My POS Sony HC1 shows that "Moisture Condensation--Eject Tape" or "Moisture Condensation--turn off for Hour" almost all the time now, even when realistically it's impossible that the camera has run into any moisture whatsoever. I'm way past warantee, is there anything I can do?

PS This my second Sony in a row that's been more fragile than Brian Wilson in boot camp. Has their quality just nose-dived in the last few years? Have Sony camcorders become the equivilant of a 1974 Vega as far as mid-term reliability?

I found the same thing with my Pana camera one time going from a cold house to a hot day outside - it was the battery connections that we doing it. Not sure if that helps.

Not sure about the FUD but I have some issues with my HC1.

First it doesnt like going to the end of tape (beyond 59 min) - once there it wants to eject the tape after showing a Cxx error in the LCD - dont know why, but it always does this now. In fact the only workaround is to eject the tape and rewind in another camera. Ive tried removing the battery and the reset button but Cxx is still there.

Another is I have aquired a hair line crack in the hinge assembly - again I treat the camera with respect and I am at a loss to explain how that happened.

At the time of purchase the HC1 was phenomenal VFM, but looks like the HV20 is about to steal that crown, although shot transition is a big deal for me as my camera spends a lot of time at the end of a jib - I only wish that Sony would make the shot transition controllable via lanc remote.

One thing that can help reduce condensation, when moving a camera from a cold environment to a warm environment, is to put it in an air tight plastic bag before moving, and keep it in the bag until it has warmed up.

A couple of weeks ago I took a trip to Florida (from Virginia) and when I took out my HC1 to use it the humidity problem reared its ugly head - i.e. when I turned on the camera it showed to "eject cassette and wait 1 hour" message. well I waited and waited. I warmed it up with a gentle breeze from a hairdryer. I waited some more. I tried cleaning the dew sensor with a cottonwool bud. Still no joy. The camera was henceforward useless.

Now I had that day taken it from the air-conditioned hotel to a warm outside environment so I understood the problem at first..... but apparently the problem had become permanent. This was only the third time (as far as I remember) since I bought the camera 2 years ago that the dew sensor had showed a warning.

The camera is now in Texas with the Sony repair shop......$510 + shipping to them (their standard flat charge). Now I wish I had bought an extended warranty!!!!! I have requested that they return any parts that they replace so that I can see what the problem was. I can only assume that the dew sensor went bad.

I am now seriously condsidering buying an HC7 as a "spare" I cannot risk losing any more valuable video on expensive vacations!!

Gerald

Anyone try pressing the reset button?? I'll bet it's a software error. Saw it once, and resetting the cam fixed it. Sort of a "blue screen error" type thing. Today's tech is so complex both hardware and software wise, one line of code could cause the problem... and prevent the cam from resetting properly.

A hard reboot resets factory settings, so you'll have to redo any customization, but it's worth a shot, and cheaper that sending it for repair. It's not bad advice for ANY piece of equipment that "freaks out" - disconnect the power, restore factory settings/reset, and see if it works... FWIW, I "fix" things pretty regularly with that simple procedure... as does almost anyone with a computer <wink>!

DB>)

thanks, Dave and everyone--I'll definitely try Dave's suggestion as it does seem stuck in permenant Dew mode. Um... now, where is the reset button?...

Reset button is under the flip out LCD, just below the disp button/slide switch. You might want to see if the manual has any special reset procedures, but I think you just have to find a paperclip to press the recessed button, hold it a couple seconds, and restart the cam.

I should have mentioned in my treatise that one of the things I tried to clear the Dew Sensor warning was to press the reset button! Twice I tried it. No go!!!

Gerald

I received the camera back from Sony in full working order. Apparently they changed the whole tape mechanism - MD(N100) Sub Assy A - as well as the head drum so I am none the wiser as to the actual cause of the humidity warning problem.
It only took them about 3 days once it got there. Obviously that was the simplest solution for them in the circumstances - quicker than doing a full diagnosis I suspect!
I downloaded the service manual for the HC7 from the Sony web site (they don't have the HC1 service manual there) and apparently this mechanism is absolutely identical - same part number for the assembly - so I was able to identify exactly what they did.

Gerald

hey guys, don't know if anyone still has this issue, but it just came up while I was shooting live footage, really bothered me, but good thing we had other cams running. anyhow, I just took out the battery and put it back in, seemed to do the trick!

This is probably a little late and maybe someone has mentioned it elsewhere by now but I have been experiencing this moisture condensation error on my HC1 lately. In fact it's almost every other time I start it up. I read on another site:
http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/showthread.php?t=5357&page=4
that some people have had success removing all batteries and then giving the camera a slap on the underside with the palm of your hand, re-attach battery and power up. Completely gone apparently. I've yet to try it myself, but hey anything's worth a shot.

