Production workflow · Capture One workflow
Capture One: only a proxy or preview remains
What can I do when only proxy media remains in Capture One?
Short answer
Not for full-quality output: Capture One previews are reduced-size images from its cache, useful for viewing but no substitute for a raw file. Keep the catalog or session with its cache, then search the session's Capture folder, backups and the recording card for originals. Deleted raw files need a read-only card scan before exporting anything.
The situation
Capture One can play a smaller helper file, while the high-quality original is unavailable.
A Capture One preview is a rendered image the application built for display, stored inside the catalog or session cache at a reduced size. It carries enough detail for browsing and for reading the filename and date, but the raw sensor data behind it lives only in the original file you are missing.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Sessions keep originals in the Capture folder and previews in a separate Cache folder, so deleting or moving the Capture folder leaves a browser full of usable-looking images with nothing behind them. The same happens when a session is copied between machines without its Capture subfolder, or when originals were cleared from the card after import.
Proxy and preview locations are separate from camera originals and contain less information. For Capture One, this matters because Capture One can keep references or helper media without containing a complete independent original
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Copy the whole session or catalog folder, cache included, to a second drive before touching anything, so the preview data cannot be regenerated away.
- 2
Export the previews you still have as JPEGs with their filenames and capture times, giving you a reference list of what must be recovered.
- 3
Look for the raw files in the session Capture folder, in any backup and on the card that recorded them, searching by the filenames from that list.
- 4
If the raws are gone from every location, scan the card read-only and export recovered files to a different drive, then reconnect them to the session.
Do not let Capture One purge the image cache, and do not reprocess or export from previews as if they were finished files. A preview cannot be sharpened back into raw data, and clearing the cache removes the names and dates that tell you which originals are still missing.
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.
No tool turns a preview into a raw file, File Recovery Hero included; it can only find the original where it still exists on an exFAT, NTFS or FAT card that reads reliably. Previews stored on an APFS system disk are outside what it scans.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A recovered original is genuine when its file size is in the range your camera writes, the extension matches the camera model and Capture One offers full editing rather than preview-only viewing. Pulling shadows or changing white balance should reveal detail a preview cannot hold.
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 Capture One workflow be recovered in this situation?+
A Capture One preview is a rendered image the application built for display, stored inside the catalog or session cache at a reduced size. It carries enough detail for browsing and for reading the filename and date, but the raw sensor data behind it lives only in the original file you are missing. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let Capture One purge the image cache, and do not reprocess or export from previews as if they were finished files.
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?+
A recovered original is genuine when its file size is in the range your camera writes, the extension matches the camera model and Capture One offers full editing rather than preview-only viewing.