- Who We Are
- Our History
- Our Work
- Meet The Teams
- Our Clients
The Photographic Repair Specialists
Fixation is a photo and video solutions centre based in London, dedicated to providing authorised repairs, rentals and sales to photographers across the UK. Established in 1988 by Mike Allen, a former Nikon Service manager, we have become the trusted brand for professionals, having developed a reputation for unrivalled technical expertise and excellent customer service.
The early days | © Michael Cole
Our History
Serving professional photographers since 1988
Our Mission
Our mission remains the same since we started: Keeping photographers working is our priority.
We are experienced
Our excellent reputation is built upon unrivalled service and customer support. Fixation is staffed with personnel whose combined industry experience totals several centuries.
We are specialists
We specialise in repairing professional Nikon and Canon DSLR equipment; camera bodies, lenses, flashguns, and Nikon film scanners. We also repair Sony E mount cameras & lenses, Fuji X System cameras, Quantum, Profoto and Aquatech as part of our repertoire.
We are approved
As authorised Nikon, Sony and Canon repair specialists, we have the tools, training and approved spare parts to keep your equipment in tip-top working order. We are the official repairer and supplier to the Association of Photographers insurance scheme.
We are fast
Keeping professional photographers working is our priority and our turnaround times are unsurpassed. Our estimates are free and usually completed within 2 days of receiving your equipment.*
We can customise
We can customise camera and photography equipment for practically any environment
We are supportive
As well as great customer care, we also rent equipment for times when you cannot be without a piece of equipment. What’s more, if you are renting an item whilst awaiting a repair, we’ll cap our rental charge at four days (excluding days due to customer delays).
*Turnaround times can vary - please check if your repair is time critical
Meet The Fixation Teams
Across all departments, the Fixation team is made up of experienced, hard-working, dedicated individuals committed to providing a cheerful, informative and prompt service to all our customers, whether in the London showroom, over the phone or online. Learn a bit more about some of the people who make up Fixation below.
- Canon
- Nikon
- Service Support
- Sales
The technical Canon team is led by Mick Edwards, who is also responsible for the Fujiflm, Profoto and AquaTech repair and servicing operation. The team is composed of 7 fully trained technicians and 2 trainees, with experience ranging from 1 to 30 years plus. It takes a minimum of 3 years to become a qualified technician!
Mick
For the low-down on Mick’s history at Fixation we need to go back a few short years to 1982 when Mick was a teenager working for KJP. It was here he met Mike Allen and when Mike decided to start his own repair company, he took little Mick along too. It certainly hasn’t been a short-term career as Mick has been with Fixation ever since and now manages the Canon, Profoto, Aquatech and Fuji repairs. Mick is known, in no small way, for his sense of humour. He has no shortage of low-brow jokes and tall tales, although not always appreciated by his long-suffering colleagues. Mick enjoys motorbikes, but his big passion is for Scuba-diving. He organises his own club and instructs too, certainly no small feat. Keeping things compact, we’d finish by saying that what Mick lacks in height, he makes up for in personality. Hopefully this comment won’t go over his head.
Giuseppe
Giuseppe "Jo" Cirello's career started in his hometown of Naples in 1991, where his jobs included the repair of audio equipment and installing Fujifilm Minilabs. In 1993 he joined Camera Service Italia, Canon's authorised CPS repair agent in Naples and during his time there advanced to Technical Manager and was responsible for repair output and customer service.
The economic downturn left him looking for pastures new and he and his family uprooted to London and a new start at Fixation in February 2013. Jo continues to repair Canon pro kit and is also our chief repairer of Profoto kit.
David
When David originally joined Fixation in March 1998, it was as temporary help for the Admin team, of which his sister was a part at the time. But when an opportunity to train as a technician arose, David made the move to the workshop and received training from both Barry and Mick. During the period that Fixation was official repairer of Kodak's DCS pro range, David was the primary technician involved, but now he specialises in the Canon 1D models. David considers himself a "real" Game of Thrones fan, by which he means he was an avid reader of the books long before the television series came along. A big sports fan, he enjoys playing pool and snooker, but his big love is for Liverpool FC and unsurprisingly he counts Bill Shankley among his heroes. At home he is often called upon to act as referee - by breaking up fights between Felix and Kitty, his two warring cats!
