10 Method to Recover Photos and Videos from Sony A7RII Camera

Eleanor Reed

Jan 24, 2024 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

Have you tried to recover lost photos and videos from Sony a7RII? Do you feel confused about what became the reason for your data loss in the first place? Now you are wondering if it is even possible to recover photos and videos from Sony a7RII?

The answer is: YES! You can recover photos and videos from Sony a7RII. But how difficult is it? Well, no matter the difficulty! Reading this article would help you recover your photos and videos of your Sony a7RII camera.

Along with recovery methods, you will also get to know 10 key tips to help you maintain and prevent future losses from your camera devices. Now let's move to your photos and videos recovery procedure!

Is It Possible to Recover Photos and Videos from Sony A7RII?

Possibility of Recovery

Before you start recovering your lost photos and videos from your Sony a7RII camera, you must know about the possibility of recovery.

All your questions are sound and valid. Good news? Yes, you can recover. How old? There are constraints on recovery; it is tough and sometimes impossible to recover overwritten photos and videos.

About the recovery methods - there a lot of ways out there. You can search out and understand all of them, but that does not sound too efficient. However, this article's primary goal is to save time and provide you with reliable methods. Easy methods that can help you recover lost photos and videos from your Sony a7RII camera device.

What Cause the Sony A7RII Lose Photos and Videos?

Understanding the root cause is always critical to solving any problem. But why? If you know why something is happening, you can prevent it next time from happening.

Here are some of the reasons that might target a photo or video loss in your Sony a7RII camera:

Why Lost Photos and Videos can be Recovered?

Sometimes you may delete your photos and videos intentionally. But, if the recovery is possible, then what's the point of deleting them? Why can they be recovered?

Not necessarily! When you delete your photos, they do remain on the memory address but are hidden. So, the recovery methods and software fetches them from memory addresses and recovers them.

But, if you keep capturing new photos and recording new videos, the hidden space may be filled with newly updated data. When that happens, recovery becomes almost impossible.

10 Methods to Recover Lost Photos/ Videos from Sony A7RII

Part 1 helped you understand the possibility of recovery, why the photos and videos are lost in the first place, and why the recovery is even possible.

In this part of the article, you will learn about the easiest methods that can help you recover your lost photos and videos from your Sony a7RII device. These methods are detailed, step-by-step, thoroughly researched, and implemented; so, you won't face any trouble using them.

Okay, so now, it's time for you to get yourself ready, to begin with, there are the recovery methods.

Method 01 - Unhide Hidden Files Stored in Corrupt SD Card

Your Sony a7RII camera has a storage space that is called an SD card or a memory card. An SD card holds all your photos and videos that you capture through your camera device.

Sometimes, your SD card can be corrupted due to malware, viruses, or any other reason. A corrupt SD card will show you that you're missing your photos and videos, which can be hidden.

If you feel your Sony a7RII SD card might be corrupt, then you can follow the below steps to unhide the hidden files and recover photos and videos.

• Step 1: Connect your Sony a7RII SD card with your computer through a card reader
• Step 2: Go to Windows Explorer and further go to Tools > Folder options and switch to View Tab
• Step 3: Check the "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" option

• Step 4: If you see the "Hide protected operating system" option, please uncheck it.
• Step 5: Press the "Apply" and then the "OK" button.

After completing the steps, you will see your hidden files inside your attached SD card.

Method 02 - Reinstall the Driver

Your computer has a memory card reader device that allows you to read the SD card of your camera device. After reading the SD card, you can view and transfer files between your Camera's SD card and computer.

The computers' memory card reader is a hardware device. The Windows operating system has some drivers that help to run it. These drivers must be updated and properly installed to function the SD card reading functionality.

Suppose you are unable to read your Sony a7RII camera's SD card. In that case, there is a possibility that the memory card reader drivers are not updated or properly installed. To fix this problem, follow the below steps to reinstall your drivers.

• Step 1: Type "Device Manager" in your Windows OS taskbar, and once you see the option in the search results, open it.
• Step 2: In the Device Manager window, expand Memory Technology Devices

• Step 3: Right-click on your currently installed memory card drivers and click on uninstall
• Step 4: After uninstalling, you will see a yellow icon with your memory card device. It indicates that the drivers are missing. You have to right-click and install the drivers again. Windows will help you to automatically search the internal and install the latest drivers for you.
• Step 6: Restart your system. Once the drivers of your memory card device are reinstalled, restart your system.

After restarting, check if you can read your Sony a7RII SD card and view the files inside of it.

Method 03 -  Use Video Recovery Tool

The above methods dealt with fixing your Sony a7RII SD card. Because in significant cases, it is your SD card that is faulty and causing a problem while viewing photos and videos.

