Sony FX30 CFexpress Type A Was Formatted: Protect the Card and Disk Image Before Video Recovery
TL;DR:
To recover a formatted 160GB video from a Sony FX30 CFexpress Type A card, perform logical recovery strictly on a sector-level disk image while keeping the original card powered off and preserving any corrupted transfer files separately.
● Large XAVC HS 4K, XAVC S 4K, and XAVC S-I recordings fragment across the 240GB card, causing basic searches to miss the current file and only find older clips.
● Scan the sector-level image using image-compatible software or scan the readable Type A card using Recoverit CFexpress Recovery, ensuring you save all results to an entirely different drive.
● Software cannot guarantee the retrieval of a fragmented XAVC clip if the data was cleared or overwritten after the in-camera formatting.
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In this Sony FX30 recovery case, a 240GB CFexpress Type A card was formatted in-camera after a roughly two-hour, 160GB recording. The user wisely created a disk image, but a normal scan found older files instead of the large current clip. Keep both the original card and that image unchanged.
Large XAVC Recordings Need More Than a Filename Search
Sony's FX30 guide confirms that the camera supports CFexpress Type A and records formats including XAVC HS 4K, XAVC S 4K, and XAVC S-I. A very large clip may be fragmented across the card, so a scan that finds old small files but not the current 160GB recording does not prove the clip was never recoverable.
Work From the Image When You Can:
If you already have a complete sector-level image, perform additional logical recovery on the image first and leave the original card powered off unless another read is necessary.
Separate the Formatted Card From the Corrupted Transfer Copy
The Reddit user also had a very large transferred file that appeared corrupted. Preserve that file separately. Repairing a damaged transfer copy is a different job from recovering the original recording from the formatted CFexpress card, and neither process should overwrite the only source.
When Recoverit Fits This Case
If the Type A card remains readable through a compatible reader, Recoverit CFexpress Recovery can scan the card for lost video. Because this Reddit user already created a disk image, keep that image unchanged as a second preserved source and use only software that explicitly supports the image format if you choose to scan the copy. Recover results to a different drive and validate the full duration, audio, and editability. No software can guarantee recovery of a fragmented XAVC clip if its data was overwritten or cleared after formatting.