Recently old CCD cameras have been resurfacing on the internet in China. They are getting popular again for their retro, film-like color representation. While I already own a Lumix full-frame DSLR, I still decided to get involved in the CCD business(sort of.
I bought this SONY DSC-P93 as non-working from 闲鱼(Xianyu, or GooFish, the Chinese second-hand market app) for CNY100. The seller states the unit only works when powering from AC adapter and not from battery.
Upon arrival, I found the battery contacts to be oxidized. I cleaned the contacts and it started right up. Guess I got lucky this time. However, as I used the zoom function, there are clicking sounds when zooming out and the OVF is stuttering. At the end of zooming-out, the camera throws an error (Please turn off power and turn on again).
So I opened up the camera. There is a sliding element on the lens assembly that moves when the lens zooms in or out. It has two groves cut into, which are used to adjust the zoom of the OVF. It has a spring that pulls it back into home position when the lens zooms out. This slider is not moving freely, neither was the sliding action of the OVF. So I lubricated both with some silicone-based lubricant. I also took the chance to clean the OVF since it’s hard to clean the edge of the glass from outside.
The box shaped part next to the spring is a optical switch, when the slider does not return to home position, it will trigger the error. The lens assembly itself working fine though. After this issue is fixed, the camera works very well.
The screen of this unit however is sun damaged and I wasn’t ready to replace the polarizer. The exterior has also seen a lot of wear and tear. I ended up buying another DSC-P93 with a near brand-new exterior for CNY80 and switched it with the guts of this unit, and selling the refurbished camera for CNY330.