Apart from learning how to fix scratches on a digital camera lens or how to get long exposure on a digital camera to capture perfect images, it is equally important to understand how to recover deleted photos. If you have accidentally erased some prized family images or precious memories, you may be wondering how to get them back. If you’ve deleted photos from your digital camera, act quickly. Don’t use the camera, check for a recycle bin, or connect it to a computer with recovery software. Scan the memory card for deleted files, preview, and select the ones you need. For challenging cases, consider professional recovery services and ensure better data protection in the future.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- You can recover deleted photos from your best digital camera or a computer.
- Try to find a “recently deleted” option in the settings menu of your camera, using this setting to restore the photos.
- You can also check the cloud, the trash bin of your computer, or anywhere else recently deleted files typically end up.
- There are also numerous pieces of software to help with the task of recovering lost photos.
How do Photos Get Deleted?
There are many ways photos can accidentally be erased or deleted. Most cameras have a “delete all” setting option, which can easily be pressed. Memory cards can become corrupted or accidentally formatted, which can occur with bent pins on the SD card slot on a digital camera. Cloud data options could accidentally write over old photos as your storage fills up. In other words, it is likely not your fault. Don’t worry. Digital camera photo recovery is within reach, so you can get back those deleted pictures.
Before moving on, check out our other maintenance articles and tips, including how to fix lines on a digital camera, how to print pictures from a digital camera, and how to load pictures from a digital camera to Windows 10.
Insider Tip
Some cameras will have a setting for “recently deleted” items, just like email or computer storage.
Can You Get Back Deleted Photos?
In most cases, yes. When photos are deleted from a memory card or from a camera’s internal storage, they are not completely eliminated. Rather, the space they occupy on the storage device becomes marked as “ready to write.” This means that they won’t actually be deleted until there is something to take their place. That’s good news for your recently deleted photos.
How to Get Back Deleted Photos on a Digital Camera
The actual simple steps will vary depending on the make and model of your camera and how the digital photos were deleted in the first place. Still, we have come up with a fairly universal list of tips and tricks to get those photos back.
Do Not Format the SD Card
If your camera became damaged it may ask you to reformat the digital camera memory card. Do not do this until you have backed up and recovered any deleted photos. Formatting a memory card will completely erase its contents, including your precious photos. In other words, photo recovery will be impossible if the memory card has been reformatted.
Check the Settings
Some cameras will have a setting for “recently deleted” items, just like email or computer storage. Find that setting and remove the selected photos from the folder, adding them back into the main storage folder. This will effectively institute the recovery process.
Use Photo Recovery Software
There are many different types of recovery software out there that are intended for situations like these. Find a well-reviewed software application that is approved for use with digital cameras and have at it. Follow the simple steps and restore the digital camera memory card. This third-party software does tend to cost money, as a warning.
Check the Cloud
Some digital cameras automatically send photos to the cloud as soon as you take them. You can always check the camera’s affiliated cloud storage service to see if the photos are still there. Redownload and you’ll be set.
STAT: 140,000 hard drives fail in the US each week. (source)
F.A.Q.
How do I recover deleted photos from my iPhone?
There should be an item to select marked “recently deleted photos.” Once you click on this, you will be given an option to restore anything that has been deleted.
How do I recover deleted files from an SD card?
You should be able to plug the SD card into your computer’s card reader. Once that has been done, the card should show up as a hard drive or folder with its own trash bin. Check the bin and move the files back to the memory card’s folder.
Why won’t my camera read my SD card?
There are numerous reasons why a camera may not be reading an SD card, but most likely it is because the card has not been formatted correctly.
