Photo recovery · deleted · formatted · card not recognised · camera · phone card · USB stick
Photo recovery. Deleted photos are usually still on the card; the question is whether they get overwritten before they are recovered.
Photos vanish in a few familiar ways: deleted by mistake, a card formatted in the camera, a card that suddenly asks to be formatted, a stick that is no longer recognised, a card snapped or soaked. In almost every case the images are still on the flash memory, because deleting and formatting remove the index that points to them, not the data itself, and they stay there until new photos are written over them. That is why the single most important thing is to stop using the card now. From there the choice is between recovery software, which can work on a healthy card with simple deletion, and the lab, which is where a card goes when it is not recognised, shows the wrong size, has failed electrically or has been physically damaged, and where the card is imaged at the chip level and the photographs rebuilt from the image. A single card or USB stick is £149 + VAT, fixed in writing after a free first look, and on most jobs there is no bill if no photos come back.
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Software or the lab: an honest guide.
What happened, and what it means for your photos.
Describe yours to us →| What happened | What it means | Where that leaves you |
|---|---|---|
| Deleted the photos, card still works | The entries are gone; the images remain | Software may work; the lab if it does not |
| Formatted the card in the camera | The index rewritten; images in place | Usually fully recoverable if unused since |
| Card asks to be formatted, or shows RAW | File system or controller failure | Do not format; the lab reads the chip |
| Card not detected, or shows 0 bytes | Controller or connection failure | Chip-level read in the lab |
| Card snapped, bent or water damaged | Physical damage | Chip read directly; photos rebuilt |
| Photos recovered but will not open | Fragmented files joined wrongly | Rebuilt from the image with file-aware carving |
How photos are recovered in the lab.
The card is imaged first. A healthy card is imaged through a reader with every retry controlled; a failing or damaged card is read at the chip level, the flash memory read directly and the controller's scrambling and wear-levelling reversed in software, so that what the camera wrote can be reassembled. Nothing is written to the card, and everything after this works on the image.
The photos are rebuilt from the image. Where the file system survives, the deleted entries are read back and the photos recovered whole. Where it does not, the images are found by their own structure, JPEG, HEIF, the camera's RAW format, video, and reassembled. Cameras write large files in fragments, which is why cheap recovery produces photos that are half grey; file-aware carving joins the fragments in the right order.
You see the thumbnails before any bill. What was recovered is listed for you, with previews, and only then does a figure exist. Approve it and the photographs come home on new media; decline and there is nothing to pay. A single card or stick is £149 + VAT, fixed in writing, and larger jobs are quoted.
Questions answered before you commit.
Can you recover photos from a formatted SD card?
Usually, yes, if the card has not been used since. A camera's format rewrites the index and leaves the images in place. Every photo taken afterwards overwrites one you want, so stop using the card and send it, or try software on a healthy card, saving to the computer.
Which recovery software should I use?
Any reputable one will do on a healthy card with simple deletion, as long as you read the card through a reader and save the recovered files to the computer, never back to the card. If the card is not recognised, asks to be formatted or shows the wrong size, software is the wrong tool; send the card.
The recovered photos are grey or broken. Why?
Cameras write large files in fragments, and simple recovery joins the fragments wrongly, giving half-grey images. The lab rebuilds photos from a full image of the card with file-aware carving, which joins the fragments in order.
Can you recover RAW files and video?
Yes. RAW formats from the main camera makers, HEIF, and video files are rebuilt from the image, video in particular needing the fragments found and joined in sequence.
How much does it cost?
A single card or USB stick is £149 + VAT, fixed in writing after a free first look, and on most jobs there is no bill if no photos come back. The pricing page sets out the bands.
Begin here if yours is doing the same thing.
Stop using the card, and the photos are probably still there.
Take the card out, tell us what happened, and the first look is free. On most jobs an invoice only follows the photographs.