If you use a digital camera, READ THIS!

[480sparky]

Just a heads-up for anyone who uses any sort of digital camera: It's a fact of life you will, at some time or other, find yourself needing to recover images from a corrupt or reformatted memory card.

DO NOT wait until you need to recover lost images before you look for a solution.

It's frustrating as all get-out to lose digital files. But to jump through all the hoops, trying this software and that software, some free, some costing good money, spending the time, pulling out your hair, learning each software from scratch, wondering if you'll ever see those files again..........

BE PRO-ACTIVE and find a solution NOW.... before the need arises!

When I got my first DSLR (Nikon D60), I made d***ed sure I had software that could recover not only JPEGs, but NEFs and video files as well (not all software is up-to-date, and not all .NEFs are the same, you know!). I also figured out how to use it. When I upgraded to the D7000, one of my first tasks what to verify that the same software could recover the D7000 images. Fortunately, it could.

However, when I upped to the D600, the old software just wasn't up to the task of recovering .NEFs. And with no updates for it on the horizon, I ended up searching for a solution. Having found one after a couple weeks, I can now go forth into the field with solid confidence that any lost files can be recovered. Having the software in place, and knowing how to use it, is cheap insurance.

 

[The_Traveler]

There is no one quite as fervent as a recent convert.

 

[robbins.photo]

There is no one quite as fervent as a recent convert.

Hi there. You have reached the church of the divine backup. All of out representatives are currently busy assisting other converts. Your newfound devotion is very important to us, please stay on the line and you're prayer will be answered in the order in which it was received.

Sent from my LG-LG730 using Tapatalk

 

[baturn]

None so pure as the purified.

 

[Overread]

*don't mind me I'm just here to keep an eye for software recovery spambots*

 

[KmH]

I have never needed to recover photos from a memory card.

There are several best practices one can adopt when handling and using flash memory cards that pretty much eliminate the chance of there ever being a problem.

However, it is wise to:

Plan for the worst. Hope for the best.

 

[limr]

Just out of curiosity, is it true that it's better to delete pictures after transferring to the computer rather than in camera? Is this true for any digital camera?

As for the software. Meh. Maybe I'm too trained by film - if the negative is ruined and there's no print, then the image is gone. Period. Nothing to be done except for being more careful in the future. With my digital camera, if I lose an image, then I lose an image. It might be a bummer sometimes but it doesn't seem worth it go jump through hoops to get the picture back.

 

[480sparky]

Just out of curiosity, is it true that it's better to delete pictures after transferring to the computer rather than in camera? Is this true for any digital camera?........

You should reformat using the camera.

I have dozens of memory cards, and do not reformat them for months. Not until they are rotated back into the camera are they reformatted. So I can easily go back 10-12 months to recover an image. But that's just me.

.........As for the software. Meh. Maybe I'm too trained by film - if the negative is ruined and there's no print, then the image is gone. Period. Nothing to be done except for being more careful in the future. With my digital camera, if I lose an image, then I lose an image. It might be a bummer sometimes but it doesn't seem worth it go jump through hoops to get the picture back.

Well, for some of us, losing an image is the same as losing money.

 

[Derrel]

So, what kind of recovery software do you have that can recover your D600's .NEFs?

 

[limr]

Just out of curiosity, is it true that it's better to delete pictures after transferring to the computer rather than in camera? Is this true for any digital camera?........

You should reformat using the camera.

I have dozens of memory cards, and do not reformat them for months. Not until they are rotated back into the camera are they reformatted. So I can easily go back 10-12 months to recover an image. But that's just me.

So that means, transfer all photos to the computer and do any deleting there, and then reformat the card in the camera?

.........As for the software. Meh. Maybe I'm too trained by film - if the negative is ruined and there's no print, then the image is gone. Period. Nothing to be done except for being more careful in the future. With my digital camera, if I lose an image, then I lose an image. It might be a bummer sometimes but it doesn't seem worth it go jump through hoops to get the picture back.

Well, for some of us, losing an image is the same as losing money.[/QUOTE]

I have no doubt that the software is useful to many and didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. It just isn't anything I would use myself.

 

[480sparky]

So, what kind of recovery software do you have that can recover your D600's .NEFs?

R-Studio 32.

 

[480sparky]

So that means, transfer all photos to the computer and do any deleting there, and then reformat the card in the camera?..........

I never delete in-camera. I always ingest all images into the computer, then delete the images deemed Trash-Worthy from the directory on the computer. The originals stay on the card.

I then set the card back, only to be reformatted (in the camera, of course) months later.

.........I have no doubt that the software is useful to many and didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. It just isn't anything I would use myself.

So you're willing to accept losing images, regardless of their value both in money and sentiment?

 

[limr]

.........I have no doubt that the software is useful to many and didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. It just isn't anything I would use myself.

So you're willing to accept losing images, regardless of their value both in money and sentiment?

With my digital camera? I don't make money from my pictures and they don't cost me any money to take on the digital. As for sentiment, I don't take pictures that I am emotionally invested in with that camera. Okay, there are a lot of pictures of my cats, but if I lose a few of them, I've got thousands others that aren't lost, so no, I don't mind missing a few. Will any of this change if I ever get a better digital camera? Anything is possible, but I don't see it changing drastically.

Any money that I have made from prints were from my film pictures, and if I mess up the negative then yes, that's money lost - the money that I spent on that roll of film. It's also very rare that I mess up negatives, so the amount of money it costs is very small. I would be more upset at losing my film pictures because I am more emotionally invested, but if I do lose them, there's nothing I can do about it. And if I lose all of the digital versions that I made when I scanned the film into my computer? Well, I just rescan the negatives.

 

[480sparky]

With my digital camera? I don't make money from my pictures and they don't cost me any money to take on the digital. ....

Sorry, but digital images still cost money. (unless you get cameras, lenses, scanners, software, computers, etc. all for free)

.......... And if I lose all of the digital versions that I made when I scanned the film into my computer? Well, I just rescan the negatives.

So in short, your time has no value either?

 

[limr]

With my digital camera? I don't make money from my pictures and they don't cost me any money to take on the digital. ....

Sorry, but digital images still cost money. (unless you get cameras, lenses, scanners, software, computers, etc. all for free)

.......... And if I lose all of the digital versions that I made when I scanned the film into my computer? Well, I just rescan the negatives.

So in short, your time has no value either?

Yes, my time has value. In the event that my digitized photos are lost, I would certainly balance the value I put on my time and the value I put on the photos and rescan only those that I am invested in. I would not see that as a waste of my time, but as a way to use my time to regain something I also value.

Yes, I paid money to buy my digital camera, but I'm not paying any more money by taking pictures with it. It does not have interchangeable lenses and I've never bought any accessories for it. My computer is several years old and I'm not sure it should be figured into photography costs because I would have had it anyway. My scanner has already paid for itself in the money I save by not paying a lab to scan my photos.

I'm not entirely sure why it matters whether or not I want picture recovery software. I am more interested in ways I can prevent the loss of my photos. That is why I asked about how the SD card should be used.