Video · 10-bit production card
10-bit Log MP4: find after an import failure
Where are 10-bit Log recordings in MP4 after a failed import?
Short answer
First search the destination, trash and catalog: 10-bit Log files are large, so a failed import often leaves them partly copied while smaller clips arrived complete. Compare each file size with the card and copy again. Do not grade or transcode the partial copies, and scan the card read-only only if the originals were deleted.
The situation
10-bit Log recordings in MP4 is incomplete at the destination and no longer appears reliably on the source.
The destination holds fewer or shorter files than the card does. Log takes are the biggest files of the shoot, so an ingest that broke off tends to have finished the small clips and left the long ones half written, with a size that stops short of the original.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Ingest runs in stages: copy, checksum, catalogue, and on some setups delete the source afterwards. A failure between stages leaves a partial file at the destination while the catalogue already claims the take arrived. The colour profile makes this harder to notice, because a flat Log image gives no obvious visual cue that the second half is missing.
Move, rename, catalog and delete-after-import steps can fail at different moments and leave source and destination in different states. For 10-bit Log MP4, this matters because bit depth, color profile and codec parameters affect whether a valid stream displays correctly
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 the ingest tool and disconnect the card, so a retry cannot delete sources it believes it has already copied successfully.
- 2
Compare the clip list on the card with the destination folder, the trash and the catalogue, matching byte sizes rather than file names.
- 3
Copy the incomplete takes again from the card in the file manager, onto a drive with enough free space for the whole shoot.
- 4
Play every new copy through to the end, then remove the truncated versions once the complete files exist in two places.
Do not grade, transcode or build proxies from the partial copies: a conform makes a fragment look like a finished deliverable, and the card may be wiped before anyone notices. Do not reformat the card to give the ingest a clean start while takes are still missing.
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 reads the card read-only and returns deleted takes; it cannot extend a copy that stopped mid-transfer. While the originals are still on the card, plain copying is the right answer, and a scan only helps once the ingest has deleted them.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Sizes on the card and at the destination have to agree exactly, and the copy must play to its last frame. A LUT applied to the recovered take should behave as it does on a clip that imported cleanly, with no sudden colour shift or block breakup near the end.
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 10-bit production card be recovered in this situation?+
The destination holds fewer or shorter files than the card does. Log takes are the biggest files of the shoot, so an ingest that broke off tends to have finished the small clips and left the long ones half written, with a size that stops short of the original. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not grade, transcode or build proxies from the partial copies: a conform makes a fragment look like a finished deliverable, and the card may be wiped before anyone notices.
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?+
Sizes on the card and at the destination have to agree exactly, and the copy must play to its last frame.