Photos & RAW · exFAT camera card
Recover deleted JPG photos from a camera card
How can I get deleted JPG photos back?
Short answer
Yes, if the card has not been reused: a complete JPEG has a valid start and end marker, which lets a scan check each candidate. Scan read-only for JPG and JPEG, export elsewhere and accept a photo only once it decodes fully at its original dimensions, because a convincing thumbnail can hide an incomplete original.
The situation
JPEG images were deleted before a verified second copy existed.
What is gone here are finished JPEGs from a camera card, deleted before a second copy existed. A JPEG is self-contained: it opens with a start-of-image marker and closes with an end-of-image marker, so every candidate a scan finds can be measured against that shape.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Deletion on a camera card frees the directory entry and marks the clusters as available, while the pixel data stays where it was written. The risk is not time but new writes. Cameras store JPEGs in order, so a partly overwritten file often keeps its start marker and its embedded thumbnail although the image stream behind them is cut. The preview then looks perfect and the full frame does not.
A complete JPEG candidate has a valid start and end marker; a thumbnail alone can look convincing while the original 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
Stop shooting with that card at once and eject it; every new frame claims the free clusters the deleted JPEGs are still sitting in.
- 2
Compare the highest file number still on the card with the last number in your import folder to see how many frames are actually missing.
- 3
Read the card through a card reader and run a read-only scan for JPG and JPEG, leaving the card mounted read-only for the whole session.
- 4
Send the export to a different disk, then open every file in a viewer that reports pixel dimensions rather than an operating-system thumbnail.
Do not reformat the card because the camera suggests it, and do not run a repair or check-disk pass over it. Avoid writing recovered JPEGs back onto the same card, which would overwrite the very frames that have not been found yet.
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 scan returns only bytes that are still on the card. Frames overwritten by later shooting are gone, and File Recovery Hero does not repair a half-written JPEG. It reads exFAT, NTFS, and FAT card layouts read-only; scanning is free, exporting needs the 50 € licence.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Open each recovered JPEG at full size and scroll to the bottom edge. A complete file decodes to its original width and height without a grey block, a smeared row, or a decoder warning. Images that appear only in the thumbnail cache are incomplete even when the file size looks plausible.
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 exFAT camera card be recovered in this situation?+
What is gone here are finished JPEGs from a camera card, deleted before a second copy existed. A JPEG is self-contained: it opens with a start-of-image marker and closes with an end-of-image marker, so every candidate a scan finds can be measured against that shape. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not reformat the card because the camera suggests it, and do not run a repair or check-disk pass over 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?+
Open each recovered JPEG at full size and scroll to the bottom edge.