Home » Manuals and user guides » Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P93

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P93: manual and user guide

Sony’s 5 MP compact, with 3× zoom, running on AA batteries. Its official PDF manual, then the essentials for using it.

The PDF opens directly, served by Sony. Source: its official support page.

Getting started

Charging The NiMH batteries are charged outside the camera, in the BC-CS2A/CS2B charger plugged into the mains: the CHARGE lamp is on while charging and goes out when it’s done. Allow about 6 hours for two flat batteries. Only charge Sony NiMH batteries in it, never alkalines.
Batteries Lift the battery/Memory Stick cover and slide it open. Slide in two AA batteries, NiMH or R6 alkaline, following the +/- marks, then close the cover, holding them in until it clicks. No manganese, lithium or Ni-Cd batteries.
Card It records to Memory Stick, in the same compartment: push it all the way in until it clicks. It takes Memory Stick PRO up to 1 GB. A Memory Stick Duo goes in with its adapter. To format: SET UP, Memory Stick Tool, Format (everything is erased, even protected images).
Switching on for the first time Press POWER: the POWER lamp turns green. The first time you switch on, the Clock Set screen appears: choose the date order, then the year, month, day, hour and minutes with the control button, and confirm with OK. The menu language is changed in the SET UP screen, Language option.
Your first photo Set the mode dial to auto and switch on: the lens cover opens. Press halfway: it beeps and the AE/AF lock lamp stays lit when it’s sharp. Press all the way. When the recording lamp goes out, you can take the next one.

An M mode to set the shutter speed yourself, from 1/1000 s to 30 s, and the aperture: f/2.8 or f/5.6 at wide angle, f/5.2 or f/10 at telephoto. P mode keeps automatic exposure but opens up the menus.
Six scene modes on the dial: Twilight, Twilight portrait, Candle, Landscape, Beach and Soft Snap. For the first three, the shutter speed is slow: use a tripod.
Macro mode focuses from 10 cm at wide angle. At full zoom, you need to step back to 60 cm.
Video with sound, at 640 × 480 or 160 × 112. 640 Fine only records to Memory Stick PRO. While filming, no zoom and no flash.
Multi Burst mode records 16 frames in a row in a single 1M photo.

With two charged NiMH batteries, expect about 410 shots with the screen on, 740 with it off (CIPA standard). With alkalines, only 80 and 180, and the battery indicator doesn’t appear.
On batteries, it switches itself off after about three minutes without use.
An internal button cell keeps the date and time. Left unused for a month, the camera will have drained it: put in charged batteries and leave it switched off for at least 24 hours.
The optical viewfinder doesn’t show exactly what will be recorded (parallax): in macro, frame on the screen.
In cold weather, batteries weaken: keep them warm in a pocket and put them in just before taking photos. Below 5 °C, alkalines may no longer be enough.

Sensor: 9.04 mm CCD (1/1.8 type), about 5.1 MP effective, images up to 2592 × 1944
Lens: 3× zoom, 7.9-23.7 mm (38-114 mm in 35 mm equivalent), f/2.8-5.2
Exposure: auto, P program, M manual (1/1000 s to 30 s), six scene modes, Auto, ISO 100, 200 or 400
Screen and viewfinder: 3.8 cm (1.5-inch) LCD, 134,400 dots, optical viewfinder
Flash: built-in, 0.2 to 3.5 m at wide angle, 0.6 to 2.5 m at telephoto (ISO Auto)
Video: 640 × 480 or 160 × 112, MPEG1 with mono sound
Power: 2 AA batteries, NiMH or R6 alkaline, AC-LS5 AC adapter
Card: Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO up to 1 GB, Duo with adapter
Dimensions and weight: 117.2 × 53.7 × 35.8 mm, about 236 g with batteries, Memory Stick and wrist strap