This is probably a little late and maybe someone has mentioned it elsewhere by now but I have been experiencing this moisture condensation error on my HC1 lately. In fact it's almost every other time I start it up. I read on another site:
http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/showthread.php?t=5357&page=4
that some people have had success removing all batteries and then giving the camera a slap on the underside with the palm of your hand, re-attach battery and power up. Completely gone apparently. I've yet to try it myself, but hey anything's worth a shot.

Not ANOTHER "Slap-a-Sony" saga surely?

This used to happen a lot with some consumer cameras and tape path errors.

Well, Colin and Damian, as the long lost starter of the thread all I can tell you is for me it was expensive trip to sony's Texas repair lab--they fixed it but for almost the cost of an entry level camera and they only provided me with this "service" for the price they did because I bought the camera within the last 6 months or year. If my Canon HV20 played my Sony tapes I would have just let the thing rust. One thing's for sure though--Sony cameras are temperature/humidity wimps and Sony likes it that way, keeps folks coming back every 2 or 3 years for more punishment.

I seem to believe the opposite, I carry my camera(s) both sony in my pack as I trudge up the high peaks of the sierra nevada. They are exposed to snow, wind and extreme cold for days. Except during the middle of the cold days my camera is inside my pack where it heats up like a sauna even on cold days. I take mine out surfing and wakebaording( boat owner) . I am kinda rough on my equipment and havent had any issues with my camreas. V1u. Hc-7, HC-9

My A1 & HC1 have had that problem twice within 6 months of having been sent to Sony Service agent. Both cameras had the moisture symptom within days of each other. Each service repair set me back $ 800.- for both. This last time 2 weeks ago I hadn't used the cameras for more than 1 tape each.
I think A1 & HC1 owners need to gang together to get some answers from Sony. My old Digital 8 has been left lying around in all sorts of places & yet starts up every time I check it. same with the old VX1000. I'm sure the A1 & HC1 are of flawed manufacture/design.

I would agree reading around that it does seem to be concentrated on the A1 and HC1, essentially the same camera anyway, so no surprise that it happens to both then. Seems to be a common flaw in both.
I store my FX1 and HC1 in the same Sony case in a normal temperature room under the same conditions. I pull out the FX1, no worries. I pull out the HC1, whines about moisture condensation. Now, if there really was a problem with the environment that caused condensation then the bloody FX1 would be complaining too, right?
I reckon there's no condensation at all, it's a firmware/sensor problem. Bollocks. Thanks Sony.

constant condensation errors. stored in the same place as my FX1 and Z1u. no issues
with either of them. AND I have the C31:23 error constantly. i have not had this camera
screw up taping a wedding, but it is getting harder to use as a deck. I am thinking
Canon HV30 as a replacement.

I have had a HC-1 for about 2 years and love it.
I never had a moisture problem until I took it to Maui, we had monsoon rains for 4 days although it was never in the rain directly, it gave me the moisture screen after shooting from the hotel room.
After comming back home to Arizona I was getting the moisture screen over half of the time I was using the HC-1, I had it all day yesterday, this morning I was reading this forum and saw the "TRY TO RESET" the HC-1............it worked.
I put a cassette in and got the moisture screen, then I did a reset with a paper clip,
re-entered the date and time and the HC-1 worked.
I sure hope the "FIX" is that easy.
John

Since my post in August about the moisture sensor screen it has happened four more times
all I have to do is reset the camera with a paper clip and it works fine, a lot cheaper than sending it back to Sony.

John

I was starting to get dew warnings so I cleaned the sensor myself and now the warnings have gone away. All you need is a cotton bud and some alcohol. The sensor is a small square device that stands upright and is on the rear left side of the cassette compartment. It is not part of the drum or tape transport so you shouldn't damage them in the cleaning process, but it is just to the left of one of the guide rollers when viewed through the open cassette door.

If it is very dirty it will appear like a small square circuit board about 5mm x 5mm with a black blob in the center and two solder connections at the top. After cleaning you should see a bright copper circuit where the black was prior to cleaning. Gentle wiping with an alcohol moistened cotton bud is all it needs.

Please not that if you do clean it you do so at our own risk.

Can you possibly send a picture of the sensor and exactly where it is located?

Thanks
John Lutz

I was starting to get dew warnings so I cleaned the sensor myself and now the warnings have gone away. All you need is a cotton bud and some alcohol. The sensor is a small square device that stands upright and is on the rear left side of the cassette compartment. It is not part of the drum or tape transport so you shouldn't damage them in the cleaning process, but it is just to the left of one of the guide rollers when viewed through the open cassette door.