Stuart
Back in June 1995 Stuart was a directionless teenager not sure where he wanted life to take him. Then he came across a small ad in the Sit Vac section of his local paper inviting applications to join Fixation as a trainee technician. With a bit of a push from his dad he decided to apply and although he turned up for the interview late, very nervous and having to perform a soldering test that was completely new to him, the team obviously saw the talent in him and he’s been with us ever since. A fan of Brentford FC and a keen pool player, don’t be fooled by the gruff exterior – now the father of small girls, he has developed a penchant for the likes of Harry Potter and Disney’s Frozen on Ice and his favourite experience was swimming with dolphins in Mexico, so clearly he has a very soft centre!
Arison
Arison joined Fixation in January 2016 with a level 3 BTEC diploma in Electronics and Electrical Engineering under his belt. He lives up to his status as Fixation's youngest staff member by being a bit of a party animal - he's a regular attendee of all-night raves and Techno House. As Spare Parts Co-ordinator, Arison is responsible for stock control and ordering our Canon spares. He also repairs entry-level Canon cameras and some L series lenses. He enjoys playing pool, savours good cognac and recently spent 3 weeks back-packing around Europe by train. Arison likes to keep his feet firmly on the ground though; he suffers from Acrophobia and this fear of heights meant he could only manage the first level of the Eiffel Tower. He's hoping his next trip will be to Canada, we're guessing Toronto's CN Tower won't be part of the itinerary!
Navin
Navin trained as an electronic engineer before starting his first job as a merchandise examiner in 1979, checking equipment for quality and safety. In 1984 he joined photographic distributor, Johnsons of Hendon (latterly Johnsons Photopia) as a technician, repairing enlargers, projectors and flashguns. In 1987 he began work at KJP where he worked alongside our own Mick Edwards and Fixation founder, Mike Allen. He later joined Pentax UK where he advanced to Technical Endoscopy service manager. Navin joined Fixation in February 2012 and specialises in Canon lens repairs. In addition to the decades of technical experience, Navin has also managed his own newsagents; he enjoys a good malt whiskey and watching international cricket 20/20 matches.
Luigi
Luigi studied electronics at college before joining Camera Service Italia, Canon's authorised repair agent, in his hometown of Naples in 1999. He worked here alongside Giuseppe Cirello until 2012 when both men and their families moved to London and joined Fixation in February of the following year. Luigi specialises in the repair of L lenses and pro to mid-range camera bodies.
He's known for his humour and cheeky smile, but there's really no mistaking where his heart lies - a love of Ducati bikes, Neopolitan pizzas and Sicilian holidays says it all.
But one day, who knows? He may even get used to British weather.
Aleksejs
Born and raised in Soviet Latvia, tri-lingual Aleksejs served his national service repairing military electronics in Chenobyl, just two years before the notorious disaster struck. He later spent many years running his own food stores before returning to a safer form of electronics repairs in 2001. He started in a multi-brand service centre before moving to Latvia’s Canon-authorised service centre in 2003 where there were strong connections with Canon repairers in Finland, Sweden and Russia. In 2010 he uprooted to the UK to join Fixation and his only lament about living in London is the lack of fresh water fishing. Thankfully for us, he doesn’t carp on about it.
Heading up the Nikon and Sony side of the operation, Barry Edmonds looks after a team of 6 experienced technicians who are fully trained prior to being unleashed on our customers’ gear.
Barry
Barry (aka Baz, but please, not “mate”) came to us from Nikon UK in 1995 and now oversees our in-house team of Nikon repair specialists. With this much history in the industry, there’s not much he doesn’t know about Nikon gear. Barry loves the hands-on work, almost as much as talking to pro photographers, and on those occasions he’s lured away from his workbench, he’ll often be found talking cameras in the showroom with an old customer. His broad knowledge and long memory makes him a go-to guy for questions on older kit and his habit of bringing doughnuts to the office makes him equally popular among the staff. In his spare time, when he’s not debating whether to keep the beard or get rid of it, Barry enjoys playing sports & skiing and if his poor old knees are playing up, he’ll pick up a Nikon and take some pictures at his retreat in France.
