Camera payback calculator
How many rental days before your kit has paid for itself? Enter what you paid and what you would charge a day.
Two or three weekend days a month is realistic for a camera you also use yourself.
It pays for itself after
38 rental days
At 3 days a month that is 13 months. Every rental day after that is the kit paying you for owning it.
- Earns in a year
- £4,968
- Net after three years
- £9,684
- Rate to clear it in a year
- £145 a day
Your day rate reaches you in full: the renter pays a 12% fee on top, and nothing comes off your side. Figures ignore depreciation, insurance and the cost of your time at handover.
What the number does and does not tell you
Payback is the cleanest test of whether a piece of kit earns its shelf space, and it behaves in a way most owners do not expect: the purchase price barely predicts it. A £4,199 Blackmagic PYXIS 12K and a £2,999 Sony FX3 both clear in about 25 rental days, because the PYXIS carries a proportionally higher day rate. A £5,220 Sony FX6 takes 38. We set out the full table and where the prices came from separately.
What the figure leaves out matters just as much. It is gross rental income against the purchase price, so depreciation, servicing and your time at each handover all come out of it. Insurance deserves particular attention: most retail photography policies in Britain exclude equipment while it is hired out unless you are present, which is a gap worth closing before you list anything.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you work out a camera's payback period?
- Divide what you paid for it by the day rate you can rent it out at. On Picturental the owner's day rate is transferred in full and the renter pays a 12% fee on top, so there is no platform commission to subtract first.
- How many days a month can I realistically rent my camera out?
- Two or three weekend days a month is a realistic starting point for a camera you also use on your own jobs, which is 24 to 36 days a year. A single longer booking of ten to fourteen days on a production is less admin than six separate weekends.
- Does a more expensive camera take longer to pay for itself?
- Not reliably. What decides payback is the day rate as a proportion of the purchase price. A £4,199 Blackmagic PYXIS 12K and a £2,999 Sony FX3 both clear in about 25 rental days, while a £5,220 Sony FX6 takes 38.
- Does the calculator account for depreciation and insurance?
- No. It shows gross rental income against the purchase price, so it is a floor rather than a full return. Depreciation, insurance, servicing and your time at handover all come out of the figure, and most retail photography policies exclude equipment while it is hired out.