Emergency · camera card and proxy folder
Only proxy files remain after a shoot
Can the original video be recovered when only proxies remain?
Short answer
Not from the proxies: they are separate low-resolution files and cannot recreate the original at full quality. They are useful clues, though. Use their names and timestamps to identify which MP4, MOV or MXF originals are missing, then scan the original recording card read-only for exactly those clips.
The situation
Small proxy clips are present, but the full-resolution MP4, MOV, or MXF originals are absent.
Proxies and originals are separate recordings written side by side, often into different folders. What survives here is the small version: enough to see what was shot, its name and its timestamp, but not enough to rebuild a frame of the full-resolution file.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Because the originals are far larger, they are usually the first thing an ingest step skips, a clean-up deletes or a second shooting day overwrites, while the tiny proxies survive untouched in their own folder. The proxy folder is therefore a reliable inventory of what the camera recorded, not a copy of it.
Proxy and original assets occupy separate files and sometimes separate folders; one cannot recreate the other at full quality.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Stop recording on the camera card that held the originals and set it aside; the proxy folder itself is not at risk.
- 2
List the proxy names and timestamps, then mark which MP4, MOV or MXF originals are genuinely absent from every card and backup.
- 3
Scan the original recording card read-only for exactly that container format and limit the search to the shooting day if the tool allows it.
- 4
Export recovered originals to a different drive and match each one against its proxy by duration and picture content before relinking the edit.
Do not upscale the proxies and treat them as replacements, and do not delete them while the originals are still being searched for. They carry the names, timecode and duration that tell a recovery scan which clips to look for and how long each one should be.
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.
If the original card has been reused for later shoots, the large clips are the first thing new footage replaces, and no software reads back overwritten blocks. File Recovery Hero scans exFAT and FAT cards read-only; it cannot reconstruct a full-resolution clip from proxy material.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A recovered original is the right file when its duration and frame size match the proxy, the picture is identical at several points along the timeline, and the file size is in the range the camera bitrate would produce for that length.
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 camera card and proxy folder be recovered in this situation?+
Proxies and originals are separate recordings written side by side, often into different folders. What survives here is the small version: enough to see what was shot, its name and its timestamp, but not enough to rebuild a frame of the full-resolution file. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not upscale the proxies and treat them as replacements, and do not delete them while the originals are still being searched for.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.