subject: Tips for Selecting Photo Recovery Software [print this page] Though we dread data loss, loss of photographs is even more painful and difficult to come to terms with, as each photo portrays an emotion or a situation that cannot be recaptured. Photo Recovery Software is really a helpful tool in recovering lost photos. There are different types of photo recovery software available in the market. If you just key in the word photo recovery in Google, you will be overwhelmed by the search result. You need to wade through the information and select a software that can efficiently recover photos without harming your data. In this article let us look at the factors that should be considered before selecting photo recovery software.
Operating system and version- There are specific software for Windows and Mac based OS. Based on the operating system and the version you use select either Windows or Mac based photo recovery software.
Storage devices- Your digital camera can be used in sync with a host of storage devices. Make sure that the software can recover photos from different types of storage devices such as IDE / ATA / SATA / SCSI hard disk drives, SD Cards, CF Cards, XD Cards, Memory Sticks, external Zip drives, FireWire and USB hard drives
File extensions- Depending on the operating system and camera the digital images are stored with different extensions. Ensure that the software can recover photos from the file extensions used by your OS like BMP, PNG, TIF, TIFF, JPEG, JPG, GIF and PSD (Mac) or JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, PNG, BMP, GIF (Windows). If you shoot in Raw format the file extensions will again vary depending on the camera manufacturers and OS. For Mac based OS it will be CR2, CRW(Canon), ARW, SR2 (Sony), NEF (Nikon), MRW (Minolta), X3F (Sigma), PEF (Pentax), or ORF (Olympus). Similarly for Windows it is CR2, CRW(Canon), SRF, SR2 (Sony), NEF (Nikon), MRW (Minolta) or ORF (Olympus).
Photo loss scenarios- Photo loss can happen when you delete a file, format a system, memory card, SD card, multimedia card, or USB drives, and due to software malfunction. Dysfunctional cables or incorrect methods to remove/eject USB drive can also lead to loss of photos from digital camera or from storage device. Select a software that can recover photos from any of these photo loss situations.
