The Most Popular Gear of 2019

As we enter 2020, we have once again drawn up a list of the most rented gear of 2019. Before I get to the numbers, the usual disclaimer: this is just data. This list only shows what was the most popular gear in 2019, among the customers we served. Other than the information that this gear went out the maximum number of days, this list does not offer any additional meaningful insight. It is certainly not a reflection on the quality of any particular gear. This data also does not reflect emerging trends because the sheer numbers of copies of older equipment crowd out newer equipment until it achieves critical mass (which explains why you do not see too much mirrorless gear here yet).

The lists below are ranked in the order of the number of days each item went out during the year across all its copies. Figures in brackets indicate the position of the item in the Most Popular Gear of 2018 list.

2019 was not a good year for most kinds of commercial photography and this is evident from the slipped rankings of commercial gear like the 70-200s and the entry of enthusiast bodies like the 80D and 77D into this list. In 2020, we can expect the Canon 90D, the Canon EOS R and the Nikon Z6 to make an entry into this list. However, that will depend on whether they can beat their own counterparts: the 7D Mk II, 5D Mk IV and the D750.

For lenses, the list has not changed much between 2018 and 2019 except for a reordering of positions. Strong contenders for entry into this list in 2020 are the Sigma Art primes and a few Sony FE lenses as Sony shooters move from adapted lenses to native lenses. The Canon and Nikon mirrorless lenses, despite their increasing popularity, will probably not make it to this list in 2020 due to cannibalisation by legacy mount lenses.

-Abhijit Mutha,
Founder, Primes & Zooms