DTP


 
Lively discussions on the graphic arts and publishing — in print or on the web


Go Back   Desktop Publishing Forum > General Discussions > Software

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-23-2012, 02:44 PM   #1
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default CF card/digital image recovery...

I hadn't used my camera in quite a while until the other day when I took a bunch of shots and yesterday I decided to get them off the cf card. I have a external multi-card reader but my desktop floppy drive also has a cf card slot. I pop the cf card in the desktop slot, the light goes green, I open Explorer, the appropriate drive displays the cardname, I click on it and get an error message that it can't read the card...

I get my external reader out of the storage drawer and decide to use it on my "new" laptop--you know...the card will magically then read because, it's on a different system...'-}}--and unfortunately I get the same error message. I begin to get a bit panicked by this because now, I've decided--since I've been denied access--that these images are the best images I've ever taken and I've gotta have them...'-}}

Off to do a browser search on 'cf card recovery'. I found a good series of forum postings with links to various recovery software and I downloaded and installed Digital Image Recovery (free)--on the laptop--which chugged away finding 174 images. The interesting thing is the images it found. There were shots I'd taken October 2008 and shots I'd taken in February 2010--all of which had been deleted via a card reformat in the camera--and...there were all the shots I'd taken the other day...

Whew!!! '-}}

Once I had my images, I reformatted the card in the camera, took a test shot and tried both the external cf card reader and then desktop-based cf card reader and both times the card read just fine so I'm not sure what was going on. I suspect that my desktop-based reader is flakey so in the future, I'm going to use the external reader.

At any rate, if anyone ever needs to recover images from a bum digital camera card, I'd certainly recommend the free "Digitial Image Reovery" utility. I also downloaded, installed and tested the ZAR data recovery utility which will do image recovery for free but it's a bit more complicated (maybe more sophisticated?) to use where the other is very easy and straightforward...

Oh! I also tried accessing the cf card from DOS and had to dig out my "Microsoft MS-DOS Operating System Upgrade User's Guide" (ver. 6.22) because I wasn't sure I was remembering the DOS commands correctly. I wasn't able to access the files in the cf card directory although I had not problem accessing the cf card reader (usb) drive...'-}}

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2012, 03:25 PM   #2
annc
Sysop
 
annc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Subtropical Queensland, Australia, between the mountains and the Coral Sea
Posts: 4,592
Default

Don't you have a cable to connect your camera to your PC's USB drive? I've always done it on the Mac, but even the many different makes, models and operating systems of PCs I had to deal with at work would just treat the camera as an external drive and happily transfer the photos... And sometimes I would be connecting an 8 year old camera to a brand new PC running Windows 7.

   
__________________
annc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2012, 04:50 PM   #3
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
ann: Don't you have a cable to connect your camera to your PC's USB drive?
I thought of that but there were 2 problems...first, I don't have a cable with the correct type of plug--very teeny-tiny usb (?) plug-end--and second, then only thing in the documentation is printing directly from the camera to a printer using some sort of printer supplied cable--using pictbridge which I know nothing about.

I need to see if I can find info on the appropriate cable and then see if I could have hooked the camera up to my system to copy the files--I could see the images on the card via the camera so if the recovery utility hadn't worked, it might have been an option.

Oh...also forgot to mention that all my EXIF data on each image was also recovered...

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2012, 05:14 PM   #4
annc
Sysop
 
annc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Subtropical Queensland, Australia, between the mountains and the Coral Sea
Posts: 4,592
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by terrie View Post
I thought of that but there were 2 problems...first, I don't have a cable with the correct type of plug--very teeny-tiny usb (?) plug-end
Is this what your port looks like? The one in the photo is of the Nikon D80, which is what I use. But all the myriad different types of cameras floating around the libraries used the same connector, so it's pretty well the standard for cameras and other small USB2 devices, I think. I carried a cable with me everywhere when I was working. Along with a long VGA/VGA, DGA/DGA, 5m patch cable, power cable and various other odds and ends.

I'd be really surprised if your PC didn't just recognise the camera and offer to open/transfer the images if you connected it.

