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22 July 2025  Jennifer Thatcher  Technology Manager of Test Dept.
Last update by Olivia Brown at 22 July 2025

Summary
You didn't brave wind, rain, or midnight shoots for nothing. Whether it’s a once-in-a-lifetime sunset or a split-second smile, this guide shows you how to recover photos from your Sony camera — including RAW, JPEG, and HEIF formats. Explore trusted recovery methods to restore MP4 and MXF videos as well, and make sure the moments you worked so hard to capture never slip away.



Table of contents

table iconUnderstanding Data Loss: Why You Might Need to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera
table iconHow to Successfully Recover Photos from a Sony Camera
table iconFuture-Proofing: How to Avoid Needing to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera Again
table iconFinal Thoughts on How to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera
That sinking feeling when you realize your photos have vanished from your Sony camera is something no one wants to experience. For over two decades, Sony’s cameras have been capturing memories for families and photography buffs alike, but digital files can be fragile. An accidental button press or a memory card error can make it seem like your precious pictures are gone forever.
sony cameras
The Great News is that your photos are probably not lost forever. In most cases, the data is still there, just hidden. This guide is here to walk you through the most effective methods to recover photos from a Sony camera, so you can breathe a sigh of relief and get your memories back where they belong.

Understanding Data Loss: Why You Might Need to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

Before we jump into the solutions, it helps to know what might have caused your photos to disappear. Understanding the “why” can make the recovery process a little less mysterious.
Accidental Deletion: The most common culprit. It’s incredibly easy to accidentally hit the delete button while you’re reviewing shots on the camera’s small screen.
Failing SD Card: Memory cards, such as CF cards, XQD cards, and SD cards, don’t last forever. Over time, they can develop bad sectors or simply fail, leading to corrupted or missing photos.
Virus Infection: If you’ve plugged your memory card into a computer that has malware, a virus could have hidden, corrupted, or deleted your files.
Improper Ejection: Pulling out the SD card from your camera or computer while it’s still writing or transferring files is a recipe for data corruption.
Sudden Power Loss: If your camera’s battery dies right in the middle of saving a photo, the file might not be written correctly and could seem to vanish.
Unintentional Formatting: Formatting a memory card erases everything on it. If you did this without backing up your photos first, you’ll need to perform a recovery.
Firmware Glitches: Though rare, a bug in your camera’s internal software (firmware) could cause issues with how photos are saved or managed.
The encouraging part is that in nearly all these situations, the photo data isn’t immediately wiped clean. Your camera just marks the space as “available.” This means as long as you don’t save new photos to the card, you have a very high chance of getting your memories back.
In addition, please review the table below to confirm certain technical details, which will help determine the appropriate data recovery strategy moving forward:
ModelKey FeaturesMemory CardsPhoto FormatsVideo Formats

Sony A1 II

50MP Full-Frame, 8K 30p, 4K 120p, 30fps burst, AI tracking

CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG, HEIF

XAVC S, XAVC HS, XAVC-I

Sony A7 IV

33MP Full-Frame, 4K 60p (Super35), Real-time Eye AF, 10-bit video

CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG, HEIF

XAVC S, XAVC HS, XAVC-I

Sony A7R V

61MP Full-Frame, 8K 24p, Pixel Shift, AI-based subject tracking

CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG, HEIF

XAVC S, XAVC HS, XAVC-I

Sony FX3

Full-Frame Cinema, 4K 120p, Active cooling, S-Cinetone, compact body

CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG

XAVC S, XAVC S-I, XAVC HS

Sony FX30

APS-C Cinema, 4K 120p, S-Log3, LUT support, budget-friendly cinema option

CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG

XAVC S, XAVC S-I, XAVC HS

Sony ZV-E1

Full-Frame Vlogging, 4K 120p, AI framing, compact design

SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG, HEIF

XAVC S, XAVC HS

Sony A9 III

24.6MP Global Shutter, 120fps burst, 4K 120p, blackout-free EVF

CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II

RAW, JPEG, HEIF

XAVC S, XAVC HS, XAVC-I

Sony FS7

Super 35mm, 4K DCI/UHD, 180fps HD, broadcast-ready, interchangeable lenses

Dual XQD + SD

JPEG (limited stills)

