Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions
It is frustrating when you lose your pictures and videos on your DJI Drone. It's discouraging when you think of the beautiful moments you've captured in those pictures and videos, and how you may never recover them.
What's more difficult is the trepidation of losing your files when your Drone crashes into a nearby bush or the water. Perhaps, your SD card got damaged via a virus or a glitch. At that moment, you will probably go blank and feel all is lost.
Hold on! All is not lost. Yes, it is easy to restore photos and videos from your damaged or lost Drone. The processing of restoring your picture and video is so straightforward that you will never lose a night's sleep on it. So, how can you get those beautiful moments back? Well, there are three ways of restoring your videos and pictures from a DJI Drone, namely:
In this article, you will explore the step-by-step process of recovering your files from DJI Drones without stress. So, stay with me on this immersive journey!
Here's one fact you need to know about flying Drones: crashing is imminent. The most important thing, however, is to prepare for such scenarios. To help you survive such situations, the DJI GO app contains a video cache option.
A cache is a system that automatically and temporarily saves your files such as photos and videos in case of system malfunction. Furthermore, it improves the performance of recently accessed photos temporarily stored in the RAM of a device. DJI's video cache option helps you to only quickly access your files, but also help in restoring pictures and videos.
However, not everyone knows about this option, or how to recover lost files via this option. For this reason, we've created a step-by-step guide for you.
It's important to set up your video cache option. You will never lose your files if you take this precaution.
It's that simple.
There's a catch to this: the recovered files may not have high quality like the originals. More so, they are often glitchy or" jumpy". Furthermore, your cached video isn't always the full video; it is smaller and doesn't record the last few seconds before a crash or malfunction.
No doubt, it is a painful experience when you mistakenly delete a video or picture from your Drone SD card or system. At this point, you are faced with different modes of action to recover your lost files. Amidst all these options, Recoverit Photo Recovery offers you a higher chance of getting your pictures and videos back. Let's take a look at what this software has to offer.
Recoverit Photo Recovery offers an effective and fast way of getting your files back. It has a multi-device compatibility; works on Android OS, Windows OS, and Apple iOS.
What's more?
Its advanced file-recovery algorithm helps to recover files without a compromise on the quality. More so, Recoverit Photo Recovery's deep search algorithm goes deeper into the structure and effects of the photo a record-high recovery rate of 96 percent. According to verified users, this software has recovered up to 70gb worth of photos in just 3 hours.
Most photo recovery tools do not have the required analyzer to effectively restore photos. Heck! It's the reason why some will only recover photos at low speed with less quality. However, Recoverit Photo Recovery boasts of a fast scan speed driven by an in-built photos analyzer. It's no surprise that this software has a recovery rate of 98 percent.
Recoverit Photo Recovery functions well on both Mac and Windows OS. There's no difference in the interface irrespective of the device. You also don't have to worry about any form of glitch on either of its platforms.
This software supports photos recovery from formatted hard drives, RAW hard drives, and even resized of the lost partition. The software can recover lost photos or files from crashed systems. More so, it can recover any type of file format.
"Powerful scan functions help you to find every byte on your storage device at ease and the advanced file-recovery algorithm allows you to restore deleted, formatted, or even damaged files within minutes. Recoverit Photo Recovery is a pretty efficient piece of software when it comes to recovering deleted or lost items. The response time is good, the interface is intuitive and our tests did not reveal any errors or crashes." - Softpedia
"3 Modules are specially designed for different photos of loss scenarios. Scan results could be saved and imported to the program to start file recovery at any time. Wondershare Data Recovery is a good option when you've lost important files and want to get back as much as possible. It offers a good set of tools for finding files, and its scans run smoothly and efficiently." - Yahoo Tech
Recoverit Photo Recovery supports to recover lost, deleted, or formatted pictures, videos, and audios from your DJI Drone SD card. The steps are as easy as ABC. Watch the video and know how easy it is.
The data recovery software can work for both Windows and Mac computer users. Here, we will take the Windows version to show how to restore pics and videos from an SD card.
1. You are presented with a list of hard drives to scan. Mind you, you might get more options depending on the number of drives connected to the system.
2. To recover photos and videos from DJI Drone cameras, you need to select the camera memory card and click "Start" to go on.
Recoverit Photo Recovery will start an all-around scan on your memory card of the DJI Drone camera. Mind you, the file size dictates the scanning speed.
1. As you can see, there are so many files to recover. At the left-hand side is the preview section, you will see the names of the folders as well as the file that was inside it.
2. Select the preferred image and video files you want to recover and then click on the "Recover" button to retrieve and save them on a safe location.
CHKDSK is an important system tool. It's majorly used in the Windows system to ascertain the file system integrity of a volume. More so, it is used to fix corrupted SD cards or other external drives.
Our main concern is to learn how to recover pictures and videos from corrupted DJI Drone SD cards. Corrupt SD cards are more common than you think.
Removing your SD card from your Drone camera while the power is still on, can cause damage. So, how can you utilize the CHKDSK to recover lost files?
Open the File Explorer and click on my computer. This is on the far left of your screen. Click on the SD card drive. Ensure that you click on the drive you want to recover from. An external SD card is denoted by this symbol (E:) or (F:).
The first thing to do when using CHKDSK is to open a command line. Simultaneously hold on the Windows logo and R keys to open the Command Prompt.
Type in chkdsk e: /f as shown in the image below. Mind you, the drive letter might be different on your system. When you type in the chkdsk command, it will scan through the external drive and fix the corrupted file.
