Help Centre

Unfortunately, there is no getting away from the fact that the quality of the lens you are using has a significant impact on its ability to resolve detail.  This can mean a higher price tag, but there is no doubt that it is worth investing in the best quality glass you can afford.  This is particularly important if using one of the top-end DSLR sensors where resolution is sufficiently high to render the tiniest of detail.  Unfortunately, this also means they can also capture the smallest of movements in the equipment, so if you have recently upgraded your camera you may need to get accustomed to shooting with a tripod or at a faster shutter speed than previously to eradicate any blur.

Most photographers are aware that use of a teleconverter will impair sharpness, but may be surprised by the difference a filter can make. Again, it is worth investing in a good one to minimise any negative effect.  Whatever lens or filter you are using, don’t forget to keep them clean!  A layer of dust, smears or fingerprints on the outer optics will not be conducive to optimum image clarity!

It is not only sensors that have become more sophisticated; autofocus technology has too. Cameras are now equipped with a vast array of focus options and areas, but this doesn’t mean they are capable of predicting your intention, so you will need to ensure you choose the best settings for the situation. Select the most appropriate AF point for the area you want to focus on and don’t confuse the camera by using multiple focus points or a predictive AF setting for stationary subjects; save this for when you need to track moving subjects. If you think you are experiencing sharpness problems, make sure you test it on single-point focus.

We are sure most of you don’t need reminding, but if your shutter speed is not fast enough when shooting handheld, the resulting images will suffer from the effects of camera shake. When this occurs, there will be all-over blur with no sharp areas in the image. As a general rule, the speed you use should be at least as fast as the focal length (or effective focal length) of the lens. So, if you are hand-holding a lens with an effective or actual focal length of 200mm, you will need to employ a shutter speed of at least 1ƒ/250sec to avoid blur. A lens with VR or IS should enable you to achieve good results with speeds 2-3 stops slower. However, if this does not appear to be the case your lens may require attention from our service department.

The sharpness of any lens will not be constant, it will change with the aperture, focal length and subject distance in use.  Using smaller apertures can create diffraction blur and larger ones defocus blur.  Every lens will have a “sweet spot” – one particular aperture setting that will produce maximum resolution of the in-focus area and this is usually a few stops down from wide open.  Many users expect the widest aperture to be the sharpest and sadly this is not the case – if sharpness is more important that the depth of field, try finding the sweet spot of your lens and always bear this in mind to get the best balance for your needs.

Don’t make the mistake of believing that sharpening is a correction tool – it isn’t.  In fact it is way of enhancing the edges within an image by increasing the contrast and thereby increasing definition and revealing detail.  Don’t overdo it, but we would recommend applying some in-camera or in post-production, or your images will lack bite and appear soft.

This can sometimes be the case, but it is rare. At the time of production, there will be a range of acceptable tolerance for the focus set-up of the camera and lenses. In most cases, any slight difference within that scale will be unnoticed, but if the body is at one end of the tolerance scale and the lens at the other, you may find that the two together produce a slight back or front focus; the actual point of focus is slightly behind or in front of the intended subject. Your camera may have an AF Fine-Tune or Micro-adjustment feature that will enable you register the AF position for an individual lens, from which the camera will compensate every time that lens is attached.

It should be noted that this facility should not be necessary for most lenses and is not intended to be a substitute for attention in a service department where fundamental optical problems are concerned.

If you have eliminated user issues, our Service Department is here to help remedy any fault with your Nikon or Canon body or lens; but there may still be some investigation required to identify the cause of the problem. Sample images can often help us in this respect, but they must be RAW or unedited JPEGs. This way, we can view the shooting data and even the focus area that was in use at the time of shooting. Your images may help us to identify the problem, or at least to reproduce the conditions in which it is exhibited. It will also help if you can identify which item is giving you the problem; are your images soft with numerous lenses, indicating a possible fault with the body, or is a single lens the culprit?

For focusing to be accurate, the camera’s body dimensions/depth – or the measurements from lens mount to the plane of focus – must be correct to within a fraction of a millimetre. Correcting any anomalies with the dimensions could require a realignment or calibration of the mirrors or sensor, but if there is damage/distortion to the bayonet or internal frame of the camera, the affected parts will need to be replaced.

You may not always be aware of it happening, but lenses do get knocked and some internal parts may also be subject to wear, including those keeping the lens elements in place. This will affect optical alignment, meaning image sharpness/resolution will suffer. The Fixation technicians will replace any worn or damaged parts, ensure all the optics are properly centred and perform the set-up/calibration process to return your kit to the manufacturer’s specification.