Yusuf
Yusuf's interest in computers and electronics began at an early age and he unofficially ran his school's IT department. He completed his degree in Computer Aided Design in 1996 and became a Field Engineer, later QA engineer, for Bromcom computers. In 1999 he joined Motorola GSM Systems as a De-bug Engineer and in 2001 joined Alcatel Submarine Networks, working on their under-water fibre-optics. He joined Fixation in 2002 and until 2016 performed our IT support as well as carrying out repairs. These days he repairs Nikon film scanners and Quantum products, as well as Nikon's mid-range and semi-pro bodies and lenses and keeps his hand in with computers by volunteering as IT Consultant at his local library. Yusuf has a reputation within Fixation for enjoying his food, although his diet is going well. He's a fan of Stephen Hawking, whose theories he finds fascinating and his guilty pleasure is any film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Chris
Chelsea fan Chris was originally employed by Melanie in 2002 when she supervised the Customer Support team at Nikon UK. But having always had an interest in how things work, when an opportunity came up to join Nikon’s workshop as a trainee in 2005, Chris swapped the telephone for screwdrivers and soldering irons and hasn’t looked back. He joined Fixation in May 2012 and continues to repair Nikon pro and semi-pro cameras and lenses. Chris has a strong interest in history, particularly the engineering feats of the industrial revolution. But if you want to chill with Chris, don’t suggest a night in watching Game of Thrones – he’s very resolutely not a fan!
Joy
When Joy left college in 1982 she knew that pen-pushing was not for her and was determined to find a manual or technical career that suited her. A visit to The Job Centre introduced her to the Government’s Youth Opportunities Program, specifically a chance to train as a technician at Luton camera Repairs where she remained for years repairing multiple major brands.
She joined Fixation in November 2011 and specialises in the repair of Nikon lenses. As well as being dextrous, she’s green-fingered, plays tennis and keeps chickens. She currently has two named Ginger and Sooty, both apparently eggcellent layers!
Pabita
Pabita may be petite, but she's a powerhouse when it comes to repairs. She studied electronics and engineering at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, before joining Nepal Television Corporation as an operation technician using Sony video cameras and monitors in the studio, later making the switch to repairs. She began by repairing large, heavy-duty products, later adding more conventional consumer products to her repertoire. She joined Fixation in April 2007 and these days specialises in expiring Nikon pro bodies such as the D700 and D800 series. Pabita's free-time revolves around her young family, but she also enjoys reality shows such as Strictly and Bake-Off. Her ideal dinner party guests include a feisty American comedienne and two British Prime ministers. It might result in some lively conversations, but one thing we're sure they'd agree on is the tastiness of Pabita's Nepalese curries.
Jay
Perpetually cheerful and all-round nice guy, Jay studied motor mechanics at Willesden Polytechnic before becoming a mechanical engineer at a machinery factory in 1978. In 1985 he joined Olympus as a repairer and in 1987 moved to Pentax where he happened to work alongside our own Navin Ranpura. Following a stint at Orion Photographic, Jay joined Fixation in July 1994, making him the second longest serving member of staff. Aside from family, Jay's big love is cricket. Once an all-rounder, but now predominantly a batsman, Jay plays for Bharat CC in the Wembley area of Middlesex. He also values the sense of community and volunteers as a helper at events such as a 10-day Indian festival and summer BBQs that cater for 800 people. Jay also enjoys Eastenders and has fond memories of watching Crossroads in its heyday. Perhaps this is what gave him the incentive to fix broken things.
John-Jay
Possibly the quietest person at Fixation, no-one would be surprised to know that John-Jay is a keen chess player in his spare time, but even close colleagues may raise an eyebrow when they learn that John-Jay rocks out to the likes of Aerosmith and Bon Jovi in the privacy of his own shower. After studying electronics at Zamboanga University in his native Philipines, John worked with robotics and machine manufacturing for a company called Greatech Philipines Inc. before working as a programmer and wirer for companies such as Motorola, Samsung and intel. Chelsea fan John joined Fixation in October 2008 and repairs Nikon entry and mid-range cameras and their range of flashguns. He tries to return to the Philipines as often as he can, in fact life is a Bed of Roses if he’s able to do this every year.
Melanie Stanton leads our Service Administration and Call Centre team of four. Whether you have a question about damaged equipment or you need assistance with your repair, our knowledgeable and friendly team is on hand to help you with your enquiry.
Mel
Before starting at Fixation in 2012, Melanie spent 17 years managing Nikon UK’s Service Support, so there’s little she doesn’t know about camera faults and repair processes. Her biggest claim to fame is that she studied Media Studies at Uni alongside Charlie Brooker and previous jobs include being a Deaf Facilitator for a GCSE student and a Law Clerk for the Crown Prosecution Service (the other CPS!) She also worked a long stint as a barmaid in a rough pub that taught her lots about customer handling. She’s had one of her photos published on commercial greetings cards and another on the cover of a French birding magazine, but regrets taking fewer photos these days than she would like. She is arguably Fixation’s loudest sneezer and can be prone to uncontrollable fits of giggles. She’s fearless in the face of spiders, but peas give her the heebie-jeebies!
