Sony A7 III Photos Missing From SD Cards After Imaging Edge? Find the Actual Save Location First
TL;DR:
If photos are missing from your Sony A7 III SD cards after using Imaging Edge Remote, check your computer first because the default save destination is set to PC Only.
● Search the computer folder configured in Imaging Edge Desktop for JPEG and Sony ARW files from the shoot date before assuming the images are lost.
● Stop shooting to prevent overwriting data, decline any format prompts, and inspect the full DCIM contents of both cards directly using a card reader.
● Scan the SD cards with software like Recoverit Memory Card Recovery only if the files are entirely absent from the computer and cards, but stop scanning if the card repeatedly disconnects or shows the wrong capacity.
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If the missing frames were shot while Imaging Edge Remote was controlling the Sony A7 III, check the computer first. Sony's A7 III can save PC Remote still images to PC Only or PC+Camera, and Sony lists PC Only as the default setting. That means photos can be absent from both camera cards without having been deleted.
That is the first branch to resolve in this Sony A7 III missing-photo case on Reddit. The user finished a shoot, found only about half the photos after transfer, then saw only the same partial set on the camera. Two cards were installed, and Imaging Edge Desktop had been used during the shoot.
Check The Imaging Edge Save Destination First
- Step 1
Open Imaging Edge Desktop Remote and check the folder configured for remote-shot files. Sony explains that PC Remote uses Imaging Edge to shoot and store images on the computer, while the A7 III's Still Img. Save Dest. setting decides whether a still image is saved to the PC only or to both the PC and camera.
- Step 2
Search that computer for files from the shoot date, including JPEG and Sony ARW files. Do not assume the import folder is the same place Imaging Edge Remote used for tethered captures.
- Step 3
Read both cards directly with a card reader and inspect the full DCIM contents rather than relying only on one import folder or camera playback view. Sony's Recording Media Settings allow either slot to be prioritized and determine whether images are written normally, simultaneously, or sorted between cards.
Do Not Format Either Card
Until you know where the missing frames were saved, stop shooting to both cards and decline any format or repair prompt. New writes can overwrite deleted or lost photo data if card recovery becomes necessary.
Only Scan The SD Cards If The Files Are Truly Missing
If the photos are not in the Imaging Edge computer destination and are also absent when both cards are read directly, treat the cards as the remaining source. Keep them out of the camera, scan one card at a time, and save anything recovered to the computer or another healthy drive rather than back to either card.
Recoverit Memory Card Recovery is appropriate only at this stage, when a card is still detectable but the photos are genuinely missing. If a card repeatedly disconnects, shows the wrong capacity, or is not detected by a computer, stop repeated scans and treat it as a possible hardware problem instead.