There can be many reasons why equipment fails to find focus at all, ranging from dust on the camera’s AF sensor to misplaced optics in the lens. Before concluding there is a fault, however, it’s worth checking a couple of things. For example, is there sufficient light or contrast for the equipment to focus? And what is the minimum focus distance of the lens in use? If your subject is too close for that particular lens, it will not find focus.

In a separate process to the actual focusing, the prism in the top of the camera will reflect the image into the viewfinder to assist you with composition. Because manufacturers know that users’ eyesight will vary, most modern DSLRs have a built-in dioptre that can be adjusted to improve the clarity of the viewfinder for the individual. This adjustment is usually done via a dial or slider at the side of the viewfinder. Try moving this until the LED info or grid lines displayed in the viewfinder are as sharp as possible to your eyes. If the adjustment is ineffective, the viewfinder optics may need attention from our technicians.

Failure to activate the AF is likely to mean that a trip to the service centre is unavoidable, but it still may be worth a quick check of the basics. Some lenses will have a switch for AF or MF and the camera also needs to be set to one of the AF modes, rather than to manual focus. If your camera has an ‘AF-ON’ button on the rear, top or right side of the camera, it is worth checking to see if this activates the AF instead. If it does, the issue may be solely with the shutter-release button, rather than a more major AF problem. Better still, it may be that you have unwittingly selected a custom setting that has activated this button for AF, rather than your shutter release. If you don’t know where to find this option, a quick reset of your settings should rectify it.

Most AF zoom lenses designed for DSLR stills photography are varifocal, rather than parfocal. This means they are not designed to retain focus throughout the zoom range and there is likely to be some shift of focus when zooming, which is perfectly normal. Designing them as parfocal would mean big compromises in terms of size and price, and generally users of such lenses do not require it because they use the AF function, so the focus shift is of no consequence.

Where parfocal lenses may be needed is in video production/cinematography and we would recommend lenses designed specifically for this purpose.

Again, we are back to the varifocal nature of most lenses, which means that infinity focus will shift with different focal lengths. In addition, lens components will expand and contract with temperature changes, which will also affect the focus position. Plus, a hard stop at the point of infinity is likely to damage – or reduce the life of – the strong motors required to move focusing elements speedily, so all things considered, it’s probably no bad thing.

Here at Fixation, we offer a quick, professional sensor-cleaning service that is second to none, providing the safest and most effective way to remove dust from the entire mirror box area and restore clarity to your images. Our technicians go the extra mile to ensure a thorough clean, undertaking the following steps each time:

• Take test images to establish level and location of dust
• Clean the mirror box area, including the underside of the focus screen
• Clean the sensor
• Clean the body cap and the rear element area of any attached lens
• Take further test images and magnify to 100% resolution to ensure cleaning has been successful

Please note that we may change your camera settings whilst we perform the cleaning. Please read our T&Cs for further info.

We are often asked how often sensor cleaning is needed. There is no one answer to this question as it depends on the frequency of use and working environment that your camera is exposed to. We recommend you check your sensor by taking a picture of a clear background or blue sky with a small f-stop and checking the image at 100% on a computer. This should be done before any important job, event or trip away to make sure you have clear images when it’s most important.

All full frame cameras £55 + VAT

All crop frame cameras £30 + VAT

Unfortunately we cannot offer a warranty on our sensor cleaning service as it is part of the nature of DSLR cameras that this phenomenon can occur at any time.

All Nikon DSLRs and crop-sensor Canon DSLRs can be cleaned while you wait, taking around 30 minutes. The latest drop-off time for while-you-wait cleaning is 4.30pm Mon-Thurs or 4.00pm on Friday.

Other makes
We can clean the sensors of most other DSLR or Mirrorless models, but these must be supplied with a fully charged battery and a lens for the full testing procedure.

We can perform same-day cleaning on Canon full-frame cameras that arrive at Fixation before 9am. These will be ready for collection by 4pm. Any cameras that arrive after 9am will be completed by 4pm the following working day.

Please note: We are only able to access and clean the sensors on cameras with user-detachable lenses. We do not have the facilities to clean compact cameras. If you feel that dust is disrupting your images, contact the manufacturer’s service department.

For Canon Powershot and IXUS, click here

For Nikon Coolpix, click here

Attach a double-sided sticky tab on the inside of your body cap and rear lens cap. If any large pieces of errant dust are floating around on the back of your lens, or in the mirror box, they will stick to the tab and not the sensor.

Be careful not to use high-tack sticky tape or you’ll have issues removing it from the inside of your cap when it needs changing.

Here at Fixation we only use special low-tack discs which we also sell in a pack of 10 for £5.