Libby
Selfie Queen and Liza Minelli fan, Libby joined Fixation in 2012. She was employed to provide temporary cover whilst Fixation set-up and staffed their depot at the London Olympics, but it turned out so well she ended up staying. Libby had previously attended catering college and worked for a chocolatier and although she would self-deprecatingly describe herself as a failed pastry chef, those who have tasted her banana bread and other treats know that this belies her talents in this area. She has run a Brownie pack for several years and more recently started helping out at a Scout troop. She is very proud to be a positive role model for young girls, teaching them to have confidence in their bodies and abilities and instilling in them the Guiding motto that Girls Can Do Anything!
Charlotte Seymour
Charlotte is very much a geek in the modern sense of the word. A fan of comic books, cosplay, fantasy and sci-fi, Charlotte is a regular at the annual London Comic Con. Before starting at Fixation in May 2016, Charlotte worked front of house in a bingo hall and still works for Fulham FC on matchdays as an administrator and steward. She completed her photography degree in 2015 and continues to practise the art both personally and professionally. She often spends Sundays at a local leisure centre taking and selling photographs of families enjoying their swim - at least she won’t have far to go to fix any water damage! Although Charlotte feels well-prepared for the Zombie apocalypse, she admits she is terrified of spiders!
Our sales team is made up of Mike McNamara, Ian Fleming and Greg Barker. They are happy to discuss your requirements in person, over the phone or email.
Mike
Mike “Child of the 60s” McNamara has worked on Fixation’s sales desk for thirteen years, but his career in photography started decades earlier and he claims to have spent most of his life with a camera in hand. He’s certainly familiar with both sides of the business, starting as a studio photographer in the early seventies, before going on to work for Wallace Heaton, Fox Talbot and Leeds Photovisual in the early eighties. He reckons one of the best things about working in the industry is that photographers are characters in themselves and like nothing more than talking and imbibing to a professional level; after a recent awards show he found himself in Harrow. (NB. He doesn’t live in Harrow). He still enjoys taking pictures, especially as the new wave of mirrorless cameras means they’re easier to cart around.
Ian
If Ian Fleming the novelist had characterised this namesake in one of his books, you might expect the result to be more Caractacus Pott than 007. Whether it’s his Ronnie Corbett impression, one of his wardrobe malfunctions (beware wayward buttons and underpants at large), or his unconventional take on life, Ian certainly gives his colleagues the giggles. But there’s more to him than just the laughs – a degree from Durham university and invaluable experience in the industry, including 12 years working with Donal at Jacobs Photovisual (Donal is responsible for recommending him to Fixation and we’re all happier for it). He’s also a keen cyclist, a doer of cryptic crosswords and a keen quiz brain. So perhaps, all-in-all, not completely Potts after all.
Our Clients
I feel very lucky to have their never-ending support. They are the tops!
Sandra LousadaReportage photography is tough on equipment. If I drop a lens or wreck a camera body I need it fixed soonest. Knowing Paula, Mike and their team can work miracles, in both time and service, is fantastically reassuring.
Tim GrahamWhy do I use Fixation? They fix the bits other people don’t even know about!
Mike St Maur Sheil[Fixation] have become the first choice for equipment and after-sales service for many working photographers in London, the UK and overseas….because they understand intimately the needs of real working news and sports Photographers. They appreciate that for photographers working at the world’s top events, ‘near enough’ isn’t ‘good enough’.
Press AssociationOn behalf of my department I would like to send a huge message of thanks to your team… It comes as a huge relief to find a company like yourselves who provide such an excellent, fair priced and professional service.
National GalleryFixation delivers expertise with efficiency, and it is this unrivaled service that Nikon has come to rely upon over the years. We are pleased to recommend Fixation to our most important customers.
Nikon UKI just wanted to say a massive thank you for the incredibly professional and efficient service I received with the repair of my camera. It’s refreshing in this day and age to deal with a company who actually seem to care about its customers! I have already recommended you to a few of my friends!
Paul StephensonWhat a great, personal and attentive service, that in this day and age is a pleasure to experience. I feel your Company and Staff should take pride in an exceptional customer service ethos and attention to detail even for the smallest of jobs on expensive and valuable equipment.
John Fanning