Camera didnt record all images

[mrsconfused]

Hi, I am new here and so exhausted from searching for answers....please forgive me if this is a stupid question or already been answered before!

I have a Canon EOS Rebel T3i.   I have NEVER had a problem with it in the 2.5-3 years I have had it.  Today while at a football game I noticed the pictures were not in the play back for more than a short time then turned into question marks.    Camera was not hot, in direct sunlight....I am totally confused (HENCE THE USER NAME!)

 Popped the SD card in my home computer....images dont display....there is a file....but no image.  HOW??

I have taken pictures with it since I have been home....they show up just fine.  

What may have caused this?   Is there a way to recover these 530 pictures I have lost?? 

Before you reply "look in your manual"  I dont have it anymore and cant find anything else online!

Your help is GREATLY appreciated.  I dont wanna lose these photos of my kids game.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

Your user manual is available as a PDF file on the Canon Web site. The T3i is still made and sold, so you can find it in the display of their current product line.

Your problem sounds like a corrupted memory card. Recovery software may be able to get some of your pictures back, but be sure not to use or format that card until you've tried a recovery amd either succeeded or given up. Writing anything onto the card will just make the situation worse..

[TCampbell · Accepted solution]

Here's a link to the manual:

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_rebel_t3i_18_55mm_is_ii_lens_kit...

The issue you describe sounds as if your memory card has gone bad.  

Do you own another card?  

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

Get a new high quality SD card.  Like Lexar or Snadisk.  Don't ever buy cheap or bargin brands.  Get several and switch them out.  Don't use the SD card as the phopo storeage means. Use your computer.  Don't use very large SD cards. (Makes you change them more often!)  

There is no way I know of the recover corrupted files but there is software that can pull the thumbnail from each and save it.  It is not high quality but better than nothing.  Even it is luck.

[TCampbell · Accepted solution]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Get a new high quality SD card.  Like Lexar or Snadisk.  Don't ever buy cheap or bargin brands.  Get several and switch them out.  Don't use the SD card as the phopo storeage means. Use your computer.  Don't use very large SD cards. (Makes you change them more often!)  

---

I've underscored a couple of Ernie's comments above. 

Memory cards are like the tires on your car.  Each time you use them, you don't expect them to fail, but you do know that they take a little bit of wear and they will not last forever.  Eventually they have to be replaced.

The technology to "write" a memory card actually causes a very tiny amount of damage to that particular memory storage position.  "Reading" from the card, however, causes no damage at all.  A quality card can typically take about 100,000 write cycles before it is expected to fail.  Bargain cards... not so sure.

For this reason, and because I value my photos, I do not attempt to find the best bargain on the market when shopping for memory cards.  Instead, I go for highly reliable cards.  I tend to use Sandisk Extreme Pro cards.  Sandisk is a good name (as is Lexar, but I happen to own Sandisk).  

Also, I do not necessarily go for one really big card and I think owning one really big card isn't a good idea.  I know that the card will fail ... eventually.  It's just a matter of time.  I'd rather have more smaller cards and swap them.  If a card goes bad, I can label it, try to recover the data later, but I've got several other cards in my bag so I can just swap in another card and keep shooting.

I generally never buy cards which exceed a 16GB capacity. 

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

"I generally never buy cards which exceed a 16GB capacity."

My favorite too.  I even have a few 8GB.  This is a best practice unless you shot lots of video, which I don't.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

Your user manual is available as a PDF file on the Canon Web site. The T3i is still made and sold, so you can find it in the display of their current product line.

Your problem sounds like a corrupted memory card. Recovery software may be able to get some of your pictures back, but be sure not to use or format that card until you've tried a recovery amd either succeeded or given up. Writing anything onto the card will just make the situation worse..

[TCampbell · Accepted solution]

Here's a link to the manual:

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_rebel_t3i_18_55mm_is_ii_lens_kit...

The issue you describe sounds as if your memory card has gone bad.  

Do you own another card?  

[mrsconfused]

Manual probably wouldn't tell me that lol

I don't have another card but will be getting one ASAP!

Gosh, I hope that's the only problem!

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

Get a new high quality SD card.  Like Lexar or Snadisk.  Don't ever buy cheap or bargin brands.  Get several and switch them out.  Don't use the SD card as the phopo storeage means. Use your computer.  Don't use very large SD cards. (Makes you change them more often!)  

There is no way I know of the recover corrupted files but there is software that can pull the thumbnail from each and save it.  It is not high quality but better than nothing.  Even it is luck.

[TCampbell · Accepted solution]

---

@ebiggs1 wrote:

Get a new high quality SD card.  Like Lexar or Snadisk.  Don't ever buy cheap or bargin brands.  Get several and switch them out.  Don't use the SD card as the phopo storeage means. Use your computer.  Don't use very large SD cards. (Makes you change them more often!)  

---

I've underscored a couple of Ernie's comments above. 

Memory cards are like the tires on your car.  Each time you use them, you don't expect them to fail, but you do know that they take a little bit of wear and they will not last forever.  Eventually they have to be replaced.

The technology to "write" a memory card actually causes a very tiny amount of damage to that particular memory storage position.  "Reading" from the card, however, causes no damage at all.  A quality card can typically take about 100,000 write cycles before it is expected to fail.  Bargain cards... not so sure.

For this reason, and because I value my photos, I do not attempt to find the best bargain on the market when shopping for memory cards.  Instead, I go for highly reliable cards.  I tend to use Sandisk Extreme Pro cards.  Sandisk is a good name (as is Lexar, but I happen to own Sandisk).  

Also, I do not necessarily go for one really big card and I think owning one really big card isn't a good idea.  I know that the card will fail ... eventually.  It's just a matter of time.  I'd rather have more smaller cards and swap them.  If a card goes bad, I can label it, try to recover the data later, but I've got several other cards in my bag so I can just swap in another card and keep shooting.

I generally never buy cards which exceed a 16GB capacity. 

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

"I generally never buy cards which exceed a 16GB capacity."

My favorite too.  I even have a few 8GB.  This is a best practice unless you shot lots of video, which I don't.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"I generally never buy cards which exceed a 16GB capacity."

My favorite too.  I even have a few 8GB.  This is a best practice unless you shot lots of video, which I don't.

---

Whether using larger cards is a good practice or not depends on how you use them. I too have mostly 16GB cards, although I've bought a few 32's, now that image files ave gotten so large. But I'm very careful to copy my files to a computer immediately after a shoot.

OTOH, I seldom delete files or format a card. That way I have an extra copy available if my computer catches on fire or I inadvertently delete some files during editing. Only when my computer files have been through a couple of backup cycles do I erase the information on the card (or cards). Given that workflow, larger cards are actually safer.

[mrsconfused]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, I got a 128gb card on amazon... $12.89 apparently the old saying "you get what you pay for is true! I just take so many pictures at our games I was burning through a card in no time.

Guess I learned a valuable lesson!