If it is very dirty it will appear like a small square circuit board about 5mm x 5mm with a black blob in the center and two solder connections at the top. After cleaning you should see a bright copper circuit where the black was prior to cleaning. Gentle wiping with an alcohol moistened cotton bud is all it needs.

Please not that if you do clean it you do so at our own risk.

Alister, is 100% Correct.
I discovered this for myself, after pulling the camera apart.. Wished I read the message first.

I had a random problem with my Sony HVR-A1P HDV camera experiencing moisture issues. Even under very controlled constant environments.

The issue was definitely not caused by moisture.

With some lens cleaning fluid and a long cotton bud, I cleaned the small circuit board in the back left corner of the tape transport section.

It was initially black, but after two swipes, it was sparkling clean.

After cleaning it revealed something resembling a LDR (light dependent resistor)

After two cotton bud swipes, problem solved. No reset needed.
Saved myself a fortune on service as well.

Dan.

Can you possibly send a picture of the sensor and exactly where it is located? Thanks John Lutz

John,

I actually found this thread to solve the problem.

As Allister said:
"The sensor is a small square device that stands upright
and is on the rear left side of the cassette compartment."

Here's a before and after cleaning the sensor (picture attached).

Hope it's useful for you and the rest.
Cheers!

Fantastic, I live in a humid city and was dreading the day i get a moisture error! thanks


...on another note, Juan, i think you might want to change the link in your signature. my guess is you stopped using that URL... but someone else sure is:)

...on another note, Juan, i think you might want to change the link in your signature. my guess is you stopped using that URL... but someone else sure is:)

Thank you Mike, I thought I changed it, but now's done.
Glad it helped.

Thanks Alister and Juan!

One of my three HC1's has for awhile been giving me "mosture" warnings -- and a second one today started to do the same. It's definately a false warning when it's not humid where I am using the camcorders.

Today I tried your "trick" of cleaning off the sensor at the rear of the cassette compartment. So far so good. Right away the camera which has been giving the most grief works now. And the other seems fine now too.

One interesting thing, however, is that all of my HC1's look like Juan's first pic. The dark square in the middle of the sensor on all of my cams is solid black like the first of the two pics. Wiping the sensor on both cameras a few times with a cotton swap moistened with isopropyl alcohol didn't make the black square less black where it would revelled the lighter detail under the black. Should I try a different cleaner? I wonder if this "black patch" is meant to be completely removed? All of my camcorders appear clean and dust free when inspecting inside the cassette compartment.

I'm hoping that by giving the sensor a wipe, it has fixed the issue. If so, I'd be livid to have paid hundreds of dollars to Sony to fix such something this quick and easy to remidy.

Thanks again!

Ian

Thanks Alister and Juan!

Yes indeed, thank you! You just saved me from having to send my camera to Sony for repairs - I've been shooting interviews on my HVR-A1U for a friend's documentary and just started getting the "moisture condensation warning" today.

Jessica

I've cleaned this sensor so that it looks like the photo and still no relief. I've tried resetting the camera and no change, still get the moisture condensation warning.

I just got my HVR-A1U back from Video One Repair after having the moisture sensor replaced. From what they told me, the sensor in the camera frequently goes bad and needs to be replaced.

How much did it cost to get the sensor replaced?

It was about $300

Thanks for your reply.

You're very welcome!

I have 3 Sony HDR-HC1's (much like the A1U). Two of my three Sony HC1's has had the moisture issue that required the cleaning of the sensor. One of the two couldn't be fixed with a simple cleaning . . . it continued to give the "moisture warning" and simply shut down each time I turned on the camera.

I recalled a posting I read some time ago that if you give a Sony Handycam a firm "slap", it often fixed Sony issues as reported by error warnings. I figured I'd try it when I had nothing to lose, since I wouldn't, at this late date, spend a ton of $ to fix the issue. To my surprise, the camera WORKED after a quick slap or two! And it continues to work . . . and this was over a year ago.

I don't advocate whacking a good piece of Sony gear . . . but if it's equipment you aren't prepared to fix otherwise, it might be worth a "shot" . . . it worked for me.

Ian

Does this work with people?

I read on a wikipedia page that the condenser triggers when there is more resistance across the sensor's contacts (which is opposite of how I would intuitively think it would work)..... but......if that is true, then could just putting some solder across the contacts on the sensor solve the moisture condensation problem ? If there is no resistance, then it would never trigger the alarm ?

Thoughts on my theory here ??

Bump.....come on, no one has tried the solder trick - don't you want to just crack open your camera and try it for me ;-)

I'm seriously considering it myself, the moisture condensation error is becoming a real pain in my @!#