However, if your SD card of Sony a7RII is working completely fine, you need a data recovery tool. The data recovery tool helps you fetch all the lost/removed photos and videos from your SD card.

In this article, you will be introduced to Recoverit Data Recovery software by Wondershare. The reason for using this tool is that it comes with a free trial version that allows you to recover a limited size of files freely. Also, it is straightforward to use; with only 3-steps, you can recover your data back.

Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery software also supports multiple file types and guarantees data recovery in almost every case.

So, to recover your lost/deleted photos and videos from the Sony a7RII camera through Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery Software, follow the below steps:

• Step 1: Download and Install Recoverit Data Recovery Software by Wondershare
• Step 2: Choose the advance video recovery option from the interface screen Recoverit software enhanced recovery feature scans gather and match even the corrupt fragments of your videos. It ensures that most of your videos are recovered.

• Step 3: Once you have chosen the advance recovery option, click on the "Start" button to proceed.
• Step 4: Process will scan and recover your files
• Step 5: Select the location to save your recovered files

After the process is complete, you will be able to see recovered files from the SD card of your Sony a7RII camera.

Method 04 - Format to Repair Corrupted SD Card in the Camera

Hope that any of the above methods have helped you remove the autorun virus from your USB drive successfully. However, if you have lost data from your infected USB drive, you will learn how to recover it in the next section.

A corrupted SD card will not be able to show you photos and videos of your Sony a7RII camera device. Sometimes, you have to repair it by formatting it to a specific windows file format.

However, formatting the corrupt SD card might repair it and deletes all the data inside it. Nothing to worry about; this data can be recovered by using a data recovery tool [discussed in method 3].

Follow the below steps to format your SD card.

• Step 1: Connect your SD card through a card reader to your computer system.
• Step 2: Right-click on your SD card and select the "Format" option.
• Step 3: Choose your file formatting system such as NTFS, exFAT, or FAT32.
• Step 4: Check "Quick Format" and then press the "Start" button.

Once the SD card of your Sony a7RII camera is formatted completely, you will be able to open it.

Method 05 - Assign a New Drive Letter

While reading photos and videos from your Sony a7RII camera, you might encounter an error message as "Please insert the disk into drive F:.'

Such an error happens when your system fails to detect the SD card. Don't worry; the fix to this error is simple. All you have to do is to assign a new drive letter to your SD card.

You can assign the new drive letter by using Windows Disk Management. To start, follow the below steps:

• Step 1: Connect your SD card through a card reader to your computer system.
• Step 2: Search from the Windows taskbar about "Disk Management" and open it.
• Step 3: Right-click on your Sony a7RII SD card and select the "Change Drive Letter and Paths" option.

• Step 4: Select the new drive letter, and you are all done.

After the drive letter is changed, you will get rid of the error you were facing. Open your SD card again and see if you can view photos and videos captured through your Sony a7RII camera.

Method 06 - Use Diskpart in CMD Command

Another problem that you can have with your Sony a7RII camera's SD card is a 'Read-only' error.

To fix the 'Read-only' error, you can use the Diskpart method. Follow the below steps:

• Step 1: Open CMD as administrator through search or Run Window.
• Step 2: Type the "diskpart" command in the CMD window.
• Step 3: Type the "list disk" command and press enter. Identify your SD card disk.

• Step 4: Type the command "select disk <your-disk-number>" (replace your SD card's disk number in the command)
• Step 5: Type the "clean" command and hit enter.
• Step 6: Type the command "create partition memory" and then press the enter button.
• Step 7: Wait for diskpart to create a specified partition.
• Step 8: Type "format fs=ntfs" and hit the enter button.

After doing all the steps carefully, you will be able to remove the 'Read-only' error from your Sony a7RII camera's SD card.

Method 07 - Run CHKDSK

When you deal with deleted photos and videos recovery, your a7RII camera SD card can create problems.

There is a chance you might not be able to read files from your Sony a7RII memory card. If this is the case, process with this method.

Follow the below steps:

• Step 1: Press the "Win + R" key to open the run menu
• Step 2: Type CMD in the Run window pop-up and click the enter button
• Step 3: Type "chkdsk D:/f" in the CMD window and press enter (replace your memory card drive letter in the command accordingly)

• Step 4: Type "chkdsk D:/f offlinescanandfix" and press enter key. After entering the commands in steps 3 and 4, your memory card will be checked by Windows against any issues. Those issues will be resolved, and your memory card of the Sony a7RII camera will become readable again.

Now you can try seeing if you can access your photos and videos files inside your Sony a7RII camera.

Method 08 - Use SD Card Repair Solution Provided by Manufacturer

To repair your SD card within your Sony a7RII camera, use the repair utility that Sony provides. Using the in-built SD card repair solution by Sony requires extreme care and attention. Make sure you go through the user manual provided by Sony to perform this method.

