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Author Topic: What if my camera did NOT have dual card slots ?!  (Read 11417 times)

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« on: December 11, 2019, 02:44 »
+1
I have a Canon 5D IV.  It has dual card slots, and before every photo session, I format both cards.
After last Maternity session, my Sandisk 64Gb failed, but no panic, I just took the CF card and copied all photos to my hard disk.


No problem ... but what if I did NOT have two cards - it would have been quite a panic.
So I thought : let's take the defective card and act as if I really needed to recover the photos.
Mind you, I do not even know if the photos were recorded on this card, because possibly it got defective right after formatting.


I googled on "recovery software", found "Recuva", did a "deep scan" ... and :  nothing!  Though the reviews said it could recover photos even after formatting (so in theory, it should at leastt find the photos of the PREVIOUS photo session).


Interesting note :  this is the very reason why I won't be buying the EOS R or any other great new camera with only 1 slot!

I'm keeping this card, just for testing.  Did any of you ever recover photos with a defective card, without going to a professional recovery company?  If so, which software did the trick? 





« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2019, 03:02 »
+3
I use Sony and they have single card slots and in 10 years I never had a defective card.

I always format and check the card before and during shooting and carry a spare card.

« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2019, 03:21 »
+2
I use Sony and they have single card slots and in 10 years I never had a defective card.

I always format and check the card before and during shooting and carry a spare card.


This is the first time for me too, in 18 years ...

georgep7

« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2019, 04:43 »
+2
The period 2013 - 2018 i was shooting events.
canon t3i & canon 7d. Shooting video means that sd /cf cards were literally boiling inside bodies.
I have scratched two lenses, killed a body, dropeed almost everything from recorders to a sigma 70-200 to 17-55 that broke dead.
The only card related accident was that once I broke the t3i SD lock mecha while removing the SD.
Plus lots of human failures like not setting mike to extrernal in XA10 camcorder leading to a muted wedding studio session.
Edit: XA10 wrote thousands of hours in internal HDD. Never used dual card slots.
Edit II, bringing back memories, I can recall all camera electronics bricking or shutting down from heat especially in hot mediterranean summers (except XA10).

Sh*t happens. I prefer to have a backup body recording even just a tiny GoPro shooting wide rather than this mostly Youtube driven "OMG! no dual card!? what a failure..." crap.

:)

« Last Edit: December 11, 2019, 05:07 by George_ »

Chichikov

« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2019, 06:58 »
+1
I had more cameras with dual cards I never used more than one card

wds

« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2019, 09:00 »
+1
It would be interesting to know the actual stats on card failures for the different card types.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2019, 09:50 »
0
It would be interesting to know the actual stats on card failures for the different card types.

Only card failures I've ever had were in the Dashcam, which records, over and over and 100% of the time the car is on. I took the time to mail one back to Sandisk but I felt guilty about getting a free new card. By the way, they replaced with the latest similar which was a very nice new, faster card. Now I use cheap Walgreen cards, at some point they just stop working, I dump them in the trash.

I use Sandisk only for photography and some Kingston CF, that's it. I'd trust Sony too. Cheap cards might lead to getting unreliable flawed memory cards.

I have only one camera with dual slots and I don't use them. Wouldn't the camera, with a single slot, show that data wasn't being recorded? Wouldn't the review show me that nothing was saved? Not that I chimp after every shot, but I do look now and then. I'm wondering about data failure, while I'm working. Wouldn't I know or is there something I'm missing?

And yes, all day, as I shoot, I change cards, and back up as I go. I only have one 64GB card, otherwise I use 16 or 32GB cards. Heck for the cameras that are CF 8GB cards in my pocket, spare battery, and I still haven't had one of those old cards go bad yet. Batteries are another thing. Two years and gone, at least for reliable service.

Free recovery or example:  https://download.cnet.com/Free-SD-Memory-Card-Data-Recovery/3000-2248_4-76641183.html

marthamarks

« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2019, 10:41 »
0
I've been shooting digital since 2004, mostly good-quality CF cards.

The only failure to date was about 10 years ago when a 32 GB card abruptly seemed to lose 1/2 of its capacity. It would work fine up to that point, then stop and refuse to accept more images.

I stashed it in a specially marked slot in my card case and saved it for "emergency use only," which I ultimately never needed. Finally threw it out earlier this year when my needs moved on to super-fast SD cards.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2019, 10:51 »
+1
I've been shooting digital since 2004, mostly good-quality CF cards.