XAVC-I, XAVC-L, MPEG HD 422, Apple ProRes

📝 Notes:
  • CFexpress Type A is Sony’s go-to for high-speed recording in newer Alpha and Cinema models.
  • XAVC-I is intraframe (higher quality), while XAVC-L is long-GOP (more efficient).
  • FS7 is more video-centric — stills are limited and mostly for thumbnails or metadata.
  • HEIF is supported on newer models for high-efficiency photo storage with better color depth.
Based on the parameters above, you should look for a recovery solution that supports restoring image formats like RAW, JPEG, and HEIF, as well as video formats such as MP4(XAVC S, XAVC HS) and MXF(XAVC-I).

How to Successfully Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

So, you’ve lost some important photos from your Sony camera. Take a deep breath. Panicking won’t help, but taking the right steps will. Recovering your pictures is definitely possible, whether you use special software, a backup you forgot you had, or a professional service. Let’s break down your options.

Option 1: Use Data Recovery Software to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

Think of a deleted photo like a book in a library whose catalog card has been thrown away. The book is still on the shelf, but nobody knows where to find it. Data recovery software is like a master librarian that meticulously scans every shelf (every sector of your memory card) to find those “lost” books and put them back in your hands.
For this job, we highly recommend Renee Undeleter. It’s a powerful tool that’s straightforward enough for anyone to use.
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 11,10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8+.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!

Renee Undeleter is a powerful data recovery tool designed to retrieve lost or deleted files, including precious photos from your Sony camera. Whether you’ve accidentally deleted your pictures, formatted your memory card, or encountered a card error, Renee Undeleter can help you recover your memories. With its four functional modules—Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan, Whole Disk Scan, and Image Creation—it addresses a wide range of data loss scenarios, making it an ideal choice for Sony camera users.
Renee Undeleter support recovering MP4, MXF, RAW, JPEG, and HEIF format files.
renee supports sony file format
Here’s how you can use Renee Undeleter to recover your Sony camera photos:
Step 1: Connect your Sony camera’s memory card to your computer using a card reader.
how to recover deleted pictures from the SD card when it is connected to pc
Download and install Renee Undeleter on your computer, then launch the software. On the main interface, select the ‘Whole Partition Scan‘ option to begin the recovery process.
Note: To prevent data overwriting, do not install Renee Undeleter on the same disk where your data was lost.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter to recover deleted video from sd card
Data Recovery Function
Fast Partition Scan – Retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
Whole Partition Scan – Recover files from inaccessible or formatted partitions.
Whole Disk Scan – Analyze partition information and perform a full partition scan.
Image Creation – Create image to back up the current partition state.
Step 2: Choose the partition corresponding to your Sony camera’s memory card and click ‘Next‘ to proceed.
Renee Undeleter Whole Partition Scan
Step 3: Wait for the scan to complete. The duration will depend on the size of your memory card. During the scan, you can preview files by double-clicking them. If you find the photos you need, select them and click ‘Recover‘ to save them. Alternatively, wait for the scan to finish, select all the files you want to recover, and then click ‘Recover‘.
preview deleted mkv video file
preview and select the files to recover in renee undeleter
Important: Save the recovered photos to a different location, such as your computer’s hard drive, to avoid overwriting data on the original memory card.
recover the whole disk data
  • It Understands Sony Files: Renee Undeleter recognizes all the photo formats Sony cameras use, including the special Sony Alpha RAW files (ARW). It can actually identify around 400 different file types, so it can find pretty much anything on your memory card.
  • Works with Any Card: No matter what type of memory card your Sony camera uses, Renee Undeleter can handle it. The key is to connect the card directly to your computer with a card reader. If you connect the camera itself, your computer might see it as a media device (MTP), which doesn’t allow the deep scan needed for recovery.
  • Simple, Professional Results: You don’t need to be a tech wizard. The interface is clean and walks you through the process, giving you professional-grade results with just a few clicks.
  • Recovers Videos, Too: With its new Advanced Camera Recovery (ACR) module, Renee Undeleter is especially good at piecing together fragmented video files. Modern cameras often split large video files, and this feature is designed to recover them whole, something many other tools struggle with.

