In regards to camera equipment, in almost every situation, camera equipment to buy is almost always cheaper in the US than it is to buy here in Australia... Hence why many people here buy online from the US & get it shipped over, even with shipping & taxes, it still works out much much cheaper.... In general, Australian prices are 10-40% more than the US.

But to my surprise, rental of cameras seems to be MUCH MUCH cheaper here in Perth than in the US....

The Z1 body on its own in the US from EVS rents for US$255 per day
http://www.evsonline.com/equipment_rentals/EVS-0503-Catalog-Tip.pdf

The Z1 body with Miller DS5 tripod, pelican case & 3 batteries here in Perth, Australia rents for AU$170 (US$125) which also includes insurance & our taxes. http://www.locationequipment.com/Location%20Equipment.htm

Thats half the price! And it includes quality accessories! They even do me further discounts when I beg!

Also take into account the rental place here in Perth has virtually no competition on the West Coast of Australia & Perth is a very isolated place so you'd think the prices would be much much higher...

Perhaps this is why most people on this forum in the US actually own their cameras rather than renting them... It seems much more economical to rent in Australia than to buy...

I think this has a lot more to do with Los Angeles as a production market than anything else.

Back in 1998, before I had bought an XL-1, I used to be able to rent one from a wedding videographer for $100/day. Back then making money with such a camera was not as widespread as it is today, not to mention nobody knew what it was or how to best use it, especially in Indiana (where I was living).

In summer of 2000, I simultaneously bought an XL-1 kit and moved to Los Angeles. At the time, the XL-1 was enjoying a lot of popularity for people wanting something resembling film (I use the phrase loosely), shooting Frame Movie Mode. Rental rates for the cam was $250/day, without accessories. Boy was I glad I had just bought one!

I still see rental rates for current cameras to be lower in smaller markets around the U.S. There's a huge demand for DV cameras in L.A., so the highest rates are here.

James, lemme tell ya, I'll be doggoned if I charge you $255/day after you drop Chris Hurd's name... :)

I probably can't even find a rental of any such camera here. Can't even find
an XL1S (with a price for rental) in my area of the country. And the rental
prices I've seen here are at least double the US prices it seems. Sigh.

James,

I saw the XLH1 in a shop window on the weekend, its a beast.

Any idea how much the AUD price is?

Rush,
How much do you charge for hire then if it's not US$255 per day?
Somehow I doubt you could discount it by half on a regular basis?
I pay here on the West Coast of Australia the full retail price of US$125 (AU$175) per day. When I ask for a discount or say its for a no budget thing its even less......

Ben,
I think the XL-H1 is about AU$13,000 from what I was told. I've been thinking about the HVX200 instead but I really hate the fact that you can't switch the HVX200 between PAL & NTSC formats which is a big turn off for me...

Here in Toronto prices are pretty high for renting (actually, they're high for most things) since a lot of production goes on here - An XL2 runs about $245.00CAD at Vistek, and I think a Z1 is around the same.