I had this warning as well, although I think that it started after I set a cold drink too near the camera. (The condensation sensor might not respond well to cold drinks in aluminum cans...) I was also unable to get the camera to close the DV film holder while the condensation warning was displaying. JVC service technicians, both online and 1-800, were unable to suggest anything except, "send the camera to the nearest JVC service center." I tried the QTip idea described below and had no luck. (I guess it might work on cameras that at one time DID get humid air inside the camera compartment.) The below described process involving 11-screw removal, separating the camera, and unplugging the white plug to force a hard reset of the camera removed the condensation warning. Incidentally, the film holder started closing automatically again as well. If you cannot see the solutions below this post use the blue "next" button under the posts to find the next page of posts. The procedure looks and sounds a lot more terrifying than it actually is. I am no jeweller, engineer or handyman, (and I had to use the fiancee's tweezers instead of my clumsy fingers to get the some of the screws back in to the holes) and I did the entire procedure in ten minutes and had no trouble. Creds and Kudos to you all for finding and posting the solution; you saved me hundreds of dollars.

Here is the rest of the Tim Riker article describing the procedure, in case it "fell off" your linked website: CONDENSATION, OPERATION PAUSED, May 18, 2005 By Tim Riker "Linux Technologist" - See all my reviews This model is prone to display this error message for long periods of time. The manual says to just wait it out (1 hour recommended). Solution: Take a slightly damp cotton swap and clean the moisture sensor. Remove power from the camera. I remove the battery as well. In the back of where the tapes go, on the left side is a silver component. It's just behind a metal roller that hangs down from a plastic piece over the head. If you look behind the roller diagonally across where the tape goes, you can see a black square on the right side of the silver component. Clean this (gently!) with a moist cotton swab. The swap should get a bit of black gunk off. I'd recommend cleaning it with a dry swab next to remove any moisture. Wait a minute or so to be sure it's dry. Then re-apply power. You should not see a false consensation message for a long time. ;-) I'm gonna go try it now.

Great directions!! It works! you have no idea how happy I am to use my camera again!! After all the research I have done and nothing worked but ended up very frustrated I finally discovered this page. You don't know how thankful I am as I was about to spend tons of money for a new camera. Thank you!!! Anna

OK, so yea the first time i got this problem on my camera, i thought it was gonna be a problem that the camera would fix itself... at least that's what i thought was implied by the message "PLEASE WAIT...OPERATION PAUSED" But after waiting an entire day, the problem persisted, and so i decided to do something. I looked online for solutions, and found this website. I followed the instructions for "disassembling" the camera for a hard reset. What worked for my camera was removing all the screws on the outside shell, VERY CAREFULLY separating the sides, and letting it sit for 5-10 minutes. Of the screws i removed, i counted 25 in total... this includes some under the screen, one hidden by the eyepiece if you raise it, one under the s-video flap, but not the 2 on the "flapper door" for the mini-tapes... This technique solved the condensation problem for me twice. I wouldnt recommend it because it's a scary procedure, but if you're suffering from frustration like i was, you might wanna try it. What i would recommend is staying away from JVC, which is what i do now.

Thank you for the detailed instructions. It took me only 5 minutes to perform the "surgery". I didn't use post-its but made 11 circles on a white paper and place the crews in them. If you want to be better than me you can draw the four faces of the unit and map your circles on it. Thank you again. I am sure that without your instructions it would take me one hours and a lot of risks.

Condensation paused

Hello, I have a JVC camcorder and was having the condensation problem. But today the camera seem to be working just fine. I simply left the tape compartment open for one night next morning the camcorder was working again. Just click the tape eject button, take the tape out, and leave turn the camcorder off and plug it into the AC-outlet, that all I did.

I took it apart and even thought I have mixed up the screws a bit... It worked like a charm. I hope it last a while.

OMG it worked..I didn't believe it..it worked.. I have been dealing with this issue for about a year.. because I like the camera.OMG thank you thank you thank you

I read the following two messages: - http://jimthompson.org/wp/2005/08/15/i-will-never-buy-another-jvc-camera/ - http://www.edbydesign.com/books/B0000899QP.html (see the message posted on 2005-05-31) For your convenience, I copy it here. ------------ Solution for JVC Condensation Issue! 2005-05-31 Please take the time to look at the reviews on this page. Tim Riker "Linux Technologist" writes a review (a little further down) that anyone with a JVC MiniDV camcorder should read. I too was getting the dreaded "CONDENSATION" warning that was preventing me from using my model GR-D70, a very close relative to the GR-D30. Took me a little time to identify the area where the sensor resides. Once I cleaned it off a dried it out, my camcorder worked as good as new. Thanks Tim! Just to help others orient themselves for the cleanin process, hold the camcorder on it's side, with the tape door open, lens facing right. Everything is where Tim says it should be. The silver component in question is in the rear left upper corner, with some orangish plasticky tape above and below. You almost can't see the small black sensor square on the right side of the component. May help to have a second pair of hands hold a flashlight in place. Beyond the sensor issue, I have been very happy with the quality of the camera. Has held up well in the two years that I've had it. ----------- I follow the instruction and clean up the black sensor square. Then it works fine. - Peter