Cameras · two Sony exFAT cards
Sony dual-slot copy missing from one card
How do I assess missing files in a Sony dual-slot setup?
Short answer
First check what the slots were set to do: simultaneous recording writes both cards, relay fills one after the other, and stills and movies can be sent to different slots. Only compare filename ranges once you know what each card should hold, then scan a card solely for files it genuinely should contain.
The situation
One slot lacks photos or clips expected from simultaneous or relay recording.
Before you treat this as data loss, establish what the two slots were told to do. Sony bodies can record to both cards at once, fill one and continue on the other, or send stills to one slot and movies to the second, and each setting leaves a card looking incomplete in a different way.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
With simultaneous recording both cards hold the same material, so a file missing from one of them is a real gap. Relay recording writes to the second card only once the first is full, and a stills-and-movies split means a card was never meant to carry what you are searching for. The menu still shows which configuration was active, and the file numbering on each card confirms it.
Sony slot behavior depends on still/movie separation, simultaneous mode, and relay settings.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Read the recording media settings in the camera menu and note what each slot was assigned before you change anything.
- 2
List the filename ranges on both cards and see where they overlap, continue from one another, or separate strictly by file type.
- 3
Scan only a card that ought to hold files it does not, working read-only from a reader with that card otherwise untouched.
- 4
Export any results to a computer drive, then compare the assembled set against the frame or clip count you expect.
Do not format the card that looks empty in order to start clean, and do not rearrange slot roles while the cards are in the camera. Reformatting a relay card destroys the second half of a session, and changed roles make it harder to establish which card ever held what.
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 recovery can produce a copy the camera was never told to write, which is what relay and split modes leave behind. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT and FAT cards read-only and exports to a different drive; it does not reconstruct camera settings, and an unreadable card needs hardware help.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
You are done when both cards together account for every frame or take in the session with no unexplained holes in the numbering. Each recovered file should open at full quality, and where simultaneous recording was used the surviving copy on the other card is your reference for comparison.
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 two Sony exFAT cards be recovered in this situation?+
Before you treat this as data loss, establish what the two slots were told to do. Sony bodies can record to both cards at once, fill one and continue on the other, or send stills to one slot and movies to the second, and each setting leaves a card looking incomplete in a different way. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not format the card that looks empty in order to start clean, and do not rearrange slot roles while the cards are in the camera.
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?+
You are done when both cards together account for every frame or take in the session with no unexplained holes in the numbering.