Cameras · Canon photo card
Canon RAW+JPEG pairs are incomplete
How do I recover missing partners in Canon RAW+JPEG pairs?
Short answer
First list exactly which partners are missing: CR2 or CR3 without JPEG, or JPEG without RAW. Each half of a pair is a separate file and can vanish on its own, even though both share the filename stem and capture time. Then scan the card read-only for just those extensions and keep recovered filenames unchanged for matching.
The situation
Some shutter presses have only CR2/CR3 or only JPEG after ingest.
Each half of a pair is an independent file on the card and shares only the filename stem and the capture time with its partner. One can vanish while the other stays, so the first task is an inventory: which shutter presses lack their CR2 or CR3, and which lack the JPEG.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
RAW plus JPEG mode writes two files per frame, often into different folders or, on dual-slot bodies, onto different cards. Ingest tools then move, rename or filter one of the formats, and a later cleanup removes what looked like duplicates. The pairing lives only in the naming convention, so nothing on the card enforces that both partners survive together.
Pairing relies on filename stem and capture time, but each format is stored as its own file and can be lost independently.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
List the filename stems at the ingest destination and mark for each whether the RAW, the JPEG or both are present.
- 2
Check whether the camera was set to write the two formats to separate slots or folders before assuming anything was lost.
- 3
Scan the affected card read-only for the missing extension alone, which keeps the result list short and comparable.
- 4
Export the results with their original names untouched, so each recovered file can be matched to its partner by stem.
Do not rename or renumber recovered files before matching them, because the stem is the only link between a RAW file and its JPEG. Do not delete the apparent duplicates on the card either while pairs are still incomplete.
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.
A partner that was never written, because the buffer filled or a slot ran out of space, cannot be recovered from anywhere. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT volumes and does not reconstruct a RAW file from its JPEG counterpart.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The set is complete when every stem has the partner the shooting mode implies, when the capture times of both halves agree to the second, and when each RAW opens at full resolution in a converter rather than showing only the JPEG preview embedded inside it.
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 photo card be recovered in this situation?+
Each half of a pair is an independent file on the card and shares only the filename stem and the capture time with its partner. One can vanish while the other stays, so the first task is an inventory: which shutter presses lack their CR2 or CR3, and which lack the JPEG. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not rename or renumber recovered files before matching them, because the stem is the only link between a RAW file and its JPEG.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.