HELP - Corrupted Wedding filled Compact Flash Card

[JeremyD]

Greetings everyone!

My name is Jeremy, I am a wedding photographer and love every second of it.. Well until those seconds are filled of dealing with surprises like CF cards being corrupted..

So I have a ADATA CompactFlash 533x 16gb card that is filled with 15gb worth of data. I was taking photos of group shots and such and when I put it into my computer it read for a second but then I wanted to read another card first so I ejected it from my laptop and did the other one first. Then my CF card reader probably bent a pin in my CF card and not I get this when I plug it in "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer."

The good news is that I had two other photographers with me taking photos plus I had two cameras on me ( a 85 prime on my 5dmkii, and shooting with my t4i with a 24-105) so I was switching between the two so its not as crucial that its all gone.

However they are all my shots and personally I don't like using too much of my assistants shots and it is crucial I get all of this data back on my computer. Is there any way to unbend the pin or bring it into a camera shop and they can do it?

It doesn't read on my computer so I can't use data retrieving programs (I've tired), plus if I plug it into my 5dmkii and use the USB connector to my macbook it doesn't show its there..

Feel free to give me suggestions about this issue I am having, any suggestions would be amazing!

Thanks everyone, have a stunning day.

 

[Derrel]

Aren't the pins actually in the card reader? I thought the pins were in the card reader and the CF cards just had receptacles for the pins. No mattr what, this sounds like a gut-wrenching situation. I feel for you man.

 

[tirediron]

Depending on how much it's worth to you, you could send it off to a commercial data retreival service; that could cost anywhere from a couple of hundred to a few thousand dollars. There are also tools you can get from specialty electronics suppliers for unbending pins.

Derrel's right, the pins are in the reader. Is one by any chance broken off in the card?

 

[JeremyD]

The card reader still reads, and transfers all of my other CF cards. I used a flashlight and magnifying glass and looked in the CF card reader and didn't see any bent pins.

Oh ok, from what I found online I thought the CF card had some sort of pins as well that could be bent, but thanks for clarifying!

Ah well its not worth that for me, I will look into bringing it to my friends at Henrys to see what they can do.

Its a rough situations.. I didn't think it would happen to me so early in my career! But now I know not to fill a card with 16gb worth of data, i'll buy a whole bunch of 8gb fast rating cards from Sandisk so they are reliable and can be trusted and if one is corrupted I only lose 8gb worth..

I will keep looking into it, thanks everyone for your suggestions!

 

[CameraClicker]

Some questions:
You are having trouble with a CF card. Your T4i takes SD cards, so the card was originally in the 5D Mk II. When you were shooting, were you "chimping"? Were images showing up properly when doing that?
If you try to "chimp" with that card in the camera now, does it work?
Using a flashlight, if you look into the card reader and camera's card slot, do you see any bent or broken pins?
Are camera and card reader working properly with other CF cards?
Does a 5D Mk II have dual card slots?

If the card's electronics are failing (no broken or bent pins), you need a lab that can take the memory off the card and read it from another device. An expensive process.

 

[CameraClicker]

I didn't think it would happen to me so early in my career! But now I know not to fill a card with 16gb worth of data, i'll buy a whole bunch of 8gb fast rating cards from Sandisk so they are reliable and can be trusted and if one is corrupted I only lose 8gb worth..

Most of the bodies made for pros have two slots. Put in 2 cards, shoot the same to both or raw to one and JPEG to the other. Then if a card goes, you still have one.

 

[Browncoat]

I had this happen to me a couple years ago. The difference being, I was the only shooter at this wedding, so I had to send the card off to a data retrieval service. I actually ended up sending it off to 3 different services, and the card was out of my hands for over a year. It was a nightmarish experience. Luckily for me, the bride and groom were friends and while irritated and impatient, they understood that I was doing everything I could. Finally got the images back, well, about 90% of them. Some were too corrupted to retrieve at all.

I haven't used a card reader since. Now, I transfer all files via USB and leave the card in the camera.

 

[ronlane]

Can you put it back in the camera and see the photos? If so, is there a way to sync the camera to the PC and copy them that way?

 

[timor]

Try to read the card on different reader on different computer. Most likely FAT (file allocation table) is bad, recovery software should help.

 

[JeremyD]

Some questions:
You are having trouble with a CF card. Your T4i takes SD cards, so the card was originally in the 5D Mk II. When you were shooting, were you "chimping"? Were images showing up properly when doing that?
If you try to "chimp" with that card in the camera now, does it work?
Using a flashlight, if you look into the card reader and camera's card slot, do you see any bent or broken pins?
Are camera and card reader working properly with other CF cards?
Does a 5D Mk II have dual card slots?

If the card's electronics are failing (no broken or bent pins), you need a lab that can take the memory off the card and read it from another device. An expensive process.

Yes of course the card was in the 5dmkii, I was saying I had two camera bodies on me and I was switching between cameras.....

I was not "chimping" I shot once, checked my exposure and everything looked even so I was just shooting away looking at my meter in my view finder if anything changed.. Whenever I did look at my LCD my images did show properly and everything worked well.