For more info contact sales@fixationuk.com or call us on 020 7582 3294

Use the Oval exit from the National Rail station or Exit 3 from the Underground station. Once on South Lambeth Road:

• Cross over towards the Vauxhall Tavern pub and turn right along the pavement
• Follow this for about 300 yards past the two churches (one right, one left) and past the Lilian Baylis school on the right
• Past the next traffic lights, just before the petrol station on the left, you will arrive at a car park with the sign ‘250 Kennington Lane’ at the entrance
• Unit C is the left-hand unit, clearly marked

Walk through the pedestrian tunnel to the left of the Vauxhall National Rail station entrance. Once on South Lambeth Road:

• Cross over towards the Vauxhall Tavern pub and turn right along the pavement
• Follow this for about 300 yards past the two churches (one right, one left) and past the Lilian Baylis school on the right
• Past the next traffic lights, just before the petrol station on the left, you will arrive at a car park with the sign ‘250 Kennington Lane’ at the entrance
• Unit C is the left-hand unit, clearly signed

• Turn left towards the cricket ground
• Cross over and turn right into Kennington Oval street, then stay on this street until you reach Vauxhall Street on the right
• Turn onto Vauxhall Street and at the traffic lights with Kennington Lane, turn right and cross over
• Just before the petrol station on the left, you will arrive at a car park with the sign ‘250 Kennington Lane’ at the entrance
• Unit C is the left-hand unit, clearly signed

In any communication please quote the job reference number.

Conditions of repair

These conditions apply to any agreement between Fixation and any customer (individual or organisation) entrusting us with goods for evaluation or adjustment.

Important Note: All repairs/services are thoroughly checked before release but it is expected that a final check of the equipment be made by the user. Customers are asked to check that their camera has been restored to their preferred settings before use. Fixation cannot accept any liability for consequential loss due to failure of repair or delayed return.

Manufacturer’s Warranty

Any claim under the manufacturer’s warranty must meet the terms and conditions set out by the maker.  Claims must be accompanied by the appropriate paperwork.  As a minimum this means an acceptable proof of purchase; an applicable warranty certificate may also be required.  Failure to provide the correct documentation may result in a chargeable repair.  Be aware that warranties on digital products may be regional and therefore only valid in the designated area in which the manufacturer intended it to be sold.  Grey imports and overseas purchases may therefore be exempt.

A warranty claim will also be refused if examination shows the cause is anything other than a manufacturing fault, including but not necessarily limited to:

• Improper use, damage or defects caused by incorrect storage, impact, excessive shock, liquid damage or damage by foreign substances.
• Repairs, modifications, tampering carried out by an unauthorised third party
• Damage caused by incorrect voltage input
• Use of spare parts or software not compatible with the product.
• Damage in transit.

Estimates

The estimates we provide are based on examination and diagnostic tools. Estimates may be subject to later revision if the internal condition of the equipment is not as anticipated (e.g. unforeseen damage or third party tampering), or if on further examination we find additional work is required.  In these circumstances we will provide a re-estimate of the work and costs.

Our estimates should be suitable for insurance purposes, we would advise contacting your insurer for their policies and claim procedures.  If additional letters are required further charges may apply.

Estimates are valid for 30 days from the date of the estimate.

Refusals

No refusal charge is incurred, but Fixation has insufficient storage space to hold items indefinitely and the return of the goods must be arranged within 4 weeks.  Applicable arrangements include collection, payment of despatch charge (£10 + vat for standard, overnight delivery by courier) or authorisation to dispose of the goods on site.  In the absence of such arrangements, a recorded letter will be sent and the item will be disposed of.  We may charge storage fees if extended storage is requested.

Repair Times

All effort will be made to minimise turnaround time. Actual times will fluctuate according to demand and technician availability, but estimated turnaround times are updated on our website.

Any dates quoted by Fixation for completion of repair work are approximate and not guaranteed; we cannot accept liability for any consequential loss suffered as a result of a delayed repair. Some delays may occur whilst we await supply of spare parts required to complete a repair. Every effort will be made to keep the customer informed of progress, but such delays are beyond Fixation’s control and influence. 

Payment

Repaired items will only be released on receipt of payment, where applicable.  Payment is expected within 4 weeks of notification that the repair is complete.

Payment may be made in person upon collection of goods, or by telephone when arranging despatch.  We accept payment by cash (collection only), debit/credit card (excluding American Express and Diners) or Bacs transfer (goods will only be released when funds have cleared into our account).

