over the week-end if you are in London in particular: if you rent on a Thursday evening (before they close at 6pm) and bring the equipment on a Monday morning (before 10am), they will charge only 1 day rent (ie Friday) as they are closed over the w/e.

Definitely a good idea to try the X2D before buying it as, while a wonderful camera and system, it is not for all uses and types of photography.

There are many online UK camera dealers and you can't go wrong with the big names. They all have good customer service.

[Andy Miller Photo UK]

For Rental YES the Pro Centre in East London (https://www.procentre.co.uk/rental-cameras-hasselblad.php) and also go to Wex Rental -- https://rental.wexphotovideo.com/hire-hasselblad-x2d-100c-medium-format-digital-camera-body-2947.
They deliver or you can collect - 13 locations across UK the main branch is Fixation in Vauxhall (London).
BUT you may struggle to get lenses from WEX - worth giving them a call

Where to buy -- there are lots of choices - I have bought most of my X bodies and lenses from Parks at Burges Hill. But all my H system from the Pro Centre.

The Pro Centre has a deal "Pro Centre is a Hasselblad dealer, so you can 'try before you buy' if we have the item you're considering in our hire stock. We will refund a day's rental charge if you subsequently buy that item (if over £500 in value) within 30 days of the hire."

[Ian Piper]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I'll check out the Pro Centre. I normally buy my kit from Wex but I would prefer to buy from stock rather than wait for them to order it. And it looks like there is no difference in prices for any vendor. And if Pro Centre pays back the rental cost if you buy then that's a bonus.

Thanks again.

[PatrickM]

Avoid Wex rentals. I used to have a z6 but needed a z7 for a project of mine. Wex wanted a deposit of £3400 while new a z7 was £2400 on their website. They couldn't explain the difference, but repeated the deposit was the cost of a new camera. Needless to say they don't get much of my business anywmore...after 10+ years as a customer. There's no such thing as loyalty these days eh?