Archive for January, 2008

Deleted Photo Recovery

January 29, 2008

People lose, destroy or mistakenly erase digital photos stored on their cameras removable storage media. These devices typically come in three varieties: Memory Sticks, Compact Flash cards and Secure Digital, or SD, cards. Most people think that if you accidentally or intentionally delete a photo from a memory card or a hard drive, it is gone for ever. But this is not true; those photos are still on the memory card and are recoverable.

When you realize that you have deleted photos from your memory card, the first thing you need to do is, to stop using that card entirely. Remove it from the camera, to make sure that you will not reuse it before the recovery of your deleted photos. This is the best thing you can do for yourself at this point.

Most cameras store images using the FAT file system. As an image is written to the card, the location on the card for that photograph is written to an index. When a file is erased, the information in the index is deleted the location is marked as available for more data to be recorded there. The original photo still exists; there is simply no index entry to point to the file. If no other write or format command is used on that space, the photos can be easily recovered. This is where the Photo Recovery Software comes in.

Photo Recovery Software is an easy-to-use tool that will perform the photo recovery process quickly and easily. It work very well unless some physical damage has been done to the memory card. It will scan the card and detect all the deleted files and show the preview of all the photos that are recoverable.
 
If you have accidentally deleted your photo(s) on your digital camera, here is a step by step guide to recover those irreplaceable pictures:

  1. Try not to panic.
  2. Do not take any new picture with your camera until you have recovered the deleted photos.
  3. Download the demo of Photo Recovery Software.
  4. Attach your camera to the computer via the USB cable, as you normally would do to download the pictures to your computer.
  5. Run the photo recovery software demo and follow the instructions.
  6. This will probably show the photos that are recoverable by the full version.
  7. If you find the photos you were looking for, get the full version of photo recovery software to recover them all.

Compact Flash Card Recovery

January 28, 2008

Compact Flash Memory Card is a small removable storage device that is designed with flash technology (a non-volatile storage solution that does not require a battery to retain data indefinitely). They are generally available in capacities from about 512 MB to about 64 GB. Compact Flash Cards are cheaper, easily available and work in almost all types of digital cameras. The major benefit of using a Compact Flash Card in a digital camera is that it has a controller chip in the card facilitates higher transfer rates.

The most important performance characteristic of a Compact Flash Card is the speed at which it can read and write data. Usually the write speed is the more important since it determines the maximum speed at which a digital camera can shoot under some conditions (especially moving objects). Due to this high speed Higher level Digital SLR (DSLR) cameras adapt Compact Flash Cards as the standard memory cards. Kingston, Ritek Ridata, SanDisk, Transcend, Apacer, Viking, Lexar are some of the trusted brands for Compact Flash Cards.

Causes for Compact Flash Card failure/corruption

Compact Flash cards fail or get corrupt due to many reasons like component failure, user errors/mishandling and software corruption. But, the most common cause for data loss from a Compact Flash card are user errors like:

  1. Turning off the camera before the image is completely written to the CF Card.
  2. Taking photographs when the camera battery is at the end of its life.
  3. Ejecting the Compact Flash Card while the camera is still writing to it.
  4. Attempting to take a second picture before the camera has finished processing the previous one.

If you have experienced any of the above situations while using your digital camera or Compact Flash Card, don’t panic! All your lost photos/videos are easily recoverable.

Further, if you have received an error message like “card not formatted”, “card not found” or “no images found” it means that your CF card is corrupt or damaged. In most cases, the photographs, videos are still recoverable using Data Recovery Software.

Here are some simple tips to be followed in case of data loss from a Compact Flash Card:

  1. “DO NOT FORMAT THE CF CARD” (Formatting a Compact Flash Card erases all of the pictures, borders, templates and other information on the card).
  2. Turn off your camera and wait for the access light to stop blinking and then remove the Compact Flash Card and store it in a safe location.
  3. DON’T keep attempting to read the pictures on your Compact Flash Card. Every time you are trying to do this you are applying electrical power to the Card. This electrical power can further damage your pictures, making it impossible to recover them.
  4. Data Recovery Software such as Digital Media Recovery will help in recovering almost all the data lost from the Compact Flash Card. Download demo version of Digital Media Recovery software and scan your Compact Flash Card. You will able to see the data which can be recovered. Digital Media Recovery Software provides complete recovery for lost, deleted, corrupted or formatted digital photos and audio files from Compact Flash Cards and other removable media.