For card holders’ own security when taking telephone payments, anti-fraud checks are made based on matching the address of the registered card-holder.  For this reason, we reserve the right not to accept payment by cards registered to non-UK addresses and in these circumstances a Bacs transfer may be required.

Where, despite documented reminders (by email and letter), items are not collected or paid for after three months, in accordance with the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act, this equipment shall be disposed of in order to retain from the proceeds of such sale any amount sufficient to defray costs of repairs and expenses incurred in attempting to trace and notify the customer. The customer will be entitled to any balance, but no interest shall be payable on any amount retained by the company.

Repair Warranty

All Nikon & Canon repair work is guaranteed for a period of 6 months from the date of invoicing, unless otherwise stated (3 months for all other brands). Should any customer not be satisfied with work carried out, they must contact Fixation within a period of 3 months from the time of collection/despatch.  All repairs are thoroughly checked before being released, but it is expected that a final check of the equipment be made by the user. Non-use of the equipment does not extend the guarantee period. Fixation shall not be responsible for any consequential loss or damage whatsoever claimed by reason of repairs carried out, or subsequent failure thereof.

The re-repair guarantee covers failure under normal operating conditions of previously repaired/replaced components and the associated labour.

All re-repairs are subject to inspection and at the discretion of the technician.  Rejection of any claim (for example if the camera has suffered any physical damage or the subsequent fault is unrelated to the previous repair) will result in a new estimate and return shipping charges will apply. 

Shipping charges may also apply if the camera proves to be working to specification with no further repair necessary. 

Repairs covered by our repair guarantee will be returned via standard shipping at our expense (other shipping methods will be chargeable).

Goods in transit

We can advise on likely delivery dates, but these may not be 100% guaranteed.  We cannot accept liability for any consequential loss arising from delayed deliveries.  Consignments despatched via our main shipping options are insured and a signature will be required upon delivery.

Should the equipment appear to be damaged upon unpacking, please retain the item and the packaging (even if unmarked) and notify the Service Department immediately to initiate the claim procedure.

These terms and conditions are raised in addition to and should be read in conjunction with our standard Hire Terms and Conditions.  They apply to any courtesy loan of equipment for whatever reason. The term “hirer” refers to the customer who is being loaned the equipment by Fixation.  Acceptance of Courtesy equipment is taken as acceptance of these Terms and Conditions, whether or not this document is signed where indicated by the hirer.

Circumstances

Fixation may agree to loan courtesy equipment under certain circumstances, including but not limited to the following:-

a. Where a customer has purchased new Nikon or Canon equipment from Fixation and suffers a failure of the equipment during the warranty period, which is not due to customer misuse or abuse.  If Fixation is satisfied that the fault is a valid warranty claim, and is unable to complete satisfactory repairs within two working days of the equipment being submitted to Fixation for inspection, then Fixation will issue loan equipment for the period until repairs are completed.  Whilst Fixation will endeavour to provide replacement with the same model, if this is not available for whatever reason, we will supply the next most appropriate model. 

b. Fixation may agree to loan courtesy equipment where a customer believes that a repair carried out by Fixation’s own workshop has not been satisfactorily completed.  Fixation reserves the right to inspect the equipment before issuing a loan to verify the customer’s claim.  Whilst Fixation will endeavour to provide replacement with the same model, if this is not available for whatever reason, we will supply the next most appropriate model. 

c. If a customer suffers a service failure due to an oversight or error by a member of Fixation staff, or by an agency outside of our business through no fault of the customer, if appropriate, we may, without prejudice and as a gesture of goodwill, offer to loan alternative equipment to enable the customer to continue their business activities.

In all circumstances, if the customer requests a replacement unit to be sent before Fixation have satisfied themselves of the fault or error, then such equipment will be issued on a chargeable basis, and may be altered to courtesy loan subsequently if circumstances meet the necessary conditions.

Shipping or Courier charges

Fixation will bear the cost of sending Courtesy equipment to the customer.  The cost of returning the equipment to Fixation shall be borne by, and be the responsibility of the hirer.

If Fixation is sending equipment out, we reserve the right to request proof of address for non-account customers, and we will only ship to this address.

Period of Loan of Courtesy Equipment

It is a strict condition of this agreement that the period of loan expires 48 hours after Fixation has informed the customer that their repair is completed and ready for collection.  Fixation will make all reasonable effort to contact the customer by email, telephone, text message or any other means at Fixation’s disposal to inform the customer that their repair is complete.  If the customer fails to return the Loan equipment within 48 hours, the loan will become chargeable at our normal rates.

All other normal terms and conditions relating to Liability, Deposits, Insurance, Loss and Damage, Availability, and Accessories also apply to this agreement.