As mentioned earlier, crashing your Drone is imminent. It's a matter of when and this decides the outcome of your pictures and videos when it happens. I know you want to avoid this situation as much as possible. Well, here's a ray of hope for you: you can prevent losing your files when it happens. However, you need to understand the causes of lost pictures and videos from DJI Drones.
In this section, I will show you the five main causes of picture and video loss in your DJI Drone
Perhaps, you are the impatient type who doesn't switch off the Drone before extracting the SD card. This is a major cause of lost photos and videos. More so, changing SD cards from Drone to Drone can also trigger this damage.
Once again, it is imminent. Sometimes, you might lose connection with your Drone, thereby resulting in a crash. Other times, you might land too hard or break the gumball or lose a propeller while in flight.
You need your phone or tablet to navigate your DJI Drone, or else, you will fly blindly and crash. Sometimes, your phone or tablet can switch suddenly while the Drone is in flight. This can disrupt the transmission thereby leading to lost pictures or videos.
Sharing pictures and videos with strange devices puts you at risk of corrupting your SD card or system. A system virus can spread into every corner of your system and wreak havoc by corrupting your files.
Here's the Juicy Part!
Data recovery is the process of salvaging damaged, deleted, or lost photos. To understand how this is possible, I want you to understand that no information is truly deleted. Rather, it is overwritten by new files and actions. For instance, it is easy to recover photos from Solid-state Drives (SSD) than Hard disk drives (HDD).
It takes an extremely long time for a system to overwrite a file. For instance, deleting a 5gb file occurs almost immediately. However, it will take several minutes for the system to erase the files. Before the system completely overwrites the file, you can easily restore your lost videos, pictures, and files.
Just as said before, there are 3 ways to recover pictures and videos when you find them lost from the DJI Drone camera. Specific solutions have been introduced respectively. Now, let's compare their pros and cons to having better command of them.
| Recovery Methods | Recovery Quality | Recovery Speed | Ease of Use | Requirement | Basic Premise |
| Video Cache | Low definition | Fast | A little bit of time to command it | Knowledge about cache files | DJI Go & preset configurations |
| Recoverit Photo Recovery | High quality | Fast | User-friendly and intuitive interface; Simple steps | No requirements of tech knowledge | An SD card to store data |
| CHKDSK | High quality | Medium | It is quite strange to non-programmers | Computer techniques & knowledge | An SD card to store data |
Selecting SD cards for your Drone is not a child's play. You need to check out certain requirements before you procure an SD card for your DJI Drone. Here are a few requirements to tick off your list.
You need to note the card size before you purchase a memory card for your Drone. There are two types of memory cards in terms of size; the micro-SD card is for smartphones while the standard SD card is for Drones, DSLR cameras, and other large devices. You don't need to procure a high capacity memory card. Any memory card with a capacity higher than 64gb is regarded as unnecessary. I'd advise you to get a 64gb memory card since it saves you the stress of changing memory cards with each battery change.
There are two types of memory can in terms of capacity. We have the conventional SD card and SDHC or SD C which are regarded as high capacity. The conventional SD cards are used for everyday functions, i.e.; smartphones, mp3 players, and other gadgets. On the other hand, SDHC and SDHX are used for heavy-duty devices.
You need a high-speed SD card for your drone pictures and videos. Since most DJI Drones record in 4K, it is ideal to buy an SD card that can keep up with the demand. DJI Drones like Mavic Air records 4k videos can write at the speed of 12.5 Mb per second. So, you should procure a memory card that writes above this speed. It is important to get a memory card of speeds not less than 75mb per second. Also, getting a fast memory card will reduce the overall time needed to send files to a backup.
No doubt, there are lots of SD cards with varying costs in today's market. Sometimes, these costs might run into hundreds of dollars. Furthermore, it's easy for people to make the mistake of going for expensive ones. I would advise you to go for the one that fits your budget and suits your requirement, rather than buys an expensive one.
You need to check the warranty before you purchase an SD card for your drone. Search for those with a longer warranty to aid you in times of malfunction or damages. You have to go for the one that will act as a fail-safe in times of damages and emergencies. Some memory cards come with a lifetime warranty and you can always return to the manufacturer. Although you might need to pay for the shipping costs.
Now, you know the requirements for selecting SD cards for your drone. However, your quest isn't over: you need to know the requirements of using SD cards for Drones. In your bid to get the best experience from your drone, these requirements will save you from a lot of unnecessary troubles.
Confirm the capacity: It is risky removing your SD card all the time from your drone, due to damages of the saved pictures and videos. To avoid this, your SD card has enough memory capacity to handle about 60 minutes of record time. For most DJI Drones, a 64gb SD is sufficient for approximately 90 minutes.
Use a USB 3.0 port: It's hectic and time-consuming when you have to send 4K or 6K unedited raw video files of about 64gb from a drone to the system. It takes a lot of time. For this reason, you need a 3.0 USB port that can match the read speed of your SD card.
Backup pictures and videos: A backup system is important when using SD cards for drones. Although SD cards like SanDisk extreme is quite durable, it's vital to use a backup system with your SD card. Multiple drives of 1TB capacity are an ideal companion for your storage.
Keep one device: If you frequently plug or unplug the memory card into different camera devices, it may be prone to SD card formatting or crash. So keep using your memory card on the specific DJI camera, which will facilitate its durability and reliability.
For years, picture and video recovery have always generated lots of questions. It's one of the most common search words on popular Drone forum. Well, times are changing, and with it, better ways of photos recovery. So, let your Drone soar and capture those beautiful moments as they unfold. Remember, you are secured with these photos of recovery methods, especially Recoverit Photo Recovery.
Security Verified. 3,591,664 people have downloaded it.
Eleanor Reed
staff Editor