Photos & RAW · Canon exFAT card
Canon CR2 RAW: recover after an interrupted recording
What can I do with deleted Canon CR2 originals after a recording interruption?
Short answer
Usually only the frames fully written before the failure: a dead battery or card error while the buffer emptied can leave the last CR2 files truncated or without directory entries. Switch off, remove the card and keep an untouched copy. Develop each candidate fully; an intact embedded preview says nothing about the sensor data.
The situation
deleted Canon CR2 originals is missing, too short or unreadable after power loss, a card error or an unsafe stop.
The frames written before the failure are usually sound; the last ones are the problem. When the battery dies or the card errors while the buffer is still emptying, a CR2 can break off inside its sensor data although the preview within it already exists.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
A camera buffers a burst and writes the files one after another. An interruption stops that queue at an arbitrary point, so the final CR2 may lack its closing image-file directory or the remainder of its sensor data. The card entry can carry a length that was never filled, which makes the frame look ordinary in the folder.
The payload may have been written before duration fields, indexes, directory entries or closing structures were committed. For Canon CR2 RAW, this matters because CR2 is TIFF-based and can contain an embedded preview that survives even when sensor data is incomplete.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Switch the body off, change nothing in the menu and remove the card before the firmware writes a correction onto it.
- 2
Note the last frame number the display showed and how many shots the burst should contain, so the missing tail is defined.
- 3
Image the card uncompressed or scan it read-only, and let every attempt to repair the final files run against that copy.
- 4
Export the frames to another drive and develop them from the first to the last to locate the point where the burst stops.
Do not let the camera format the card after a write error and do not carry on shooting with it. The card may already be failing, and each further write shortens the window in which the frames completed before the interruption can still be read out.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
Sensor data that never reached the card is beyond recovery, and a physically failing card belongs in a data-recovery laboratory. File Recovery Hero reads stable, detectable exFAT media only; it neither repairs truncated raw files nor works around read errors on damaged hardware.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Develop the last frames instead of browsing them. A complete CR2 gives full sensor resolution in the converter; a truncated one often still shows its embedded preview and then refuses to develop, which is the clearest sign that the sensor data was cut off.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can Canon exFAT card be recovered in this situation?+
The frames written before the failure are usually sound; the last ones are the problem. When the battery dies or the card errors while the buffer is still emptying, a CR2 can break off inside its sensor data although the preview within it already exists. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let the camera format the card after a write error and do not carry on shooting with it.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.
How do I know whether the result is complete?+
Develop the last frames instead of browsing them.