Film Camera Service and Repair in the 21st Century

The one unavoidable task photographers face at some point is what to do when a camera requires a service or a repair. Camera's are precision engineered to last so we can enjoy shooting thousands of photo's, be they digital or film, with the reassurance that the camera will work as it should with each actuation of the shutter. Whilst just about every camera that has been made has done just that, the possibility of it not happening increases over time. Springs and complex linkages can and do expand and become sloppy. A good visual comparison for this is a Bicycle.
 
In childhood you might have been fortunate and got a shiny new bike for Christmas. When you first rode that bike the tyres were full of tread, the brakes stopped you on a dime and the chain would glide smoothly over the cogs as you pedalled down the street. By the time next christmas was on the horizon, your bike would have been through a set of tyres, the brakes would need more than a fistfull of the lever to bring you to a somewhat eventual stop and your chain would have begun to slip. It's acceptable wear and tear which is why tyres brake pads and chains are reasonably priced. They are classed as consumables.

Old film camera's are full of precisely made levers and cogs and inevitably things will wear out over time. Most folk will just buy another camera and put the old one to one side, but for some folk the camera has more personal value. It may have been a present or been passed down from a parent or grandparent and the owner may have every intention of getting it mended one day. The problem now is where? I faced this question recently when my Olympus OM-1 wasn't behaving as precisely as it's designer Yoshihisa Maitani intended.

I bought my Olympus OM-1 and OM-2 from an estate sale on ebay in 2019. I had wanted an Olympus since childhood, the David Bailey advertising campaign was memorable for it's punchline "David Bailey, who's he?" and was responsible for selling ten million Olympus Trip's. David Bailey made his name in London during the swinging 60's when fashion was changing fast and the music was an ever evolving mix of the Blues, Psychedelia and Rock n Roll. For David, the Olympus gig in the 70's was recognition of his reputation at delivering impeccable images and being in high demand for his skills and creativity.

My childhood dream was finally realised in my 50's and it's not a bad midlife crisis purchase. However, my camera's are 40 years old and in need of some attention. I am not bad with spanners and have been abe to maintain my motorcycles down the years, but camera's are a whole paygrade above my best skill level. I did not want a childhood dream ending in a pile of useless metal and glass, so I set about finding someone to do the job for me.

Camera repair technicians are not as rare as people perceive them to be, even I was pleasantly surprised at the number folk who take worn out camera's and return them to being reliable creative tools again. Some folk have spent their entire working lives in the industry whilst others are relatively new to camera repair, often self taught and have learned the hard way. I wanted my camera serviced by someone who knew what they were doing and spent some time doing my research online. Whilst I could find several places I could send my camera to, I soon learned with camera repair word of mouth is still the best advertsement for a skilled technician. One name kept coming up time and again. PPP Camera Repairs.  I took a leap of faith and sent an email.
 
Pierro Pozella is a young chap making a name for himself in the world of Analogue Photography as a man who can mend many makes of camera. Not content with being the Pentax guy or the Olympus guy, he turns his hand to just about all the different formats and brands that are still popular amongst the film photography community. He is just as happy to service a Rollie Twin Lens Reflex medium format camera as he is my Olympus OM-1. After a couple of emails back and forth I decided he was the man to do the job and arranged to send it the next day.

Never have I been as nervous about sending anything through the post as my OM-1. I packaged it as securely as I could and sent it first class. A couple of days later Pierro had received it and had a look to see what needed to be done. It wasn't as bad as I feared, new seals plus servicing the light meter and shutter and cleaning the prism was diagnosed and I said yes to it being done. Pierro is a man who doesn't hang around, he had my OM-1 sorted and back to me in a few short days for a very reasonable price. I just had to put a roll of film into it and try it out. I loaded my film and headed off to a local farm to see the horses

In my defence, it was sunny when I chose my film, Foma 100, but by the time I had arrived at my destination the clouds had appeared and turned a promising day into more of a 400 speed day. It didn't bother me too much though, I was just happy to be using my OM-1 again. I could tell the difference as soon as I tried it, the sloppiness is gone, the viewfinder is bright and clear and the light meter is accurate again. It's amazing how a little attention can give you confdence and speed up your thought processes, I shot a few close ups whilst having a good natter with the horses, they enjoy a good chat, then headed off for some wider shots. A couple of kids had appeared with their Mum and wanted to see the horses too, so I stepped away.

I realy enjoyed using my OM-1 again, it is back to being the precision professional grade camera Yoshihisa Maitani intended when he designed it back in the late 1960's. It might be almost as old as I am, but it is in far better condition and will probably be capable of producing stunning images far into the future. It will outlive me for certain and that makes me happy knowing at some point in the second half of the 21st century someone may be able to load some 35mm film into my OM-1 and have the joy I feel today, seeing their images as they hang freshly developed film in their bathroom to dry.

I am from the generation that saw film in it's all it's glory as the dominant force in photography. The new generation that have come to love film photography have a multitude of digital camera's and smart phones to choose from, yet they chose to discover and come to love film photography for the same reasons. It's not a snap and chimp process, it's much more of an immersive experience than that. From the moment we load a camera with film to printing the images we have created, we all smile like a cheshire cat when we see the results of our photography. We don't always create wall hangers, but when we do there's no feeling quite like it.
If you live in the UK and have a favourite camera that needs a little tlc, I am happy to recommend Pierro to you. You can find Pierro at www.ppprepairs.co.uk where you can see his portfolio, check out a couple of interviews he has done and take a look some of the items he has for sale. Pierro is one of the growing band of 20 somethings that have taken the plunge to keep film alive by taking care of the one item we all depend upon. He is not alone, I know of a few like Pierro around the world who are doing great things bringing old worn out cameras back to life and long may it continue.