Microwave‐detected optical response (MDOR) of YBa2Cu3O7−xand other oxide superconductor thin films is shown to yield information complementary to that provided by trasnport photoconductivity measurements. The MDOR technique yields a superposition of response from all illuminated portions of a sample, irrespective of the existence of a resistive macroscopic percolative current path. The response is found to be bolometric at temperatures for which resistance appears in transport measurements. At low temperatures MDOR results imply a nonbolometric response which in some respects is consistent with nonequilibrium quasiparticle concentration due to radiative pair breaking.