When I plug the CF card back into my camera it says " Card not formatted, Format card with this camera"

Like I said in the original post none of them are bent or broken, not in my camera or my CF card reader.. I can't really tell in the CF card itself tho.. and I already posted that my CF card reader reads all of my other cards and transfers them onto my computer.

My 5dmkii doesn't or I would've been utilizing that tool. I am investing in a 5dmkiii for next wedding season for this feature.

I didn't think it would happen to me so early in my career! But now I know not to fill a card with 16gb worth of data, i'll buy a whole bunch of 8gb fast rating cards from Sandisk so they are reliable and can be trusted and if one is corrupted I only lose 8gb worth..

Most of the bodies made for pros have two slots. Put in 2 cards, shoot the same to both or raw to one and JPEG to the other. Then if a card goes, you still have one.

Yes I know, its apart of my business plan that in my second season of weddings I would be investing in a 5dmkiii with these features so I have the backup. This was my second wedding so shooting with a 5dmkii and my backup gear and two assistants was a good solution for the time being since I can't invest in two full frame bodies just yet.

I had this happen to me a couple years ago. The difference being, I was the only shooter at this wedding, so I had to send the card off to a data retrieval service. I actually ended up sending it off to 3 different services, and the card was out of my hands for over a year. It was a nightmarish experience. Luckily for me, the bride and groom were friends and while irritated and impatient, they understood that I was doing everything I could. Finally got the images back, well, about 90% of them. Some were too corrupted to retrieve at all.

I haven't used a card reader since. Now, I transfer all files via USB and leave the card in the camera.

Wow must of been so hard! I couldn't imagine being by myself and losing all of my data.. Ahh I see, well I will look to see my options. It may cost me what I got paid if I wanted to get this sent into labs..

Can you put it back in the camera and see the photos? If so, is there a way to sync the camera to the PC and copy them that way?

Nope, when I plug it back in I get the error Card not formatted, Format card with this camera" and i've tried syncing my camera body to my computer.

Try to read the card on different reader on different computer. Most likely FAT (file allocation table) is bad, recovery software should help.

I have tried different computers, but it doesn't show up as a memory device on my computer so I can't use any software to recover it.. since I can't choose the memory card in the options with these programs

 

[CameraClicker]

I was not "chimping" I shot once, checked my exposure and everything looked even so I was just shooting away looking at my meter in my view finder if anything changed.. Whenever I did look at my LCD my images did show properly and everything worked well.

When I plug the CF card back into my camera it says " Card not formatted, Format card with this camera"

Your post popped up when I posted mine. If the camera was reading the card properly while shooting, we can assume it was writing it properly too. That means there is a good chance the card can be disassembled and the memory read. Something happened to the interface in the card between being in the camera and being in the reader.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[Tailgunner]

Yes of course the card was in the 5dmkii

I'm not filmilar with Canon, can you not set up the cards as to where one is a backup? My D800 has 2 slots, CF and SD with the SD being used as a back up. I only upload images via my SD cards for this very reason as well...always afraid a pin is going to get bent or something.

Anyhow, wish you luck.

 

[Derrel]

I would try taking the card to a printing-out service machine at a large store, like WalMart, and try uploading the files to their machine and see if their reader will read the card. Can you "copy" a new DCIM folder to the memory card using drag and drop, or a command?

ALso, about hooking the computer up to the camera with the card in the camera: obviously, there are two different statuses to choose from when doing that. The correct choice must be made.

I realllllly think this is an issue that a more-experienced computer geek type person might be able to solve, with his knowledge of arcane computer BS. Do not give up hope!!! I bet the data is STILL on there!

Have you tried any of the recovery software options, like SanDisk's own application? I would look in to that before sending the card out to a data recovery service; I think the data recovery service cost might easily be $1,000 for this job...maybe MORE...maybe even significantly more, since 15 gigs of data is a good chunk to recover.

My feeling is that any of multiple decent "disk utility applications" WILL be able to "see" the CF Card, and will allow you to transfer its contents to another drive or another large piece of media, but the basic, vanilla operating system is having difficulty mounting the disk [memory card] due to some basic structural issue, like the DCIM folder having been deleted, or whatever.

KEEP THE FAITH!!!! Reach out to a computer geek professional first!

 

[FITBMX]

Sounds like you need a good computer geek!

Let us know what you end up doing!

 

[CameraClicker]

Yes of course the card was in the 5dmkii

I'm not filmilar with Canon, can you not set up the cards as to where one is a backup? My D800 has 2 slots, CF and SD with the SD being used as a back up. I only upload images via my SD cards for this very reason as well...always afraid a pin is going to get bent or something.

Anyhow, wish you luck.

It's been a while since I used two cards, most of what I'm shooting only requires one. If memory serves, you can write JPEG to one, raw to the other, OR JPEG to both, OR raw to both, OR write to one until it is full, then switch automatically and write to the other -- which is not really backup as much as extending capacity before changing cards is required. The feature is available in the 5D Mk III, and 1D, 1Ds, 1Dx. I don't think the 6D has dual slots and the OP reports the 5D Mk ii doesn't either.