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.
Hello!
I recently rediscovered a sony cybershot DSC P93 in a drawer. I believe my parents bought it the year it was released, and I was curious to try using it again. At first, it worked without any major problems — just some minor issues with the batteries, but overall it was fine.
After getting better batteries, I started exploring some manual settings. However, when I adjusted the ISO and used the zoom functions, the camera suddenly stopped capturing images, showing a black screen along with the same message you mentioned.
Your post really helped me understand more about how the camera works internally, but I’m still afraid that opening it might make the problem even worse. Would you have any suggestions that might help me solve this?
Hi:
You need to get a decent PH000 size screwdriver and some lubricant that’s compatible with plastic (silicone or dry type). The camera is pretty well designed for repairing, you just need to be careful not to stress the ribbon cable too much.
IIRC there’s a ribbon cable connecting the user panel to the main board, which is designed to pivot around the right hand side edge of the body. There are ribbon cables connecting the microphone and other stuff to the main board and those are coming from the bottom side. You need to undo those before you can slide the mainboard + lens assembly out from the body.
Good luck!
Hi
We tried everything we could, including your suggestions, but the camera still shows a black screen when in shutter mode. It seems like it’s able to take pictures, but something in the lens mechanism is preventing it from working properly. So I believe the issue is inside the lens, and at this point, I don’t think there’s much more I can do to fix it. Still, thank you so much for all your help! If you happen to have any knowledge or advice about this, or about fixing lenses in general, I’d be really glad to hear it.