The only failure to date was about 10 years ago when a 32 GB card abruptly seemed to lose 1/2 of its capacity. It would work fine up to that point, then stop and refuse to accept more images.

I stashed it in a specially marked slot in my card case and saved it for "emergency use only," which I ultimately never needed. Finally threw it out earlier this year when my needs moved on to super-fast SD cards.

Too late now, you could have scanned it for bad sectors, which would be locked out, and then it might have worked as a 30GB card. On the other hand, I hold on to things too long, and probably would have done what you did, into the drawer. Just that I'd still have it. I think you are right, not worth saving and nothing I'd trust.

I still have and use 1GB cards in the older cameras sometimes. I have no reason to do that and no explanation why.  ;D

« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2019, 11:11 »
0
It would be interesting to know the actual stats on card failures for the different card types.

I have only one camera with dual slots and I don't use them. Wouldn't the camera, with a single slot, show that data wasn't being recorded? Wouldn't the review show me that nothing was saved? Not that I chimp after every shot, but I do look now and then. I'm wondering about data failure, while I'm working. Wouldn't I know or is there something I'm missing?



You're right, with a single card slot, when no data are recorded because of card failure before or during a photo session, a camera would probably refuse to take the shot. And even if a shot was possible, you would immediately notice something was wrong the first time you would review images.   So if my card got defective before the session, I did not notice because card 2 was doing its job well. 


But what if the card got defective AFTER the photo session, like the moment I take it out when my client has left.   If I did not have that second card, I would have nothing.  Hence my theoretical question about recovery experiences with defective cards.
With my maternity and newborn sessions, it would be possible, but very annoying to do a total re-shoot of the images, but other photographers, like wedding photogs, don't have that luxury.

georgep7

« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2019, 11:28 »
0
@Anyka

Next time try "recover my files" program. It was good for HDD in the past.

I was rumbling but chances of a defective card are similar to a defective flash or shutter or whatever.
The only difference is that in other cases fault is "presentable" to the client, others (as card failure) is "after".
In every case, believe me, it is not the end of the world neither you will lose clientelle or colleagues.
This is why contracts (covering and this case) exist :)

« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2019, 11:39 »
0
Last time a card failed (computer and camera both failed to read) - I stuck it in different brand camera.  Oddly everything popped up.  Kind of a long shot but worth trying. 

« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2019, 11:58 »
+2
@Anyka

Next time try "recover my files" program. It was good for HDD in the past.

I was rumbling but chances of a defective card are similar to a defective flash or shutter or whatever.
The only difference is that in other cases fault is "presentable" to the client, others (as card failure) is "after".
In every case, believe me, it is not the end of the world neither you will lose clientelle or colleagues.
This is why contracts (covering and this case) exist :)


I understand what you mean with the difference between "presentable" faults and non-presentable, but - if I was my own client, and my photographer told me I had to re-do my entire 4-hour session (at 8 months pregnant), I would definitely not return to that photographer for my next photo shoot.  Not even if I was gifted the whole session for free.




« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2019, 12:01 »
0
Last time a card failed (computer and camera both failed to read) - I stuck it in different brand camera.  Oddly everything popped up.  Kind of a long shot but worth trying.


Great idea, but in this case I have all photos on card 2, so no panic.  It's just that I now have a defective card to test out recovery software.  It's a bit like a toy I can play with without the stress of really lost images ...

« Reply #14 on: December 11, 2019, 12:05 »
0
I have a Canon 5D IV.  It has dual card slots, and before every photo session, I format both cards.
After last Maternity session, my Sandisk 64Gb failed, but no panic, I just took the CF card and copied all photos to my hard disk.


No problem ... but what if I did NOT have two cards - it would have been quite a panic.
So I thought : let's take the defective card and act as if I really needed to recover the photos.
Mind you, I do not even know if the photos were recorded on this card, because possibly it got defective right after formatting.


I googled on "recovery software", found "Recuva", did a "deep scan" ... and :  nothing!  Though the reviews said it could recover photos even after formatting (so in theory, it should at leastt find the photos of the PREVIOUS photo session).


Interesting note :  this is the very reason why I won't be buying the EOS R or any other great new camera with only 1 slot!

I'm keeping this card, just for testing.  Did any of you ever recover photos with a defective card, without going to a professional recovery company?  If so, which software did the trick?

