Tucked away on an unassuming street in Brooklyn’s South Park Slope neighborhood between Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery is one of the city’s best-kept creative resources: Adorama Rental Co., or ARC. Far from the bustle of Manhattan storefronts, ARC is where photographers, filmmakers, and creators of all kinds come to gear up for their next project—whether that means renting a single lens for a day shoot or a truckload of cinema equipment for a full production. The dedicated team that works there knows gear inside and out, stays abreast of breaking technology and trends, and treats every rental not as a transaction, but as an opportunity to support the creative community far and wide.
ARC Brooklyn: A State-of-the-Art Facility
Spanning 17,000 square feet, the space offers easy street-level access, checkout bays, on-site tech support, private testing rooms, and even a drive-in ramp and loading dock. There is an impressive prep floor with 13 Opti-Glide Automated Test Chart Systems (to measure your lenses very quickly using digital readouts), two drive-in loading docks, a projection room, and a full-frame collimator projector. There is also a dedicated lens technician who is manufacturer-trained and certified by Cook, Fuji, Zeiss, and Arri. Customers can not only come in and build, test, and prep their cameras, but they can also feel comfortable doing so.
The ARC Team: Decades of Dedication and Experience
Behind any great business, of course, are the people who run it, and ARC is no exception. Take, for example, ARC’s Business Development Manager Derek Barocas and Sales Manager Carl Cook, both of whom bring decades of combined experience and value to their customers.
Barocas has been in equipment rentals and production for the past 14 years, wearing many different hats along the way. “I was a PA in high school and college, then worked in various locations and camera departments over the years,” he explains. That experience fueled his overall approach when he landed at ARC last year, and now he thrives on the excitement of new technology, building lasting relationships, and—he admits with a laugh—“a little bit of wheeling and dealing. I stay in this industry because it’s exciting. I get to talk to cool people every day and work with some incredible technology. The team is great, the vibe is laidback, and the possibilities are endless. I love it here.”
Sales manager Carl Cook has been in the industry for 26 years, but started out, he says, as an editor at Bloomberg Television. He later managed a mom-and-pop rental company, then progressed onto a larger, global enterprise, where he ran sales, and even executive-produced a film called Light of the Moon. “I spent a lot of time on set with the crew, gaining a firsthand understanding of what they needed.” That perspective, combined with his years on the rental side, informs how he currently supports ARC customers.
A Shared Mission
Barocas and Cook, who both joined ARC almost at the same time a year and a half ago, have the same simple but ambitious mission: to continue building the business back post-pandemic and expand ARC’s reach to a wider base with diverse inventory while delivering the kind of exemplary customer service that keeps people coming back.
“Customer service has always been priority number one for us,” says Barocas. “From beginning to end, we want to be true partners with our customers—to be there through every step of the process.” The quality of the equipment and the facility are differentiators. It’s not transactional. We want to support you in any way possible… 24/7 delivery service, the ability to pick and drop off gear after hours, and at our core, it’s about relationships. That’s the primary focus. The rest of it is secondary.”
New Gear To Get Excited About
The excitement isn’t just about production—it’s about the tools creators will soon be able to get their hands on. According to “gear head” Derek, the recent IBC show in Amsterdam unveiled some major releases, including Canon’s new C50 camera. “Nestled between the R5C and C80 in Canon’s lineup, it promises to be both a strong seller and an attractive rental option,” he explains. “And with its RF mount and adaptability to PL for cinema lenses, it’s versatile enough to appeal to a wide range of filmmakers.”
Just as intriguing, he adds, is Fujinon’s entry into the cinema camera space with the GFX Eterna 55, the company’s first-ever cinema model. “If the popularity of Fuji’s GFX 100 medium-format camera is any indication, this will be a hit. The Eterna 55 offers a large sensor that creates a unique look, and with both modern and vintage lenses capable of covering full-frame sensors, it opens endless creative possibilities. Add to that Arri’s newly announced 35 XTREME—a high-speed super 35 camera—and there’s plenty for filmmakers to be excited about.”
Beyond Rentals & Sales
Life at ARC isn’t just about cameras and lenses, though. Outside of work, the team has a few unexpected passions. Derek, for example, moonlights as an EMT and serves in the Ski Patrol on Hunter Mountain, having twice saved lives with CPR. Carl likes to take to the skies, fulfilling a dream of getting his pilot’s license. When not flying planes, there’s a lighter side to Carl as well: “Right now I’m wearing subway socks and conductor pants—I’m manifesting driving a train.”
Between late-night Columbo and Murder She Wrote marathons, or even the occasional round of Roblox, this dedicated duo never loses sight of what they’re building with the rest of their valued team. More than a rental house, ARC has become a lifeline for New York’s creative community—a place where ideas can start small, scale up fast, and always find the proper support.
