Memory Card & Camera Recovery · Mail-in or Pittsburgh drop-off
Memory card recovery.
First, stop using the card.
- Stop using the card. Take it out of the camera and set it aside.
- Do not format it. Not in the camera, not on the computer, not when either one offers to.
- Do not keep shooting. Every new photo or clip can land on top of the ones you want back.
I'm Josh. I recover photos and video from memory cards at a one-person lab in Pittsburgh. Most cases arrive by mail. I'll tell you what's on the card before you pay anything.
In scope
What I recover
- ✓ SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, and microSD
- ✓ CompactFlash, CFexpress and XQD
- ✓ Photos, including RAW files, and video
- ✓ Cards from mirrorless and DSLR cameras, action cameras and drones
- ✓ Deleted files, formatted cards, and cards that ask to be formatted
- ✓ Video files that were recovered but won't play
How I work
The card is read once
The first thing I do is make a complete copy of the card, with write protection in place. Everything after that happens on the copy. Nothing is written to your card, and it goes back to you in the state it arrived.
If the file system can be read or repaired, files come back with their names, dates and folders. If it can't, I look for the files by their contents instead. That takes longer and is where the Complex price comes from.
By problem
What went wrong?
- Card asks to be formatted The camera or computer wants to format it. Say no. The photos are usually still there.
- Card not recognized by camera or computer Work out whether it's the reader, the camera or the card. Only one of those is a recovery job.
- Accidentally formatted card A quick format leaves the photos in place. A full one doesn't. Which did you do?
- Deleted photos or video Deleted files stay on the card until something is written over them. The next shot can be that something.
- Recovered video files that won't play The software found your clips but nothing will open them. Two different causes, and one is often fixable.
- Photo and video files that won't open or play You have the files, but they're corrupt. Some can be repaired. Tell me what you have and I'll take it from there.
By card type
What kind of card is it?
By device
What was it in?
- Action camera footage recovery Dead batteries, overheating and crashes cut recordings short. The footage is often still there.
- Drone footage recovery A crash ends the recording before the file is closed. Card or internal storage decides the rest.
- Mirrorless and DSLR camera card recovery Formatted before offloading, or deleted the wrong folder. Still photos are the most recoverable thing on a card.
Mail-in
A card ships in an envelope
A hard drive needs a box and two inches of padding. A memory card needs a padded envelope. It is small, it has no moving parts, and it costs very little to send.
- 01. Fill out the intake form. I reply within 24 hours with the mailing address and any questions.
- 02. Put the card in its plastic case. If you don't have one, tape it flat between two pieces of cardboard. Don't tape over the contacts.
- 03. Put that in a padded envelope with a note showing your name and email.
- 04. Send it with tracking. Send only the card unless I ask for the camera.
- 05. When I'm done, the recovered files reach you by Dropbox link and the card is mailed back. Return shipping is on me unless you ask for rush return.
In Pittsburgh? Drop it off in person instead.
What happens after it arrives
01
Free evaluation
I image the card first and work from the copy, so the card itself is read once and never written to.
02
A report of what's there
You get a file count, the file types, and the date range of what I found. That tells you whether the shoot you care about is in there.
03
A firm quote
One number, Standard or Complex, based on what the recovery took. You decide whether to go ahead.
04
Payment on delivery
You pay when the files are ready, and they reach you by Dropbox link. The card comes back to you either way, and return shipping is on me unless you ask for rush return.
Pricing
Card recovery pricing
Two prices. Which one applies depends on what the recovery takes, and you get that number before you owe anything.
Standard
$100 flat
A deleted or formatted card that still reads, where the files come back intact.
- › Deleted photos or video
- › Card formatted by accident
- › Card asks to be formatted
- › SD, microSD, CF, CFexpress, XQD, USB flash drives
Complex
$150–$250
Quoted after evaluation. The files are there but need rebuilding before they are usable.
- › Reconstruction from fragments
- › Corrupted video repair
- › Very large cards
Rush
Add-on
48-hour turnaround from the day the card arrives. Added to the Standard or Complex price, and quoted with the job.
- › Ask for it on the intake form
- › Amount confirmed with your quote
Not detected at all
Case by case
A card that no reader or camera can see is a physical case. Some of these I can do at my bench, quoted after evaluation. The rest I refer out, at no charge.
- › No capacity, no name, nothing
- › Checked in more than one reader
- › If it's not one I can do, I tell you and send it back
Repairing corrupt photo or video files you already have is a flat price per job, not per file, quoted after a free look. It typically runs $150 to $250. More about file repair →
No data, no charge.
The evaluation is free. I'll show you what's recoverable before you pay anything. If what you're looking for isn't there, you owe nothing.
Recovered files are delivered by Dropbox link. Very large recoveries can cost more, because I need extra storage to hold them. If that applies to yours, it is in the quote. Return shipping is on me, whether or not anything was recovered, unless you ask for rush return shipping. That is quoted with the job.
Honest limits
What I can't get back
- Internal storage on action cameras and drones
- Often unrecoverable once TRIM has run. TRIM is the device telling its own storage that deleted space can be erased, and once the storage has done that there is nothing left to read. A removable card in the same device is a different and much better situation.
- Cards that aren't detected at all
- If no reader and no camera can see the card, it is a physical case, not a file problem. Some of these I can do at my bench, and I quote them after evaluation. The rest I refer out, and there is no charge for finding that out.
- Files rebuilt from fragments
- When the file system is gone, files are found by their contents. They can come back with generic names and without their original dates or folders. The photo is the same photo; the label is not.
- Overwritten data
- Gone. If new photos or video were written over the old ones, no one can bring the old ones back. This is why the first instruction on this page is to stop using the card.
Common questions
- What does memory card recovery cost?
- Standard recovery is $100 flat: a deleted or formatted card that still reads, with files recovered intact. Complex recovery is $150 to $250, quoted after evaluation: reconstruction from fragments, corrupted video repair, very large cards. The evaluation is free. I'll show you what's recoverable before you pay anything. If what you're looking for isn't there, you owe nothing.
- Do I need to send the camera too?
- No. If the files were on a removable card, send only the card. If they were on the internal storage of an action camera or drone, tell me on the intake form before sending anything, because that storage is often unrecoverable and I would rather say so before you pay for shipping.
- Can you recover a card that isn't detected at all?
- Sometimes. A card that no reader or camera can see is a physical case. Some of these I can do at my bench, quoted after evaluation, and the rest I refer out at no charge. Try a second reader first, because readers fail more often than cards do.
- Will my file names and dates come back?
- Sometimes. When the file system can be read or repaired, names, dates and folders usually come back with the files. When files have to be rebuilt from fragments, they can lose names and dates.
- I kept shooting after the problem started. Is it still worth sending?
- It can be. Anything that was written over is gone, but new files do not always land on top of the old ones. The evaluation shows what is still there, with dates, before you decide anything.
- I'm not in Pittsburgh. Does that matter?
- No. Most card cases can be mailed in a padded envelope. If you are in Pittsburgh you can drop the card off instead.
From the bench
Read up before you decide
- "Card needs to be formatted" Why the message appears and why not to accept it.
- Formatted vs deleted What each one actually does to your data.
- GoPro and drone footage Huge files that play as 0:00, and why.
- CF and CFexpress recovery Bent pins and why RAW files come back well.
- Card failed after a shoot What to do in the first ten minutes.
- What card recovery costs The tiers, and why small media is not always a small job.
Tell me what happened to the card.
What it was in, what you saw, and what you're hoping to get back.
Start a Card Recovery CaseNot a card? I also recover hard drives and SSDs.