TBH the last card that got corrupted on me was 64MB noname I bought in Turkey because I filled up the one I got, that was around 2003. I have two slots and I never use backup feature.

« Reply #15 on: December 11, 2019, 13:20 »
+1
I didn't have a card go bad, but I reformatted and took a few pics on a card once that wasn't fully transferred to the computer. I used some sort of recovery software - I am not sure what - maybe the one that came with the card? It recovered nearly every photo that I thought I had lost as well as some going back a surprisingly long time. - numerous reformat and use (although not to a full card) cycles earlier. The main issue was it took a long time - like 24 hours or more of the computer slowly churning through the data.

My card has dual slots, but I just write to one and then the other if the first card fills. Sometimes I do video to one and stills to the other. Maybe next time I travel and can't backup I should write to both cards. The price of cards is so much less these days.

« Reply #16 on: December 11, 2019, 13:20 »
+2
I always use Sandisk and have never had a problem with any of their cards.  But one time, I decided to try Lexar and it failed me right away.  I threw it away and have never tried any other brands since.

I have the 5D4 but only write to one card at a time.  But shooting events is different than my landscapes....the waterfalls and mountains are more than willing to do a second shoot...or third. lol

I have had some batteries not work properly.  One of my 5D4's wouldn't charge correctly so I labeled it "Trouble."  Same with one of my drone batteries.  I put a piece of tape on it so I'd know it was the one that gave me trouble.

« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2019, 18:41 »
0
I've never owned a camera with 2 card slots and have never had a card fail. But I do understand cards have failed for some people. I think a lot of photographers carry two cameras. Mostly to safe guard the main camera failing during a job.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #18 on: December 12, 2019, 11:52 »
0
I've never owned a camera with 2 card slots and have never had a card fail. But I do understand cards have failed for some people. I think a lot of photographers carry two cameras. Mostly to safe guard the main camera failing during a job.

Yes I do, sometimes three.  8)

Yes I understand the fear of not getting anything after a shoot, because the card fails on the last shot or when removing. However slim, I suppose people who have dual slot cameras should use that. I don't have that and I'm OK. That doesn't mean that someday I won't loose hours of work, that can't be recovered.

Yes I have forgotten to back up a card and formatted it. Then when I got home looked for that session. Oops. Card recovery is like disk recovery, works when you haven't shot anything over the data. Formatting is nothing but re-writing the TOC that the card/hard drive uses to know where and what the files are. Easy recovery.

Formatting and shooting over that, will start to overwrite older files, but doesn't mean everything is lost. The more used, the more data will be overwritten and lost.

Cards are more reliable than spinning drives, but card have a limit to how many times they can be written to. It must be pretty high, because I've got some oldies that still work. I suspect they work because I keep buying bigger and newer cards, which I use and the old ones sit on the desk for little projects, a few times a year.

I have had cards go bad, never in the camera, only in the dashcam... cards do go bad. Most of the time they just lose the TOC or some sectors that hold data for where the files are. I'd guess that people who shoot video, use the cards data sectors more and will probably have a shorter card life?

I understand what you mean with the difference between "presentable" faults and non-presentable, but - if I was my own client, and my photographer told me I had to re-do my entire 4-hour session (at 8 months pregnant), I would definitely not return to that photographer for my next photo shoot.  Not even if I was gifted the whole session for free.

Now there's a point for making sure you got the images, and dual slots!  ;D

« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2019, 12:02 »
0
I've never owned a camera with 2 card slots and have never had a card fail. But I do understand cards have failed for some people. I think a lot of photographers carry two cameras. Mostly to safe guard the main camera failing during a job.

Yes I understand the fear of not getting anything after a shoot, because the card fails on the last shot or when removing. However slim, I suppose people who have dual slot cameras should use that. I don't have that and I'm OK. That doesn't mean that someday I won't loose hours of work, that can't be recovered.

Yes I have forgotten to back up a card and formatted it. Then when I got home looked for that session. Oops. Card recovery is like disk recovery, works when you haven't shot anything over the data. Formatting is nothing but re-writing the TOC that the card/hard drive uses to know where and what the files are. Easy recovery.



Absolutely, and I don't understand people who have 2 slots and not use it.  Kinda "I like to live dangerously" haha!
2 slots are not just protection against defective cards, but also against human error, like what you said about forgetting to backup.
I sometimes take out 1 card to show images on my laptop, and after that, we decide to shoot a few more images.  Then I just pick up my camera and start shooting, and I forget all about the card in the laptop.  Easy!

