BLACK SCREEN IN RECORD MODE

i know exactly whats wrong! the same thing happend to me.
1. turn off the gl1 2.look at the record button with the lock and standby switch 3.flip the switch all the way to standby because it might be stuck in the middle 4. turn on your camera

Well the cheapest way is to go into record mode, cap the lens with the black lens cap and record a 'black' picture on the tape. This will erase all the pictures on the tape and leave you with a 'black' screen on the whole tape.

You have a defective CCD imager - the part of the lens that receives the image. Will need to be replaced.

You are in luck. Sorry for the trouble but your model Elura 50 still has the CCD advisory from the factory for free repair. Send it in for CCD advisory before it is too late! When all functions are working but has distorted image in camera mode is due to CCD chip. Good Luck -James. for further assitance email, go to www.camerarepairjapan.com

call 1800-ok-canon same thing happened to me they fix it for free. its a recall on their side. you get you camera back in about two weeks. good luck

THIS IS YOUR CCD.. SAMSUNG IS VERY AWARE OF THIS BUT STILL CHARGES A ARM AND A LEG

Assuming you don't see any video through the viewfinder, it could be that the CCD has died on that camcorder. It happens, though not frequently.

If the video though the viewfinder is clear, there might be some sensor on the lens ring to indicate a lens cap, or an automatic lens cap not properly disengaging when put in record mode. 

This sounds like the CCD sensor is faulty ( this is the device that generates picture in both v-cams and normal digital cameras and sits behind the lens ). Playback is fine but no image ( or very 'noisy' image ) in capture mode. Easy to repair but one has to put a new CCD block in.

You may have a problem with the image sensor device (CCD). From October 3, 2005 through October 2, 2007, Sony will repair, free of charge, affected products exhibiting the above-mentioned problem where it is caused by the image sensor device. Sony will also cover the cost of shipping and handling from and to addresses within the United States and US Territories for service to correct this issue. To see if you have this problem: Power On your camcorder (make sure the battery is fully charged). Check the LCD screen and verify that the display icons are turned on. If you cannot see the icons, press the Display button until the icons are visible. Put a tape in the camcorder. With the lens cap off, record some video. NOTE: Be sure to speak during the recording so the video will contain your voice. Rewind this section of the tape (using tape counter to verify start of your recording). Play back the recorded video and use the LCD screen on the camcorder to view it. You should hear the audio you recorded and the Display icons/text will still appear. If your camcorder is affected by this CCD issue, the picture will either be extremely distorted, or there will be no visible picture (just a blank LCD screen with the display icons still visible).

Fixed it, at least temporarily I had the side off my trv250 examining it, especially the CCD connection. I had read the post about soldering a capacitor to pins 1 and 3 (from the left) on the bottom row. I didn't have the specific capacitor on hand, but I started touching some of the small ones I did have to those pins. I found that after I touched a 100uF, 10V cap to pins 1 and 3 the picture suddenly came back to life and stayed that way after removing the cap. I have no idea how long this will last, and I've set up the cam on a tripod in the livingroom with the LCD display facing me so I can monitor it. If you, like me, figure you have nothing else to lose, you might want to give this a try. Note: my camera was suffering from the green smeary horizontal lines problem, and wasn't completely black. I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not.