Regarding the sockets, let me summarise:
1. Digikey ones are recommended for Cam84. The CCD should (hopefully) fit in them.
2. The element14 ones are identical to
these suggested on CN, apart from being lead free. They have identical dimensions as the digikey ones but would need cutting.
3. Have you seen
these? Local, cheap, need cutting. Identical dimensions. Beryllium copper as well.
Now, looking at Faddy's design, I cannot see if he/she socketed the sensor. But we should beware of the height of the sensor as you mentioned that some capacitors were at the max height. Socketing will increase the height by at least 4.2mm. But I suppose we have 10mm height to play with.
Do you have a datasheet with dimensions of the sensor? I could not find it anywhere.