Pierro Pozella of PPP Cameras, one of the UK’s best-known film camera repairers, has confirmed that he is no longer accepting customer repairs – though he stresses he hasn’t stopped repairing cameras altogether.

In a post on the PPP Cameras website, Pozella writes: “Although I quietly stopped accepting customer repairs a few months ago, I wanted to make an official announcement to avoid any confusion.” He adds: “This doesn’t mean I’ve stopped repairing cameras altogether.”

What PPP Cameras will keep doing

Pozella says he will continue to repair, service and refurbish cameras for sale through PPP Cameras, develop new products, parts and accessories, run PPP Film Lab, and build Camera Index, his online resource for film photographers. He has been repairing cameras for more than 15 years.

For anyone who still needs a repair, he points customers towards the independent repair specialists listed in Camera Index’s Useful Links section.

A growing problem for film shooters

This is a real loss for the film community. The number of people with the skills, parts and patience to repair mechanical and early electronic film cameras is small and getting smaller, and demand has only grown as film photography has boomed. For students starting out on second-hand cameras – like the Pentax K1000s and Canon AE-1s we use on our darkroom course – a reliable local repairer can be the difference between a camera that gets used and one that ends up in a drawer.

The good news is that Pozella isn’t leaving the scene, and refurbished cameras sold through PPP will continue to give new film photographers a safer route than an untested auction listing. We’d encourage anyone buying a film camera to look for refurbished, serviced bodies where possible, and to support the independent repairers who remain.

Key details

Find out more

Read Pierro’s full update on the PPP Cameras website. Via Kosmo Foto.