Photos & RAW · photo card with RAW+JPEG capture
Recover complete RAW+JPEG pairs from a shoot
How do I match recovered RAW and JPEG pairs?
Short answer
Recover each format separately first, then pair them by evidence: original file number, capture time and image dimensions. RAW and JPEG from one shutter press differ in size and structure, so counts rarely line up straight after a scan. A JPEG without its RAW partner still has value; never rename files just to force a match.
The situation
Both formats were recorded for each shutter press, but recovered names or counts do not align.
After a scan the two formats arrive as two independent sets, because a scan reads content rather than the folder that once held both. Reuniting them is a matching job based on capture time, sequence number and image dimensions, and no longer a recovery job.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Each shutter press wrote two files of very different size and structure into the same folder. When the directory is gone, the shared name goes with it, and recovered files often carry generated names instead. Capture time in the metadata, the frame number the camera embedded, and the pixel dimensions are the three pieces of evidence that survive inside the files themselves.
The paired files have different sizes and structures while timestamps and sequence numbers provide relationship evidence.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Recover each format in its own pass, so that the RAW set and the JPEG set stay clearly separated on the export drive.
- 2
Sort both sets by capture time and read the embedded frame numbers, which usually restore the original order immediately.
- 3
Match pairs only where time, frame number and dimensions agree, and keep unmatched files in a folder of their own.
- 4
Rename matched pairs to the original numbering only once the match is confirmed, and keep the untouched export as well.
Do not rename files to force a pairing the metadata does not support, and do not delete a JPEG because its RAW partner is missing. A JPEG on its own is still a usable photograph, and a wrong name is much harder to undo later than a missing one.
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.
File Recovery Hero recovers both formats from readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 sources and exports them, but it neither reassembles pairs nor rewrites names; that matching happens afterwards in your catalogue. Files whose metadata is gone can only be placed by content.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A pair is genuine when both files report the same capture time to the second, the frame numbers agree, and the JPEG shows the same scene at the aspect ratio the RAW develops to. Count matched pairs, lone RAW files and lone JPEGs; those three figures describe the shoot.
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 photo card with RAW+JPEG capture be recovered in this situation?+
After a scan the two formats arrive as two independent sets, because a scan reads content rather than the folder that once held both. Reuniting them is a matching job based on capture time, sequence number and image dimensions, and no longer a recovery job. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not rename files to force a pairing the metadata does not support, and do not delete a JPEG because its RAW partner is missing.
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 pair is genuine when both files report the same capture time to the second, the frame numbers agree, and the JPEG shows the same scene at the aspect ratio the RAW develops to.