How Can I Recover/Repair .DAT file from Canon R6?

[amillett]

Hi! I have a .DAT file that resulted from my R6 freezing while shooting video of a wedding back in October. I've tried using different software that had little to no results (VLC, Winff, Stellar Repair) and wanted to reach out to the community with any suggestions of what can be done to recover the video from the file. It shows data is in the file (448MB), but I can't view in camera or on my computer. Thanks!

[keylanh]

I found a solution! I was able to recover a 30gb 4k C Log 3 file on the first try.

Its not exactly cheap but it works and thats whats important.

TLDR: Purchase Wondershare RecoverIt and follow instructions. Use "Enhanced Repair"

Steps:

1.Purchase Wondershare RepairIt Software (I chose a perpetual license for $120 on mac, there is a monthly and annual subscription)

2. Duplicate the file onto change the file extension to .mp4 or whatever you're shooting in

3. Select "Enhanced Video Recovery"

4. Drag the file into the software

5. Drag a working clip as a reference shot on the same camera and in the same shooting format, frame rate, color science etc.

6. Let it work its magic.

Definitely an expensive and annoying issue to deal with but the process is easy and the recovered file(s) can be worth multiples of what you may pay to repair them. 

[chriscook]

Were you able to do it?

[chriscook]

anyone else has some suggestions?

[keylanh]

My above strategy worked and was able to recover the data. 

[chriscook]

It sounds like your .DAT file might still contain recoverable video data, but it needs the right approach to extract it. Since your R6 froze while recording, the file likely became corrupted or incomplete. You’ve already tried some common tools like VLC and Stellar Repair, but if they haven’t worked, there are still other recovery options to explore. You might find this guide useful: https://news.macgasm.net/tips/repair-dat-file/, which covers different methods for restoring corrupted .DAT files. Additionally, some professional-grade video repair tools specifically designed for DSLR and mirrorless cameras may have better luck reconstructing the footage.