I have to say, working in film out here in the nyc for a number of years, this is the first time I've ever had such a terrible experience dealing with a place that I've been compelled to write one these reviews. I randomly came across Lighthouse while doing an internet search for renting a Glidecam camera rig and my interest was peaked by their low rates. Naturally, having never heard of or rented from them before, I gave a call just to get a lay of the land, see how they work. I was somewhat dumbfounded when the guy who spoke to me was belligerent almost from the get go (turns out, unbelievably, he was one of the owners of the place, his name was Thibault.) Asking normal professional questions - I was either cut off or spoken over, the guy telling me multiple times that he "didn't need to explain how he did business". Umm, not the best way to address a potential client. These are all very bad signs and despite all the other reviews here I would steer very clear. I wanted to write this as a warning for others. A rental house that is not professional will bite you in the behind in the long run. AVOID. read more

When I was shopping around to look for a 5D Mark II to rent back in September, I couldn't believe at how much some outfits were charging for a 4 year old camera body. I went and checked out all the usual big names (Adorama, CSI, foto care), but I felt as though I should be able to get more for my money. That, combined with the motivation from having a tight production budget (understatement of the century) lead me to stumbling upon Lighthouse. I will admit that I was initially skeptical about getting a 5D (from a shop I've never heard of) with a 32GB CF card when other companies were charging the same, or much more, for only a 8GB card. But in the end, I had no choice. All the other outfits had either rented out the 5D already, or the cost was too hard to justify. So I went ahead and set up an account with them, and came in the next day to pick up the 5D along with a shotgun mic, tripod, light, and light stand. I could not have been happier with the customer service. Thibaut was very patient with me as I threw a ton of questions at him on how to maximize the production quality on such a small budget. I think I actually like that Lighthouse is still relatively unknown amongst the other camera rental shops since I would have never been able to get a 5D on such short notice otherwise. But all good things come to an end I suppose. If you're reading this, then you're most likely debating to rent from them or not, but with their competitive prices and their healthy supply of equipment, how could you not?** ** Unless, of course, you're a Nikon fanboy like I am :). Unfortunately, this is purely a Canon shop as far as DSLRs go. read more

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience renting from Lighthouse. I was coming from out of town to shoot in NYC, and Thibaut helped make the process very smooth, even when we had slight hiccups on our part. They were flexible with their schedule and allowed us to pick up the equipment a little early and return it a little late. Considering how stressed production can be sometimes, it was nice that the rental house wasn't causing us any more headaches. Instead, they were totally patient and chill. I would highly recommend checking out Lighthouse for your NYC productions needs. read more

Had a last minute shoot that required a motorized slider for a timelapse. Not only is LIghtHouse the only place in town with that gear, they walked me though the process and provided a PA (Steven) who was extremely helpful and professional. Would definitely recommend LightHouse for anyone in NYC's production needs. Great gear, and amazing customer service. Seriously blown away by the experience, and the shoot went great. Definitely going back for all rental needs. read more

A very awesome camera rental business. I always have a very seamless experience picking up and dropping off and the employees are very accommodating and friendly as well. Would definitely recommend! read more

These guys are great. Their equipment is good, prices are very competitive and unlike a typical rental house, they treat you very nicely and on a personal basis. Very efficient, helpful and prompt with communication. Lighthouse is the first place I call when I'm gearing up for a shoot. read more

Lighthouse Films provided excellent services at a minute's notice. We were coming into town from out of State and needed a decent bit of equipment last minute. The folks at Lighthouse put together the whole package and ran all our paperwork through incredibly quickly, allowing us to gather the gear and get to set in time. After our production, they continued to have excellent communication & timely assistance. I can't recommend Lighthouse enough. Great group of people with great attitudes in a great location. -Chris read more

Lighthouse is a great place to rent photo and video equipment. Thibaut is super helpful and gives great advice to make sure you get the right equipment for your shoot. I've looked at a couple other rental places and while Lighthouse is relatively small and it's best to book in advance to make sure you get what you need, they have very competitive rates and everything is new and kept in excellent working condition. They also have a 10% student discount and great weekend rental deals! I've rented here a couple times and will definitely keep coming back! read more

Rented some lighting from LightHouse Films. It was a pretty simple process getting set up with them. It was easy to get in and out for pickup and they were very helpful with making sure I had what I needed. Next time I am filming in NYC, I will definitely rent from LightHouse Films. read more