« Reply #20 on: December 13, 2019, 15:29 »
0
I've never owned a camera with 2 card slots and have never had a card fail. But I do understand cards have failed for some people. I think a lot of photographers carry two cameras. Mostly to safe guard the main camera failing during a job.

Yes I understand the fear of not getting anything after a shoot, because the card fails on the last shot or when removing. However slim, I suppose people who have dual slot cameras should use that. I don't have that and I'm OK. That doesn't mean that someday I won't loose hours of work, that can't be recovered.

Yes I have forgotten to back up a card and formatted it. Then when I got home looked for that session. Oops. Card recovery is like disk recovery, works when you haven't shot anything over the data. Formatting is nothing but re-writing the TOC that the card/hard drive uses to know where and what the files are. Easy recovery.



Absolutely, and I don't understand people who have 2 slots and not use it.  Kinda "I like to live dangerously" haha!
2 slots are not just protection against defective cards, but also against human error, like what you said about forgetting to backup.
I sometimes take out 1 card to show images on my laptop, and after that, we decide to shoot a few more images.  Then I just pick up my camera and start shooting, and I forget all about the card in the laptop.  Easy!

Camera setting for do not allow to shoot without card. 1 card slot, backup often.

« Reply #21 on: December 14, 2019, 07:27 »
+1
I've rescued disks with SanDisk's rescue software - the old version back in 2007. It worked on a SanDisk CF card that failed when I was in Italy in 2007, and on a Lexar CF card that I mistakenly reformatted before uploading the card to my computer sometime later that year.

Unfortunately, it didn't work on a Hoodman SD card and I lost most of a day's worth of images from Iceland in 2011. Hoodman could not recover the images for me either. I mistakenly used the same SD card in both my backup D5100 and my backup P7000 not realizing it was a mistake to do so, so my error messed up the disk, but all looked fine on the camera. I went on a long hike at 4:30 am my last day in Iceland and and grabbed the lighter D5100 rather than my D700. When I uploaded them to my computer, they looked fine for a few minutes and then I watched the images start to disintegrate before my eyes. It was awful.

The Hoodman disks aren't always recognized by certain cameras, so I don't use them any more. Someone at B&H recommended them before my trip to Iceland, but I have not used them since then. I stick with the high end SanDisk and Sony.

In 14 years I've had 2 disks fail, and recovered one, and also recovered the disk I erased by mistake. I've shot well over 100,000 images. Meanwhile, I've had three computers crash (an HP desktop, an iMac and a MacBook Pro) so I feel pretty good about the disks. I wouldn't mind a second slot for peace of mind, but it's not essential.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2019, 07:30 by wordplanet »

« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2019, 09:19 »
0
I've rescued disks with SanDisk's rescue software - the old version back in 2007. It worked on a SanDisk CF card that failed when I was in Italy in 2007, and on a Lexar CF card that I mistakenly reformatted before uploading the card to my computer sometime later that year.



I forgot all about the Sandisk software - I'll use it for a test too, thanks.
Until now, I've only tried "recuva", which I found on a review site as "best free software", but if found nothing at all on the card, not even images from before the formatting.

« Reply #23 on: December 14, 2019, 12:58 »
+1
I've rescued disks with SanDisk's rescue software - the old version back in 2007. It worked on a SanDisk CF card that failed when I was in Italy in 2007, and on a Lexar CF card that I mistakenly reformatted before uploading the card to my computer sometime later that year.



I forgot all about the Sandisk software - I'll use it for a test too, thanks.
Until now, I've only tried "recuva", which I found on a review site as "best free software", but if found nothing at all on the card, not even images from before the formatting.

It should work well. Let us know.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #24 on: December 15, 2019, 13:00 »
0
I've rescued disks with SanDisk's rescue software - the old version back in 2007. It worked on a SanDisk CF card that failed when I was in Italy in 2007, and on a Lexar CF card that I mistakenly reformatted before uploading the card to my computer sometime later that year.



I forgot all about the Sandisk software - I'll use it for a test too, thanks.
Until now, I've only tried "recuva", which I found on a review site as "best free software", but if found nothing at all on the card, not even images from before the formatting.

I own recuva, it works, deep scan will find all kinds of things. But, if your card failed, nothing will find or recover anything. Recuva will rebuild a TOC, find images and discover formatted data or erased cards. But no software can read a dead card. That might be your problem?

Good Luck!


 

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