   
__________________
annc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2012, 08:35 PM   #5
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
ann: Is this what your port looks like?
Yeah...pretty much--mine's a Canon 350D--thanks for finding that set of images.


>>But all the myriad different types of cameras floating around the libraries used the same connector, so it's pretty well the standard for cameras and other small USB2 devices, I think.

I figured it might be common but wasn't sure. It could be that I actually have the cable but I have always used a reader (figured it would be faster and didn't drain the camera battery) so I have to find the box the body came in and see if Canon supplied the cable--I don't have it in my larger camera bag with my other lenses. If not, I have to go to MicroCenter (large computer store) next week so I'll take the camera with me and see if they have the cable--they sell digital cameras and also all sorts of cables so I probably will be able to find it...


>>I'd be really surprised if your PC didn't just recognise the camera and offer to open/transfer the images if you connected it.

As I was thinking about it after I read your post, I suspect the same thing.

I'll let you know what happens...

Thanks...

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2012, 08:59 PM   #6
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default

Found the cable!!! '-}}

And I also found the software guide which is a big folded sheet that I'd never paid attention to before because I never installed the software--heard bad things about it. The interesting thing is that there is a warning that the cable needs the driver software so I need to read the directions more closely and also find the software CDs--pretty sure I know where those are...'-}}--to see if this is worth the pitaness it looks to be.

The 350D has a camera option for "pc connection" that needs to be selected also. Does your Nikon have that?

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2012, 10:57 PM   #7
annc
Sysop
 
annc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Subtropical Queensland, Australia, between the mountains and the Coral Sea
Posts: 4,592
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by terrie View Post
The 350D has a camera option for "pc connection" that needs to be selected also. Does your Nikon have that?
My earlier Olympuses had particular settings (not special ones just for connection) that had to be set for transfer, but the Nikon doesn't. I just have to turn it off, connect it with the cable, then turn it on. The Mac senses it and opens iPhoto, the thumbnails open and I'm in business. Even with 30 or 40 images, the transfer is very quick.

My experience with PCs is different, but you have to be careful which option you choose in the dialogue box that comes up. As I said, the PC just treats the camera like any other USB connection. But these were all cheap non DSLR cameras; I never tried connecting my Nikon to a work PC.

   
__________________
annc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2012, 09:20 AM   #8
Howard Allen
Member
 
Howard Allen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 824
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by terrie View Post
Found the cable!!! '-}}
What kind of cable does your external multi-card reader use? I have cheapo one from Radio Shack that uses the same USB cable (mini USB on the card reader end, regular USB connector on the other end) that works to connect my Nikon directly to my Mac.

   
__________________
Howard

OSX 10.10.5
Howard Allen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2012, 03:43 PM   #9
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
ann: I never tried connecting my Nikon to a work PC.
It does make me nervous...I'm going to browse around and see if I can find any forum postings about camera-to-pc connect with the 350D. I also need to check the Canon site to see if there are newer versions of the software. I'll let you know what I find out...

I do have a vague memory of reading horror stories about installing the Canon software and since I had Photoshop, I never really considered doing it.

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2012, 03:46 PM   #10
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
howard: What kind of cable does your external multi-card reader use?
There are actually 2 cables. One is very short and permanently attached to the reader--it folds out of the case--and the 2nd cable has a regular/normal sized usb connector on one end and the other is a female plug/jack that attaches to the end of the build-in short cable.

The 350D cable has a teeny-tiny-mini usb (?) plug/jack on one end--plugs into the camera--and a regular usb plug/jack on the other...

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Image Organizer or Image Viewer wetzel Images 14 01-14-2009 12:22 AM
Flash Memory Recovery dthomsen8 Images 5 03-29-2007 07:32 AM
Card Making ElyseC General Publishing Topics 20 01-31-2007 03:55 PM
Folding card PeterArnel Print Production & Automation 8 10-22-2006 06:52 AM
2-sided biz card confusedxx Print Design 8 09-25-2006 04:57 AM


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 09:20 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Contents copyright 2004–2019 Desktop Publishing Forum and its members.