I have the same problem with my GR-D30. That is, when I turn it on to record, there is no video, just the (momentary flashing message about the lens cap), and any other menu features that happen to be in effect. It will record sound but no picture. I thought at first it was the battery. After lots of charging (and testing) I have ruled out the battery. For me this problem is intermittent. Sometimes when I turn it on to record, everything works fine. Next time-- nothing. I thought maybe temperature played a role. But that does not seem to be the case. This afternoon I turned it on to record and a picture came on momentarily, then immediately went to black (except for the menu). The playback feature works fine, good picture and sound. Anything that was recorded when it was working correctly plays back fine. But only the sound plays back for anything that was recorded while it was not operating correctly. Unfortunately it is now out of warranty.

I have the same problem with a gr-d53 from JVC. The camera is about 1 year old, I guess the ccd could be broken.