How to Repair Unreadable Picture from Canon, Sony and Nikon

Eleanor Reed

Nov 11, 2024 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

Reading the message "Card corrupt" or "Card Error" on your camera's LCD after having taken loads of pictures waiting to be transferred to another storage device can be depressing. It might even leave you wondering why you hadn't taken a photography class to know how to handle your device better.

Most of us have gotten to this point where you are at a loss of how to repair unreadable pictures from your camera, including Canon, Sony, or Nikon. The sinking feeling that comes with seeing that message pop up can be taken care of with the knowledge this content will bestow on you.

Part 1. What's SD Card Photo Corruption

File corruption is an obtainable set back in the course of photography. Most cameras require the use of readable cards as a storage device while taking pictures with the camera. So when you find out that your camera's card is corrupt, the first thing you have to do for yourself is not to panic. Yes! Don't panic as you can mistakenly format your card and therefore unintentionally wiping everything on that card. Or you could end up damaging the images more in a frantic bid to restore your pictures. You can kick up some dust or stone out of frustration but do not panic or click on anything on your camera.

Now find out if the distorted images you see are your camera's fault and not the card's fault by swapping your storage card into another camera. If the photos are readable with another camera, then that's great news. But if the photos are unreadable, then get back home to your computer. While at your computer, you must have let out a lot of steam by now so go ahead and slot your card into your system.

Find out if the images are readable using your system. At this point, if the storage card is corrupt, your system will not detect any files rather it will ask if you would like to format your card. Do not click on format; it is quite tricky as you might think that formatting would help restore the card and therefore the files. Let's look at what it means to have your card get corrupted and what it takes to get it corrupted.

Tutorial to repair Canon/Nikon/Sigma/Sony Lens.

Part 2. Several Reasons for the Corruption or Distortion in the Photos

There are so many reasons why an image or photo gets corrupted when being shot using your camera or after having shot it with your camera. Before we look at the reasons, let's understand what it means to have a card corrupted and therefore have the pictures on your camera go from readable to unreadable.

Depending on how the files were lost from your card if you slot it in your system because it has lost its normal arrangement due to the corruption or it has become damaged because the computer doesn't know how to start looking for this corrupt file due to the scattered arrangement, it gives up and tells you that the photo is unreadable or cannot be opened or cannot be found.

Now the reasons for corruption of photos shot using a camera would include these:

Damaged SD card. This occurs mostly with cheap cards. Formatting the SD card is not a guarantee that the same problem won't come up in the future.
Problem on your system. It can either be that during the transfer of the photos, an interruption happened to cause the saving of the photo to the system to stop being saved abruptly.
Internal connectivity issue with your camera: Photo distortion can occur if there is a bad connection in your camera.
Bad card reader or cable. Most of the time that a card is inaccessible and therefore photos are unreadable is the fault of the card reader as it might be damaged. It could also be as a result of damaged USB cable which is connected to the camera for the collection of pictures.
Bad camera electronics. A lot of times, the corruption of a photo happens when the card used for photo storage is corrupt. Most times, the corruption goes undetected and gradually begins to affect the photos. Other times, taking pictures using a good camera and a bad card causes the photo to get damaged as it is. Therefore it is advisable to suspend any activities with a damaged card in order not to damage it further and also damage both residents and incoming files.

Removing the card while it is still writing or reading can cause it to get corrupted and also corrupt your photos in the process. If the card is the problem then you will have to repair and repair pictures that are unreadable from your camera.

Picture repair doesn't take time if you use the right software for it and in this case, Wondershare Repairit comes to play.

Part 3. How to Repair Unreadable Picture from All Cameras

Wondershare Repairit can be achieved using Wondershare Repairit Software which is globally accepted as the best picture repair software. This is because during the repair of an unreadable picture, it makes you check for picture or video inconsistencies through the preview option and if there are any, it repairs it by extracting the thumbnail of the images.

Download | Win Download | Mac

Now Repairit has one of the best User interfaces as it is straightforward and easy to use. An unreadable picture could also occur as a result of the repair tool used. If the tool is an unreliable repair software, even after having been repaired, the photo will still be unreadable.

Therefore opting for Wondershare Repairit to kick start the repair process is the best thing you can do for your photos, as this repair software helps repair photos from all kinds of mishaps ranging from virus attack, accidental deletion or formatting. Wondershare Repairit goes ahead to extract images from the external and internal storage devices.

So what does that tell you? it means that retrieving lost data and repair of unreadable pictures is feasible. This software also allows you to create a backup file location for the retrieved image. Yeah. Retrieving your picture is the only way to repair its inability to be read. Now let's look at the steps to using Wondershare Repairit to repair your unreadable pictures.

1. Now click on the option "Add file" to select the corrupt JPEG/JPG file(s) you intend to repair. All the selected files will be listed on the next screen. You can decide to click on "Select All" to select all the files listed there for repairing or you can remove some files from the list if you wish to.

photo repair

2. Click on the "Repair" button to begin the repair process on the selected files.

upload corrupt photos 3. Once the repair is done you can go to the preview pane to preview any file to check for inconsistencies. Finally, click on the "Save" button to save the repaired files at any location of your choice.

repair corrupt photos

Download | Win Download | Mac

Part 4. Tips to Protect Pictures on Canon, Sony, and Nikon

Although there is a remedy to your picture or file corruption problem which helps you get back the exact images after a JPEG repair operation has been carried out, you need to know how to protect your pictures on your camera from being corrupted in the future.

Ensure that during ejection of your memory card that it is done appropriately, in other not to damage it.
Do not use a damaged card on your camera as it will only go ahead to damage the pictures you take with that camera.
When downloading images on your camera using your card always ensure that you download from trusted sites to avoid introducing viruses into your card and thereby avoiding corruption.
Make use of card readers when needed in other that your card won't be scratched or broken while trying to insert it on the device you would be using to read the card.
Handle your camera with care as a fall to the ground might damage things in it and cause you to lose your pictures.
Always use multiple storage devices to store your picture or media files. These other storage devices serve as a backup if anything happens to the initial storage device.
Do not expose your camera to extreme temperatures and the same thing goes for your storage card.
Ensure that your storage card is stored in perfect atmospheric conditions that would neither get it moist or heated up. Moisture might cause the pin to rust and this might affect its readability on your system.
Protect your pictures on a damaged card by making sure not to use it until the files on it are repaired.
Ensure to go for original cards, remember your pictures are beautiful memories which are worth more than the extra money added to the original ones that make you go for the cheap ones.