Pictures disappeared from memory card! SOLVED (updated at bottom of thread)

[jef3r]

Took a ton of pictures today on vacation.  I was able to view them on the camera itself after taking them.  Got home, put memory card in my computer, pictures weren't there.  Put memory card back in camera, pictures were gone from there too.  What the heck?!

I tried running a data recovery tool to no avail.  The files it found for me were all old pics.  Nothing from today's date so I did not pay the money to recover them.  All pictures from yesterday and before are still there.

There IS a .ctg file with today's date on it.  But the pics themselves are gone.  Is all hope lost?  Is there a better recovery tool to try (used Stellar data recovery tool).

ETA: Camera is a Canon EOS Rebel T3i and memory card is PNY Elite Performance 32GB SDHC.

[jef3r]

Thanks for the recommendation.  I've used Transcend for years and haven't had a problem.  Sorry to hear that it's quality isn't so great either.  I have used Sandisk before and may just go back to them.

[ebiggs1]

I don't know that specific bands make a big difference.  Just make sure you have a top brand which there are several.  Make sure you get it from a good retailer, too.  That is important.  I have used most of them without incident.  I also don't see that low level format is mandatory.  As, I don't see formatting the SD card on your computer hurts anything.  I might add if it is a Windows machine, however, Macs are funky.

You may have just got a bad card. It can happen with any brand and it will.

[EstherAdler]

I have the same problem of pictures and videos that disappeared after the memory card error showed up.

I cannot view anything from that card on my camera, and on the computer only some pictures show up.

I have a Canon G7X Mark ii camera but it seems to me that it's a memory card issue and not the camera (I tried another card and it was fine)

[ebiggs1]

"I tried another card and it was fine"

Well there is the answer going forward, isn't it?  You might try any of the recovery softwares out there on the bad card.  Don't use that card and don't fromat it until you do.

[wq9nsc]

Be very careful where you buy your cards because the popular brands are frequently the subject of counterfeit producers.  A few years ago I bought a couple of Sandisk SD cards from the extremely large online retailer and they were clearly not real Sandisk cards.  I had no problem returning them and purchased replacements from B&H which is a reliable source.

Lately even lithium coin cell batteries have become a major target of counterfeit producers and I bought a pair of replacements for my Corvette key fobs from the same place I got the counterfeit SD cards and received a pair of counterfeit batteries.  Now I get my replacement batteries from my favorite industrial electronic components supplier, Mouser.

The moral is be careful blaming the brand when what you bought may very well have been a counterfeit copy.

Rodger

[EstherAdler]

What kind of free recovery sources are there? I am unfamiliar with them.

[TCampbell]

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@wq9nsc wrote:

Be very careful where you buy your cards because the popular brands are frequently the subject of counterfeit producers.  A few years ago I bought a couple of Sandisk SD cards from the extremely large online retailer and they were clearly not real Sandisk cards.  I had no problem returning them and purchased replacements from B&H which is a reliable source.

Lately even lithium coin cell batteries have become a major target of counterfeit producers and I bought a pair of replacements for my Corvette key fobs from the same place I got the counterfeit SD cards and received a pair of counterfeit batteries.  Now I get my replacement batteries from my favorite industrial electronic components supplier, Mouser.

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I've had this experience with Amazon "marketplace" sellers.  I find you really have to double-check the seller when placing an order.  I've had numerous experiences with the coin batteries.  Amazon claims they shut them down but the seller will just pop up again under a new name. 

I agree that with both batteries and memory cards, you really need to check the source.  

[derekm851]

i just had this problem happen to me. i viewed the pics multiple times on the camera so i know they were there. i had 4 diffrent dates i took pictures and only 2 of them i saved. i was going to download next 2 dates of pics after vacaion and i viewed them on vacation, got home put memory card in computer, nothing. put back in card to camera and all 4 pic dates where gone. im comletely lost and why they would vanish and these where important pics of friends baby 1 year pics. i couldnt have deleted them because i still have over 8k pics on the card. why would 3 months of pics just vanish? is all hope lost here? thanks

[ebiggs1]

"i still have over 8k pics on the card."

I guess we have cell phones to blame for this but why do people think it is a good idea to store their photos on the cameras SD card.  IT IS NOT.  Photos should be imported to your computer as soon as you get home or access to your computer. The fact you saw a photo on the LCD screen of the camera does not mean it got saved. At this point all you can do is try one of the recovery programs and hope for the best.

BTW, get the remaining 8 thousand off the SD card ASAP.  A great way is the buy a portable HD. I have five 2TB portable HD's that I uses to store and back up important photos. I have three 3TB HD's in my Dell desktop where photos go as quickly as I get home. There is nothing on my camera's memory cards ever when I start a new shoot.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"i still have over 8k pics on the card."

I guess we have cell phones to blame for this but why do people think it is a good idea to store their photos on the cameras SD card.  IT IS NOT.  Photos should be imported to your computer as soon as you get home or access to your computer. The fact you saw a photo on the LCD screen of the camera does not mean it got saved. At this point all you can do is try one of the recovery programs and hope for the best.

BTW, get the remaining 8 thousand off the SD card ASAP.  A great way is the buy a portable HD. I have five 2TB portable HD's that I uses to store and back up important photos. I have three 3TB HD's in my Dell desktop where photos go as quickly as I get home. There is nothing on my camera's memory cards ever when I start a new shoot.

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Ernie's advice is absolutely correct, and he may even be understating what's available to you. The last time I bought hard drives (a couple of years ago, from B&H), an 8TB USB-3 drive was about $200 US. The per-TB cost may be even less now.