Method 09 - Use Windows Troubleshooter

Another way to repair your corrupt SD memory card of Sony a7RII is by using a Windows troubleshooter. It is a simple feature provided by Windows which can easily find problems with your SD card and fix them.

Using this, you may be able to view your lost photos and videos inside your Sony a7RI camera's SD card. Proceed by following the below steps:

• Step 1: Connect your Sony a7RII SD card with your computer system.
• Step 2: Go to Control Panel and then click on "Troubleshooting"
• Step 3: In the Troubleshooting menu, select "Configure a device" below the Hardware and Sound options.

• Step 4: Click the Next button, and Windows will start detecting and then fixing problems with your SD card device

Once step 4 is complete, restart your system. Check your SD card now and see if you can view the lost photos and videos from your Sony a7RII camera.

Method 10 - Use Drive 'Error Checking' Feature

Repairing your SD card can help to recover files from their corrupted memory. Your Sony a7RII camera's SD card can be corrupted.

There are ways to repair the SD card of your Sony a7RII. Still, the easiest one is by using the drive error checking feature.

To begin using it, follow the below steps:

• Step 1: Right-click on your Sony a7RII SD card in Windows file explorer and select its "Properties"
• Step 2: Click on the "Tools" tab from the pop-up Window of the SD card's properties.

Step 3: Click on the "Scan drive" option, and Windows will begin scanning and repairing your Camera's SD card.

If there are any errors, they will be repaired and removed. Check your SD card for lost photos and videos, and after the repair process, you will be able to see them.

Summarizing

The above methods started by helping you to fix your SD card of Sony a7RII. Because, in many cases, your Camera's SD card causes the problem that stops you from seeing your photos and videos.

Therefore, fixing your Camera's corrupt SD card is a crucial step in recovering your lost, hidden, or deleted photos and videos. You have seen various methods in part 2 of this article that you could use to fix and repair your SD card of Sony a7RII camera.

However, you will have your SD card working correctly at times, and then you need a data recovery tool; that can help you quickly recover deleted photos and videos from your Camera's SD card. It is where you can benefit from a data recovery tool like Recoverit software.

10 Tips for Maintaining Camcorder/ Handy Cam

Using a camcorder or a handy cam is a common practice these days. You may be using it for creating video content or capturing photos. But you need to make sure your data inside the SD card of your camera device is safe.

Suppose you are thinking about cameras and their lost data recovery. In that case, a must-thought should be given to a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach.

Following a proactive approach, you can prevent damage to your camera devices. Simple practices can help you not to lose the data in the first place. Below are a few tips to help you maintain your camcorder/handy cam and prevent data losses.

1. Cloud Backups: Always create a cloud backup for your important videos and photos. Nowadays, cameras come with built-in internet technology and auto-backups. They help you to secure your data and allow you to prevent losing it.
2. Safe Data Transfer: Make sure you are focused on using safe data transfer methods. You must safely remove your data cable while transferring files between your computer and camera device. It can help you prevent data loss.
3. One SD Card – One Device: You must understand and follow this simple rule. Make sure you do not use your SD card on multiple camera devices. Your SD card is highly prone to damage when transferred between multiple camera devices.
4. Careful Lens Cleanup: Make sure you clean the lens of your Camera very carefully. Please do not remove the dirt from it in a brutal manner. It can damage your Camera's lens.
5. Use a Camera Carry Bag: To avoid dirt and other damages in the first place, buy a nice camera carry bag.
6. Do Not Touch the Lens: Your oily skin can cause massive damage to your camera lens. You must avoid touching the lens with your naked skin.
7. Keep your Camera in a Safe Place: Make sure that it is placed in a safe corner when your Camera is not used. The area where you are placing it should be of low humidity. The Camera should not be interacting with direct sunlight.
8. Neck Straps: If you are hiking with your Camera, use a neck strap. This precautionary measure can prevent any fall damage to your Camera.
9. Beware of High Temperature: The temperature can affect your camera lens. Make sure you do not leave your Camera behind in your car in hot weather.
10. Vacuum Clean your Camera Bag: The camera bag can be highly dusty after some time. Clean it regularly to avoid any dirt damage to the camera lens.

Conclusion:

As a Sony a7RII user myself, most of the problems I face with my data are related to SD cards. Sometimes, the SD card gets a virus, or it gets corrupted. However, the clear-cut techniques mentioned in this article easily help me to fix my corrupted SD card. Fixing the SD card usually solves all the photos and videos missing problems with my Sony a7RII.

But, whenever I face any random photos or videos lose in my Sony a7RII, Recoverit Data Recovery software by Wondershare becomes my first choice. Recoverit Software never disappoints, and I have always used it to save my crucial data. Therefore, a go-to choice that I recommend for cameras data recovery is Recoverit software.