[Leica] File recovery software for SD cards

Peter Klein boulanger.croissant at gmail.com
Mon Jan 21 21:05:41 PST 2019


What program(s) do you folks use to recover deleted or inaccessible DNG 
files from an SD card?

I accidentally deleted two pictures from an SD card in my Leica M10-P 
before they had been copied anywhere else.  Fortunately, I was able to 
get the files back, but I'd like to know the best solution for the future.

As soon as I deleted the files, I shut off the camera, removed the SD 
card, write-protected it and put a different card in the camera. I had 
formatted the card before starting to use it, and I normally don't 
delete pictures in-camera.  So I was fairly confident that the deleted 
files were contiguous and therefore easy to recover.

The first program I tried was Rescue Pro from LC Technology. SanDisk 
recommends it.  I had two license keys that came with SanDisk cards I'd 
bought.  Perfect, right?  Wrong. Neither license key worked: "Invalid 
key." On the bottom of the "Free Offer" tag, in tiny print readable only 
with a strong magnifier, were the words "Limited time offer." Gee, 
thanks. To download the software, I had to give them a valid email 
address and phone number. Within 24 hours, they spammed me via both. 
Their standard $40 program doesn't support DNG files, so I would have to 
buy the $60 "Deluxe" version. And those prices are for a one-year 
license, after which the software stops working.  I'm happy to pay for 
something I use, but I object to renting software on principle.  All of 
these things left me with an unfavorable impression of LC Technology.

I ended up downloading MiniTool Photo Recovery, which easily recovered 
my two files. The free version I used is limited to 200 MB. Their 
registered versions don't expire. Is this a good solution, or is there 
something better?

--Peter




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