FAQ

The reason that Sunday is greyed out in the availability calendar is because we are not open. If you require equipment for the weekend, please collect on a Friday and drop-back on the Monday. Doing so will mean you just pay for 1 day of hire even though you have the equipment for the entire weekend.  

A 1 day shoot. You can pick your gear up the day before your shoot (after 2:30pm) or the day of the shoot and return any time up to 10:30am the day after

Yes some other rental places call this a 3 day rental and charge more. We don’t.

Yes: pickup Friday after 2:30pm, then return Monday before 10:30am for a 1 day rental charge.

Bookings over long weekends will automatically be extended.

As a part of our rental and insurance agreements, we need a passport for full cover. The copy of your passport stays with us and is not provided to our insurance company unless absolutely necessary.

A refundable $800 security deposit (bond) is required for most rentals. This is processed as a credit card pre-authorisation, which means:

• No funds are charged or received by us.
• The amount is temporarily held by your card issuer.
• The pre-authorisation is processed at collection, or approximately 24 hours before dispatch for courier orders.

Once the equipment has been returned on time and in satisfactory condition, we release the pre-authorisation immediately. Your card issuer may take additional time to make the funds available again.

New Zealand passport holders and permanent residents collecting in person may be eligible to have the bond waived, provided we can verify a valid proof of address.

Customers travelling on an overseas passport will generally be required to provide additional identification or visa information and an $800 security deposit on a credit card.

For equipment being sent by courier, an $800 bond will normally be required unless you already have an established trading relationship with Lightchasers Rentals.

Some higher-value or specialised equipment may require a larger security deposit. Any additional bond requirement will be advised before your rental is confirmed.

No, we only take a copy of your ID's the first time you come in. However, if you move, we will need to update your proof of address.

Morning hours:
Monday – Friday: 8:00am – 10:30am
Saturday 9:00am - 10:30pm

Afternoon hours:
Monday – Thursday: 2:30pm – 5:30pm
Friday: 2:30pm – 6:00pm

Closed:
Sunday

Pickups outside of these hours are available at an additional fee but are subject to staff availability and not guaranteed.

We do our best to support students, personal projects and charity shoots where possible. To find out more, please send us a proposal and we’ll see what we can do for you.

Members of NineTwentyone Studios automatically receive 20% off all rentals. Click here to find out more.

We understand that plans can change. Here's how cancellations and postponements work with us:

Postponements

If you need to change your booking date, just get in touch with us in writing.
We’re happy to move your booking if:

• The new date is within 1 month of your original booking.
• You contact us before your hire period begins.

We’ll hold the amount you’ve paid as a credit and apply it to the new booking.
If no new date is confirmed within a month, we’ll treat it as a cancellation (see below).

Please note: credit card fees are non-refundable.

Cancellations

If you cancel your booking, the amount we refund depends on how close it is to your hire start date:

• 7 days or more in advance:
  Full refund minus credit card fees, or we can hold it as a credit for 90 days.
• 2–6 days before your booking:
  75% refund.
• 24–48 hours before your booking:
  50% refund.
• Less than 24 hours before your booking:
  No refund (your payment is forfeited).

Refunds are processed to your original payment method and may take up to 5 business days.

No-shows

If you don’t show up and haven’t contacted us to cancel or postpone, we can’t offer a refund.
Your security deposit will still be released within a reasonable time.

Our hire fee listed on our website is the minimum day hire for the item. It is up to you whether you use it for 5mins, 20mins or 12hrs.

We do our best to be accommodating.
There is a 10 minute carpark directly outside our studio and additional car parking on
Michelle Rd. Parking at our neighbouring units is at your own risk as they are quick to tow.

When possible, we will give you a basic rundown on how to setup the equipment safely however we are unable to offer in-depth training. If you do require training or assistance with equipment you wish to hire, get in touch and we will point you in the right direction.

All our equipment rentals come with insurance at no extra cost.

In the event of an insurable incident, a standard excess of $1,200 NZD applies. However, during checkout, you have the option to reduce this excess to just $200 NZD for an additional $40. This optional fee will be added to your hire total if selected.