During the National Day holiday, this rental business has become booming.
"The warehouse is empty! We've shipped out every single item we had." Recently, a staff member from a photography equipment rental platform told Jwview that (during the National Day holiday), there were no available time slots for renting action cameras on the platform.
Platform data shows that in the week before National Day, the search volume for "action camera rental" increased by 91% compared to the previous week. Why has action camera rental become so popular?
"Choose the right equipment for the right scenario"
Song Song (a pseudonym) from Guangzhou plans to go on a trip during the National Day holiday and has plans for underwater shooting, so she needs a waterproof action camera. "Since the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 was out of stock, I bought a DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro for 2,600 yuan in mid - September this year."
The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro is an action camera released by DJI in September last year. It has a sturdy and waterproof body. Song Song said that she will be shooting on a boat during this trip, but she doesn't want to carry a bulky camera, so a small and lightweight action camera is more suitable.
The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro purchased by Song Song. Photo provided by the interviewee.
"Choose the right equipment for the right scenario. I don't want to risk dropping my phone into the water, so a waterproof and shock - resistant action camera is more suitable." Song Song introduced that previously, she also bought a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 for better photo results and rented a Samsung S23 Ultra for a concert.
Action cameras are a type of intelligent imaging device. A research report released by CICC Research in July 2025 stated that compared with traditional imaging devices, intelligent imaging devices are easy to carry, have diverse shooting methods, and have a low usage threshold. They are usually presented in non - traditional forms such as panoramic cameras and action cameras.
The aforementioned research report introduced that action cameras have strong performance in terms of earthquake resistance, waterproofing, dust - proofing, heat resistance, and shock resistance. They can be fixed on selfie sticks, body parts, or sports equipment when in use, and are suitable for first - person perspective shooting in high - intensity sports states. Their application scenarios are mostly in outdoor sports, outdoor shooting for TV programs, and daily tourism.
In August this year, Yu Yu (a pseudonym) from Beijing bought a DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro for about 3,300 yuan for outdoor shooting during trips. Yu Yu likes running and is researching how to wear a camera while running. She said that mobile phones are mainly used for social communication, and their pixels and storage space are difficult to meet the needs for high - quality images. Action cameras are easy to carry, have higher pixels, and are much cheaper than buying a new mobile phone.
Some travel enthusiasts also choose to rent cameras instead of buying them for better photo results during trips.
Luo Luo (a pseudonym) from Beijing rented a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 for 100 yuan for 7 days in August this year. The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is a pocket gimbal camera launched in October 2023. During Luo Luo's one - week trip to Hong Kong, this device was responsible for taking photos.
"I usually use my mobile phone for photography, but at that time, my phone's battery was draining very quickly and couldn't support my daily photo - taking. During that period, I tried my friend's Pocket 3 and thought the photos it took were quite nice, so I rented one." Luo Luo said.
Luo Luo has the habit of taking photos and recording her life. She believes that the popularity of action cameras is because they can meet people's needs to capture small joys in life. At the same time, the portraits in the photos taken by action cameras look slimmer, and the pictures are also more stable.
On the eve of National Day, the rental of digital products such as action cameras is also booming.
Meituan data shows that in the week before National Day, the search volume for the keyword "digital camera rental" increased by 753% compared to the previous week. Among them, the search volume for "action camera rental" increased by 91% compared to the previous week. In terms of the search population, young people love the "rental economy" more, with those aged 20 to 35 accounting for nearly 80%.
In addition, Meituan data shows that from Chinese Valentine's Day this year to the eve of the National Day and Mid - Autumn Festival holidays, trendy digital products such as instant cameras with "buy - now - get - free" offers and action cameras have become popular gift - giving trends on the Meituan Flash Shopping platform, and the sales volume of action cameras on the platform has increased by more than 10 times year - on - year.
Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, analyzed for Jwview that action cameras may be a necessity for self - media practitioners, but for many people, they are "dust - collectors." Therefore, renting equipment is more cost - effective for many people. During the National Day and Mid - Autumn Festival long holidays, shooting Vlogs has become a necessity for many people, so there has been a boom in action camera rentals.
"The warehouse is empty"
On September 23, Jwview visited the offline store of Kamo Rental, a shared rental platform for film and television equipment, as a consumer. We saw that the store staff were busy checking various cameras, and couriers were coming in and out of the store from time to time to pick up and deliver goods. On the shelves, the shelves labeled with DJI Osmo Action 4 were empty.
On the action camera ranking list of Kamo Rental's online platform, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 ranks first according to the comprehensive ranking of views/sales volume.
On September 23, a clerk at Kamo Rental said that according to yesterday's (the 22nd) statistics, there were basically no available time slots for renting the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 during the National Day holiday in all the stores across the country.
Jwview asked the clerk if the more than 20 DJI Osmo Pocket 3 cameras left on the shelves were available for rent. The clerk replied, "These are orders to be shipped. There are still more than 200 DJI Osmo Pocket 3 cameras waiting to be shipped."
"There are about 500 DJI Osmo Pocket 3 cameras in the store in total. Now, there are only 5 left in the warehouse that can be rented during the National Day holiday." The clerk at Kamo Rental said on September 23.
On September 26, Jwview saw on Kamo Rental's online platform that with Beijing as the delivery address, there were only 2 units of the single - unit version of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 available for rent on October 1, and only 1 unit was available from October 2 to 4.
On the action camera ranking list of Kamo Rental, according to the comprehensive ranking of views/sales volume, following the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 are the GoPro HERO13 Black, DJI Osmo Action 4, DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, and Insta360 ONE X4.
However, on September 23, the clerk at Kamo Rental said that there were no available time slots for the DJI Osmo Action 4 during the National Day holiday, and there were only one or two units of the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro available for rent.
On September 22, Jwview called Kamo Rental as a consumer to inquire about the availability of action cameras. The staff said that the number of people renting action cameras during the National Day holiday was twice as many as usual. Around holidays or concerts, people will "book" their orders half a month to a month in advance, and there may not be enough available time slots for last - minute orders.
On September 23, Jwview visited the offline store of Lantuo Rental as a consumer and saw that the express packages in the store were piled up as high as a wall. The staff said that these packages contained cameras that consumers had returned after use.
"The number of orders during the National Day holiday is three to four times more than usual, maybe even more." On the 23rd, the staff at Lantuo Rental said that the inventory of action cameras was not large, and many people had made advance reservations. So, if you want to place an order, you'd better do it as early as possible.
On September 24, Jwview tried to rent the DJI Osmo Action 4 Three - Battery All - in - One Package and the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro Three - Battery Package on Lantuo Rental's online platform with Beijing as the delivery address. When choosing September 29 and 30 as the delivery dates, the rental page showed that the shipping capacity before the National Day holiday was saturated and could not be selected. When choosing September 27 as the delivery date and October 8 as the return date, the page showed "No rental equipment available for now."
Screenshot of Lantuo Rental platform
In terms of price, the staff at both Lantuo Rental and Kamo Rental said that there was no price increase during the National Day holiday.
Taking the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 as an example, the rental price on Kamo Rental's platform is 33 yuan per day for a 3 - day rental, and the renewal price is 19 yuan per day. On Lantuo Rental, the rental price for 3 days is 180 yuan, and the renewal price is 15 yuan per day. In addition, Lantuo Rental has also launched an activity of "rent for 8 days and get 2 days free during the National Day travel season, that is, get 2 days of free renewal rent when renting for 10 days."
Behind the boom in action camera rentals, the performance of intelligent imaging device providers is also on the rise.
The research and development manufacturer of the aforementioned Insta360 ONE X4 is Insta360, which was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board in June this year.