There are lots of places you can rent equipment from in NYC, some way closer to my place in Brooklyn and some with a bigger selection of stuff, but this place is the best by far. I think they are the best mainly because they always take the time to give me my options when it comes to lighting, to cameras, lenses, etc. I tell them my budget and idea, and they give me feedback and suggestions and listen. And when I say 'they' - I mean, Steven who works there. He is knowledgeable, funny, direct and just a person whose insight I deeply trust. With his help and their help my work has won numerous awards and made my dad proud (that's a joke but madd true). read more

The absolute best. Always a friendly smile from the staff. They are helpful, courteous and always eager to help you get familiar with the equipment. The prices are very reasonable and I always feel happy after walking out of that place. Love light house. read more

The team at Lighthouse is great. I feel like I'm their only client when working with them. Albert is great and very knowledgeable and he has built a solid team to help with my rental projects. read more

I have to say, I was surprised by all the excellent reviews - I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say that my experience must have been an outlier. It started out okay - Matt was very helpful with an issue we had, which is that we needed to use a credit card that belonged to someone other than the LLC owner. Matt said he would look into whether this was possible. Then a few days later he communicated to me that as long as the credit card holder was named on the COI, it should be fine. Things got kinda ugly from there. Basically, whether it was my misunderstanding or his failure to communicate, it basically was not possible to rent equipment from Lighthouse if the credit card didn't match the LLC owner. That would've been fine - had I simply been told this from the get-go, I simply wouldn't have tried. But instead, I was deemed a "troublemaker" simply by trying to understand, and was suddenly being treated very belligerently and harshly. It was exactly like a used car dealership - completely fed up with having to explain something so simple, Matt handed me over to Steve, who was basically just angry, and wanted me to feel like I was an idiot, and that I should take my business elsewhere. Where did all this anger come from?? It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, and I just went back to good Adorama where things are soooo much easier and nobody takes anything personally - it's just business, man. I will never look up Lighthouse again, after this experience. read more

RESPONSIVE! I needed a light to replace one in my kit that failed on a Saturday - and I was on my way to a shoot Tuesday morning in NYC. I emailed on Saturday evening with my request... and they emailed back on Sunday, actually apologizing for not responding more timely! They had exactly what I needed, extremely reasonable rates, and when I added something at the last minute (Monday afternoon) they scrambled to get one available for me. It is comforting to see that service AND quality rental products are still available. Will definitely use them again when back in NYC. read more

Rented from this place twice (merlin steadicam, glidetrack, zoom microphone, wireless lavaliere). Equipment was in good condition and since I'm a novice they took the time to explain how everything works. Will definitely rent from them again. read more

Fist time renting from LightHouse. They have a very large selection of video and photography equipment. Very helpful staff, quick and efficient. Their location is close to my studio in Midtown, so thats a big plus! I'm sure i'll come back to rent from them again when I need to. read more

LightHouse is an invaluable part of each and every one of our productions. Their rates are consistently the best in the city, their gear is always well-maintained and Steven, Thibaut and the gang are helpful, knowledge and, importantly, flexible. With new gear coming in every week, I can't recommend them enough. read more

We had a fantastic experience renting from Lighthouse! They were great about helping us get insurance and find the right equipment for our wedding shoot. At pick-up, all the gear was in mint condition and organized. Their rep took the time to explain everything to us, and answer all of our questions. Very smooth process overall. Highly recommended. read more

Had an awesome experience renting gear for my first ny shoot here. The owner (Albert) was super helpful and went above and beyond to get me the package I was looking for. read more

Just used these guys for the first time last week. I have never been more impressed with the service and professionalism. I don't typically write reviews but someone goes out of there way to help you I feel it is necessary to do the same. Thibaut, an employee, stayed after hours on the weekend on his own time, so I can rent the equipment I needed for a last minute shoot. He not only kept the place open late but took the time to show me how to use the equipment, and I mean really show me how to use the equipment. We assembled everything and took it for a test run in the hallway and he gave me some tips. I was truly impressed by how friendly and professional the operation is. I cannot recommend them enough. read more

Excellent experience in my dealings with Lighthouse! They were extremely helpful in helping me select what I needed to rent and were amazingly accommodating....I wish more businesses were like this. read more

I rented a camera and lens from Lighthouse for the first and was thoroughly satisfied. The prices were great as they had a special for a two week rental during the Labor Day holiday for the price of one week. The service felt personal and hey were helpful and efficient. I know I will use them again. read more