Photos & RAW · quick-formatted exFAT photo card
Recover photos after formatting a camera card
Can photos be recovered after an SD card was formatted?
Short answer
Often yes after a quick format in the camera, as long as you have not shot since: the directory structures are replaced, but older image data stays until new captures overwrite it. Do not take a test photo. Scan the preserved card read-only for exactly the JPEG and RAW formats you used before formatting.
The situation
A camera formatted the card before JPEG or RAW files were copied.
The card was formatted in the camera, not erased. A quick format writes a fresh directory and allocation table over the old ones and leaves the picture data where it was. What decides the outcome is whether a single frame has been shot since that moment.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
A camera format is almost always a quick format. It creates an empty exFAT structure with a new DCIM folder, so the card reports itself as empty while JPEG and RAW content from before still occupies most of the capacity. The old file names and folder paths disappear with the directory, so recovered images often come back numbered by content signature instead of by their original name.
A quick format can replace directory structures while leaving portions of older image data until new captures overwrite them.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Take the card out now and resist the urge to shoot one test frame; that frame lands exactly in the space the format just released.
- 2
Note which formats the camera was set to before the format, whether JPEG only, RAW only, or RAW plus JPEG, so the scan targets them.
- 3
Attach the card through a reader and scan it read-only for those formats; a full surface scan matters more here than a directory scan.
- 4
Export to a separate drive and sort the results by capture time from the metadata, since original file names rarely survive a format.
Do not let the camera or a computer write anything to the card: no test shot, no new folder, no second format to clear the problem. Do not use the card as the export target either, and ignore any offer to repair the volume.
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 quick format is recoverable; a full format or a card that has been filled with new captures is not. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT and FAT card layouts read-only, yet it cannot restore the folder names the format erased and cannot repair partly overwritten images.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Judge the result by the image, not by the file count. Every JPEG should decode at its native resolution, and every RAW should develop with adjustable exposure. Compare the number of recovered frames against the shot count the camera reported before the format to see what is still missing.
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 quick-formatted exFAT photo card be recovered in this situation?+
The card was formatted in the camera, not erased. A quick format writes a fresh directory and allocation table over the old ones and leaves the picture data where it was. What decides the outcome is whether a single frame has been shot since that moment. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let the camera or a computer write anything to the card: no test shot, no new folder, no second format to clear the problem.
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?+
Judge the result by the image, not by the file count.