Images Dissappering When Camera Is Turned Off

[steve007]

Hi, I have the Canon 5D MkIII. This week I had a big client job with a lot of food preparation involved. I was doing all the standard procedures on a shoot. I could review the images, flick through them, and show the client and they were really brilliant photos. When I got back to the office I have discovered that no images were saved on the card. The only images on there were a few from the day before. I have since learnt that on this card the images can be viewed in camera, and appear to be on the card. I can scroll through to see them all, but as soon as the camera is turned off and then back on again the images aren't there. I have spent $200 on data recovery software and the images have not been retrieved. I am guessing the card is corrupt. I don't know how as have used it multiple times. In my 20 years of photography I haven't had anything like this happen. Are there any other suggestion the community may have to find the files on there?I dread the call to the client. Thanks Steve

[Nick2020]

Hi steve007,

Thanks for checking in with us, and I'm sorry to hear that the images from your shoot don't seem to be accessible. That must have been stressful to discover.

If you were shooting with both an SD and CF card in the camera, I would check both separately.

You could try to download the images again, this time with the camera connected directly to the computer using EOS UTILITY, one of the programs that came bundled with your camera.

Another option is to use a card reader. Card readers are relatively inexpensive, most electronic stores carry them for $25 or less, and these card readers make it much easier to download to your computer. If you do purchase a card reader, be certain to select a card reader that can handle the same card that your camera uses.

It does like you've already looked into image recovery options, but it might help to try multiple services. Some of them will show you a preview of what can be recovered before charging you.

Below are some websites that offer some services or software that might help. Note, these are not official recommendations from Canon. They are just resources I've come across:

http://www.lc-tech.com/pc/sandisk-rescuepro-and-rescuepro-deluxe

https://www.z-a-recovery.com/

http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

If you're interested in trying image recovery, please be sure not to take any more pictures on that memory card until after you've tried to recover the images. Otherwise, you might reduce your chances of getting the images back.

To prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future, you might try to format your card on a regular basis. FORMAT is a menu option located under the set up heading, the one that has an icon of two tools. It's a good idea to do that each time after you download your images. This helps to keep the card free of corrupted data. Just keep in mind that formatting the card will completely erase everything on it.

I would also suggest doing tests with multiple memory cards, to see if the issue is memory card or camera specific.

I hope that helps, but let us know if issues persist with multiple cards.

　

[ebiggs1]

I don't have any additional suggestions for recovering your current lose but the main reason that pro level cameras have two cards is to eliminate this happening.  In the future always save to both cards when doing important jobs.  I always format each card before every important job.

If you were using both cards on this job you need to send the camera to Canon and have it checked.

In order for you to have been able to see multiple images means they had to be there. They had to be saved.  Make sure you remove the cards from the camera and use a card reader, not a cheapo, to transfer to your computer. Don't use the camera to transfer.

[kvbarkley]

And if you were using an sd card is it a full size card or a micro card with adapter. Do not use a microcard.

[John_SD]

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@steve007 wrote:

I have since learnt that on this card the images can be viewed in camera, and appear to be on the card. I can scroll through to see them all, but as soon as the camera is turned off and then back on again the images aren't there. I have spent $200 on data recovery software and the images have not been retrieved. 

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Sorry to read of your misfortune, but to me none of this is adding up. I'm not trying to make light of your predicament, but you have a pro-level camera with two card slots and you were engaged in what sounds like a paid assignment. Did you not have cards in both slots? If not, why not? Hope you are able to resolve the issue, whatever it may be. 

[steve007]

Hi all, Thanks for your responses. Very helpful albeit after trying the difference recovery methods I still couldn't retrieve the images.  And have put it down to a malfunctioning card although ti still doesn't make sense. The clients have been very good and allowing me to go back to do the shoot (although still feeling gutted about it). I do take responsibility in it that I didn't have a second card in and so my lesson has been learnt. In all the years photographing I had never had the misfortune of anything like this happening and this has valuale lesson. 

[ebiggs1]

Man are you lucky? You can do and have the opportunity to do a re-shoot.  Most of, if not all, the events I ever did were one time chance or nothing.

I have done several re-creations of weddings that were so poorly done by the original photographer, the bride was desperate to do a redo. It isn't the same, though, as the audience and/or decorations, even the venue, are not there or the same.  Just a bad situation all around.