According to Insta360's semi - annual report for 2025, the Insta360 ONE X series belongs to panoramic cameras/action cameras. The AcePro series is Insta360's flagship action camera product, which was officially launched in 2023. Insta360's financial report shows that the revenue share of this series has increased nearly four - fold within one year, making it the fastest - growing product line for Insta360.
The semi - annual report for 2025 shows that in the first half of the year, Insta360 achieved a revenue of 3.671 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 51.17%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 520 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 0.25%. Insta360 said that the year - on - year increase in operating revenue was mainly due to the company's continuous market expansion, continuous launch of new products, and continuous expansion of online and offline sales.
Some merchants use rentals to promote sales
Benjamin Camera Store is an offline store in Chengdu mainly engaged in camera sales. It started to expand its camera rental business at the end of last year. Among them, two offline stores for the rental business are located near the Lijingmen Scenic Area, Luoyi Ancient City, and the Drum Tower in Luoyang, Henan Province.
"We opened the stores in Luoyang to expand the rental business by leveraging the tourist flow in the scenic areas. Customers can come by to buy or rent a camera while visiting the scenic spots." Benjamin (a pseudonym), the person - in - charge of Benjamin Camera Store, said.
There are nearly 100 action cameras in the Luoyang store of Benjamin Camera Store. According to him, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro are more popular, and there are no available rental time slots for these two models during the National Day holiday.
There are many DJI Osmo Pocket 3 cameras placed in Benjamin Camera Store. Photo provided by the interviewee.
"In early September, the National Day orders of many peers were already full, and the rental prices of some action cameras increased by 20% to 30% during the National Day holiday." Benjamin said.
Benjamin believes that the current boom in the camera rental market is due to two reasons. On the one hand, the update speed of cameras is very fast, and people are more willing to try new equipment by renting, which is also related to the consumption concept of "experience is equivalent to ownership." On the other hand, the cost of buying a camera is relatively high, and if you don't take photos for a while, the camera is likely to be left idle. Renting allows consumers to experience the novelty of cameras at a low cost.
Benjamin said that some consumers who rented action cameras from the store had a good experience and would directly buy them.
"Rental is not an independent business but a way to promote camera sales." Benjamin said.
Jiang Han, a senior researcher at the Pangu Think Tank, also said in an interview with Jwview that the upgrading of consumption concepts has given rise to the "right - of - use economy," and young people are more inclined to "experience is more important than possession."
"The boom in action camera rentals is exactly the manifestation of this trend. People are willing to pay a short - term premium for specific scenarios but refuse to pay for equipment idleness. This kind of 'precise consumption' is reshaping the traditional retail logic." Jiang Han said.
Ma Jihua, the founder of Beijing Darui Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and a senior analyst in the Internet industry, told Jwview that from the supply side, action cameras are generally used infrequently and are sturdy and durable, which are very suitable for the rental market. For most people, "renting is better than buying." From the demand side, travel has become a trend, and people's demand for photography has further increased. Especially, the increase in emerging sports scenarios such as diving, skydiving, and marathons has further driven the rental market.
"In the digital economy era, more and more goods will no longer be circulated through sales but will be fully utilized through digital platforms. From shared bicycles and shared power banks to action cameras and car rentals, these are actually new things after industrial upgrading. These new things will also drive the update of consumption concepts, encourage production enterprises to participate in the direct operation of products, and improve the economic operation efficiency of the entire society." Ma Jihua further said.
Jiang Han believes that in the future, the rental economy will develop towards "value deepening" and "ecological expansion." He said that in the short term, platforms will build a closed - loop management system for the entire life cycle of equipment through models such as "rental + subscription" and "rental + second - hand recycling." In the long term, the integration of financial leasing and industrial Internet will give rise to new business models, such as agricultural machinery sharing and medical equipment rental, which will ultimately become an important way to achieve the coordinated development of consumption upgrading and circular economy.
Text: Lin Wansi
Editor: Wang Yuling
Responsible editors: Chang Tao, Luo Kun
The views in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investment is risky, and you need to be cautious when entering the market.
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