Digital Camera Care

January 25, 2008

Digital camera is a very delicate piece of equipment. The most important and delicate component of a digital camera is its memory card. The memory card stores all you valuable and once in a lifetime shots. It is very important to take time and maintain it properly. If you take preventative measures to keep you digital camera in best conditions, it will last much longer.

What are those preventive measures? How are you going to do this? Here are a couple of things you can do for the maintenance for any digital camera.

1.  Never store batteries in the camera
After you are done with taking pictures and you are not using the camera for a period of time say 1-2 days, it would be best to remove the batteries from your digital camera and store them separately. No matter if you are using Lithium Ion batteries or AA rechargeable batteries. If you store the batteries in the camera, the power in the batteries will be slowly released. This way the batteries will slowly lose its power capacity and this in turn will affect the quality of pictures or videos you take.

2.  Do not remove the lens from the camera body in a dusty environment
Changing lenses in dusty circumstances is a major cause of a dirty sensor and spots on your images. To evade from this problem do not shoot or change lenses of your digital camera in any dusty circumstances.

3.  Lens cleaning
Lens is the most important component in any camera. To take care of the lens, make sure that you never, ever touch directly with your fingers. While cleaning the lens, always use a good lens brush, lens blower and lens cloth.

4.  Safeguard from extreme temperature
Digital cameras capture the heat or freeze very fast. Do not store you digital camera in a location that is too hot or cold.

5.  Keep away from Magnet
Keep you digital camera away from magnet/magnetic field because it may cause a reaction on the camera’s circuit. It is also preferred to keep it away from the electrical devices such as a television, hi-fi, or refrigerator.

6.  Store your camera in a padded camera bag
Always use a padded camera bag to store your camera. The padding will protect the camera when, inevitably, you drop it.

7.  Watch out for the memory card
Memory cards are very small and extra care should be taken for them. Always slot it with care. Never slot or remove the memory card while the camera is ON. This may corrupt the memory card and you may lose all the data stored in it.

8.  LCD screen
LCD screens will scratch if rubbed on. If you get some finger prints, or other non abrasive smudges on your screen, use Scotch Tape to clean them off.

9.  Protect from moisture and water
Some digital cameras are moisture tolerant and water soaking, and some are not. Modern lenses have quite a bit of electronics in them too and water can also cause problems. It is best to try and keep the cameras as dry as possible. Some digital cameras can take a little bit of moisture… just not total drenching.

Photo Recovery

January 24, 2008

Multimedia applications have come to occupy an important space in today’s technological advanced world. Digital cameras are something that most of us own today. Flash cards and memory cards today hold as much of information as USB drives. One Accidental format, unwanted deletion or memory card corruption ruins all the efforts.

Most of the pictures we take happen once in a lifetime. Pictures of your marriage, honeymoon, your daughter’s first day of school, and other family pictures are very precious. As important as they are, nothing is worse than losing them. This can be very upsetting and frustrating, especially knowing that you will never have to capture the picture again. Do not panic, there are ways that you can recover your digital photographs.

I did research on the Internet on this issue and came across Photo Recovery Software. I read a lot of digital photo forums and found many out there recovered their lost photos with Photo Recovery Software. One of the best things about the recovery software is that they are available as a free demo downloads. This gives a first hand experience trying and test before purchasing the software. And they are completely safe for your hard drive or memory card. So, in short if you have damaged or lost your photos somehow don’t panic 99% of the time they are recoverable. Digital Photo Recovery Software works great!

If the memory card or flash card in your camera is damaged or has experienced hardware problems, then it will not be so easy to recover your pictures. If this is the case, you should always look towards professional technicians or recovery services.

To be on the safe side, you should always save your photographs to your card, and transfer them to your computer the first opportunity you get, back them up to a CD or DVD. Virtual albums and photo galleries have sprawled up on networking and photo sharing sites. You can upload your most valued pictures to some of the photo sharing sites like Snapfish, Picasa Web Album, Powerscrap etc. and save them forever.

As it is rightly said, “Prevention is better than cure.” To prevent the data loss situations (from digital cameras) we must observe some basic precautions.

  1. Always read your camera manual properly.
  2. Keep it handy while you travel.
  3. Always keep your batteries charged and have an extra memory card with you.
    Maintain your card back up regularly.
  4. Keep the camera away from extreme weather conditions and electronic disturbances.
  5. Check for their compatibility when using them with computer applications or photo editing software’s.
  6. Don’t panic if you suspect data loss. Avoid storing photographs on the same card till recovery is carried out.
  7. Use Digital Photo Recovery Software, to recover all your lost/deleted photos.