Option 2: Try Sony’s Own Tool to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

Sony provides its own free utility called Memory Card File Rescue. It’s designed specifically to work with files and memory cards from Sony devices.
This tool supports a wide range of Sony media, from SD cards and Memory Sticks to their professional XQD cards. Naturally, it’s built to recognize the file formats produced by Sony cameras.
sony Memory Card File Rescue
The catch? It hasn’t been updated since 2020. While it can still work, it may not be as effective as more modern software, especially with newer camera models or complex data loss scenarios. But since it’s free, it’s certainly worth a shot.
Here’s how to use it:
1. Navigate to the download page to get the software. You’ll need to enter the model name and identification code from your Sony memory card to proceed.
2. Connect your Sony memory card to your computer.
3. Launch the Memory Card File Rescue application and select your card from the list. Sometimes it might show an “Access is denied” message. If it does, try clicking Next anyway, as it often works despite the warning.
4. Confirm the recovery settings on the next screen and click Run to start the scan.
5. After the scan, you can preview the found files and select the ones you wish to save.
6. Click the “Recover” button and choose a safe location on your computer to save the files.
7. Just be aware that this software isn’t known for being fast, so expect the process to take some time.

Option 3: Check Your Backups to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

This might seem obvious, but in a moment of panic, it’s easy to forget. If you have a good backup habit, you might be able to get your photos back instantly without any software.
We’ve listed this method third because, let’s be honest, data loss often happens before you’ve had a chance to transfer those latest shots to your computer. However, it’s always the first place you should check.
Look for your missing Sony camera photos in these places:
Local Drives: Check your computer’s hard drive, any external hard drives, or USB sticks where you might have copied the photos.
Cloud Storage: Do you use a service like Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox, or OneDrive? Many of these services have desktop apps that automatically upload photos from connected devices or specific folders. Your “lost” photos might be safely waiting for you in the cloud.
Social Media: Did you share any of the photos on platforms like Instagram or Facebook? You can often download them back from the site. The quality might be lower than the original, but it’s much better than having nothing at all.

Option 4: When to Call the Pros to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

If you’ve tried software, scoured your backups, and still come up empty-handed, it might be time to call in a professional data recovery service. This is your best bet when dealing with physically damaged memory cards (e.g., bent, cracked, or water-damaged) or extremely complex file corruption that software can’t handle.
fix damaged cards in clean room
Professionals have clean rooms and specialized hardware that can work directly with the memory chips inside the card. They use enterprise-level software that’s far more powerful than what’s available to consumers.
The downside is the cost. Professional recovery can range from a couple of hundred to thousands of dollars, depending on how severe the damage is. However, if the photos are truly irreplaceable—like wedding pictures or once-in-a-lifetime travel shots—the investment can be well worth it.

Future-Proofing: How to Avoid Needing to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera Again

While it’s great to know recovery is possible, it’s even better to avoid the stress altogether. A few good habits can drastically reduce your chances of losing photos in the future.
Back Up, Back Up, Back Up: Make it a routine. After every important shoot, transfer your photos to your computer and an external drive or cloud service. The 3-2-1 rule is a great guideline: have 3 copies of your data on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy off-site (like in the cloud).
Use Anti-Virus Software: Always have reputable anti-virus software running and updated on your computer. This protects your machine and any memory cards you connect from malware that could corrupt your files.
Keep Your Gear Clean: This applies to both your computer and your camera. Dust buildup in a PC can cause overheating, which can damage components, including your backup drives. Keeping your camera and lenses clean prevents physical issues that could indirectly affect your memory card.
Keep Liquids Away: It sounds simple, but spills are a major cause of electronic damage. A single drop of water or a soft drink in the wrong place can ruin your camera, your memory card, and the computer holding your backups. Make it a rule to keep drinks away from your valuable gear.

Final Thoughts on How to Recover Photos from a Sony Camera

Losing photos from your Sony camera is a frustrating experience, but it’s rarely the end of the story. Because of how digital storage works, your files are often recoverable as long as you act quickly and use the right tools. We’ve shown why Renee Undeleter is a top-tier choice for the job, with its powerful scanning and user-friendly design. We’ve also explored solid alternatives like Sony’s own free software, the simple power of a good backup, and when it’s time to call in the professionals. With these methods in your toolkit, you stand an excellent chance of bringing those lost memories back to life.
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 11,10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8+.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!

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