The camera gear check-out system that gets it all back.
Reserve gear around your shoots, scan it out to a named borrower, let GearDex send the reminders, and scan it back in with anything broken flagged. One loop, on your phone or at your desk.
Check-out · No. 0417
Interview kit
- Out to
- Maya Chen
- Due back
- Fri, Oct 17 · 6 PM
- Sony FX3
- FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II
- Atomos Ninja V+
Scan to
check in
- Reserve, scan out, remind, scan in
- 4 steps
- Loans on Pro, unlimited on Studio
- 3 open
- Pro, with scanning, agreements, and reminders
- $4/mo
What is a camera gear check-out system?
A camera gear check-out system records every handoff of equipment: who took which items, when they left, when they're due, and what condition they came back in. GearDex scans labels to check gear out and in, blocks double bookings, sends due-date reminders, and flags damaged gear so it stays off the next job.
“Who has the 85mm?” shouldn't be a group chat.
Lending gear to an assistant, a second shooter, or a rental client is normal. Keeping track of it usually isn't: a spreadsheet nobody updates, a text thread, a handoff in a parking lot.
The gaps show up later. The lens you promised a client is still in someone's bag, a body comes back with dust on the sensor and goes straight out again, and the reminder you meant to send never went.
GearDex turns every handoff into a scan, every loan into a record with a due date, and every return into a check of what came back and what didn't.
One check-out for the whole bag.
Search or scan items and kits into one cart, pick the borrower from your clients or team, and set the due date and time. GearDex checks every item against shoots, other loans, service, and open flags as you add it, and tells you exactly what's in the way.
- Kits expand into every item they hold
- Blocked items say why: “Held for Hartley wedding (Oct 13)”
- Agreement: none, email to sign, or sign here
Point your phone at the label.
Open Scan and the camera reads the QR label. A sheet slides up with the item, its serial, and its status, plus Check Out, Flag, and Open. Each Check Out drops the item in a cart you send in one go. Barcode scanners and typed serials work too.
- Runs in your phone's browser, no app to install
- Check-in mode returns each item with an Undo
- A kit label checks out the whole kit
Loans & lending is included from Pro. Start free and upgrade when you need it.
Check-in that notices what's wrong.
Tick what came back, or let the scanner tick it for you. Anything with a problem gets an issue right on its row: Didn't come back, Needs repair, Damaged, Sensor dust, Needs cleaning, or Battery worn. Flagged gear can come out of circulation until it's fixed.
- Partial returns keep the loan open on Studio
- Return notes and condition photos
- Missing items raise a flag that blocks the next loan
Reminders that go out on their own.
Every morning GearDex checks what's due: tomorrow, today, a day late, a week late. You get each reminder in the app and by email. Turn on borrower emails in Settings › Lending and the borrower gets a short reminder from your studio too.
- Due tomorrow, due today, 1 day late, 1 week late
- Each reminder goes out once per loan
- Due-soon and overdue webhooks on Studio
Signed before it leaves.
Email an equipment loan agreement for the borrower to sign on their phone, or have them sign on your screen at the handoff. The items, serials, replacement values, dates, and your terms are fixed when it's sent, and the signature is recorded with a certificate.
- Write your own terms, or start from ours
- A signed agreement can't be edited, only voided
- The signed copy stays on the loan
Or just tell Iris.
Type “Maya just brought the 70-200 back” and Iris finds the loan and drafts the check-in as a card. Nothing changes until you confirm it. Iris can also check gear out, extend a loan, raise a flag, and answer “who has the FX3?”
GearDex vs. group chats and enterprise check-out tools
Spreadsheets and group chats cost nothing until something goes missing. Enterprise check-out tools do the job, at prices set for institutions rather than a photographer with an assistant.
| Capability | GearDex | Spreadsheet + group chat | Enterprise check-out tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scan a QR label to check out and in | Yes | No | Yes |
| Blocks double bookings | Yes | No | Yes |
| Automatic due-date reminders | Yes | No | Yes |
| Issue flags take gear out of circulation | Yes | No | Yes |
| Signed loan agreements | Yes | No | Varies by plan |
| Insurance values, warranties, and resale on the same record | Yes | Separate files | Rarely |
| Price for a solo shooter or small studio | $4/mo Pro, $19/mo Studio | Free | Often thousands a year, per admin |
| Sign up and start the same day | Yes | Yes | Often a sales demo first |
Your first scanned loan in ten minutes.
Label what you lend most, log what's already out, and the loop runs from there.
- Scanning runs in your phone's browser
- Signed agreements and reminders on Pro
- Unlimited loans and multi-item carts on Studio
- 01
Import
Add your gear or import a spreadsheet, then log anything that's already out.
- 02
Organize
Print labels for the kits you lend, and set loan length, turnaround days, and agreement terms.
- 03
Maintain
Scan out, let the reminders run, and scan back in. Flags keep broken gear off the next job.
The small print, handled.
Lend or borrow
Track gear you rent in, with the same dates and reminders.
Turnaround days
Hold gear for a day or two after a loan or shoot so it can be cleaned and charged.
Extend or cancel
Push a due date, or cancel a loan and put everything back.
Consumables
Batteries, cards, and tape go out with a loan and come back into stock.
Carnet from a loan
Turn a loan into a carnet general list or travel list PDF.
API and webhooks
Loans, check-ins, flags, and availability in the Studio Agent API.
Loans & lending on every plan
Included from Pro. Start free and upgrade when you need it.
3 open loans, each one item or one kit, with scanning, signed agreements, flags, reminders, and carnet lists
Unlimited loans, multi-item carts, partial returns, team custody, and a gear rental page
Have an account? Sign in
Loans & lending, answered.
More questions? Visit support or contact us.
Add items or kits to a check-out by searching or scanning, choose the borrower, and set the due date and time. GearDex checks each item for conflicts, marks it as out, and starts the reminders. Checking in is the same in reverse: scan or tick what came back and flag anything that needs attention.
No. Scan works in your phone's browser with the camera. USB and Bluetooth scanners that type like a keyboard work too, and you can always type a serial number.
Pro keeps up to 3 loans open at a time, each holding one item or one kit, with scanning, signed agreements, flags, and reminders. Studio removes the limit, puts many items and kits on one check-out, handles partial returns, and adds the availability board, team custody, and a gear rental page.
Yes, on Pro and Studio. Email the agreement for the borrower to sign on their phone, or have them sign on your screen at the handoff. The items, values, dates, and terms are fixed when it's sent.
Yes. Loans can be outgoing, when you lend gear out, or incoming, when you borrow or rent it in.
Yes. A kit goes out as one loan and GearDex holds every item inside it, so none of them can be booked twice. On Pro a kit counts as one of your 3 open loans.
Works well with
All features- All plansExplore qr scanning
QR scanning
Print a sheet of QR labels, then scan with your phone to find any item, check it out, check it in, or flag what's wrong.
- StudioExplore gear rentals
Gear rentals
Publish a rental page for your kits. Renters pick dates and request one; you approve it into a loan, a client, and an invoice.
- StudioExplore availability board
Availability board
See every item's bookings, loans, and handoffs on one board, so the team never double-books a body.
Get it all back, every time.
Join 300+ photographers, studios, and rental houses who already run their kit on GearDex.
- Free forever plan
- No credit card
- Import from CSV
- Mac, Windows & web