Corrupt File in Photoshop

[CMSPhotographs]

Hi, I took 2 sets of pictures on two different SD cards today.  One picture from each card is corrupt.  (I went ahead and brought all of my pictures into the photoshop organizer.  All of the other photos looked fine.)  I will attach a copy of what I see in photoshop on the corrupt files.  My camera and photo viewer on my computer show the pictures correctly.  I always format my cards in my camera.  Is there a way to know if this a problem with the card?  Or if it is a problem with my camera?  (I'm hoping it's a problem with the cards.)  Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Brian]

26 minutes ago, CMSPhotographs said:

My camera and photo viewer on my computer show the pictures correctly. 

This is because the image you see on the camera's LCD IS NOT THE RAW FILE ITSELF, but rather the JPEG Preview File that is embedded within the Raw file. This is why your image goes from #Amazeballz to #Blah in ACR or LR. The "Blah" file is the Raw image; well technically speaking, it's Adobe's Camera RAW Plugin's interpretation of the Raw Image. But really...tomato, to-mah-to. The Internet Trolls who want to correct me can suck it.

26 minutes ago, CMSPhotographs said:

Is there a way to know if this a problem with the card?

SD Cards go bad all the time. Flash-based Media wears out, usually without warning. It just does. Personally, I tend to refresh/replace my cards every 18 months or so. If your two cards are the only ones you own and they have lots of usage on them over the past couple of years, I'd swap them both out, pronto. Especially if they were bought around the same time. What camera body are you shooting with?

26 minutes ago, CMSPhotographs said:

Or if it is a problem with my camera?  (I'm hoping it's a problem with the cards.)

It could be possible that the slot in the camera is starting to wear out, causing this issue, but I'm leaning more towards the cards themselves. Also, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...PRACTICALLY REQUIRED BY ME, to use a CARD READER and not use a damn USB cable attached to your camera. Don't ever use the camera to transfer your images. Way too much can go wrong, and usually at the worst possible time. I don't care if you say "...but it's always worked!" Card Readers tend to be between $20-$30 on the average, so the cost won't kill your wallet. Give this article a read for more clarification.

So what can you do? If the images are really important, there are JPEG Extractor Programs that are available. What these programs do is pull that image you see on the back of the camera and create a JPEG. Granted, it's not 100% fool-proof, but if you are in a bind and NEED SOMETHING, it's better than nothing. Oh, keep in mind, this is a JPEG file that is extracted, not a Raw image. There is only so much data contained within that JPEG Preview, so you won't have as much wiggle-room as you would to recover something in ACR. It's always better to nail exposure in-camera just in case you are forced to do something like this.

I've recommended this webpage in the past, see if one of the two Extraction programs that they recommend will work for you.   

 

[Damien Symonds]

@CMSPhotographs I'm sure Brian will want to know exactly which camera you have (and how old it is etc), and also what brand and type of cards.

Sorry, never mind.

[Brian]

I'm on it Chief!!

 

[Brian]

One more thing, someone commented that a faulty Hard Drive could cause this to happen. It's plausible, but extremely unlikely.

I'd start with replacing your cards first.

[CMSPhotographs]

Thank you!  I was using a Nikon D610 for both sessions.  I have had it probably 4 or so years now so it has definitely gotten a workout.  I will definitely be replacing both cards now.  They were SanDisk brand cards.  My computer has an sd card reader, so that's how I normally transfer my pictures to my computer.  Luckily neither picture was essential.  I had others that will work fine.  I just don't want to get in a situation where I don't have a picture when I need it.   Thank you so much for all of this information.  I truly appreciate it!

[Brian]

I use Sandisk Extreme Pro Cards myself. 
 

Here is a 2-pack of what I’d use if I had a D610:

Sandisk Extreme Pro 32GB (2-Pack)

Now before you say “…32GB is too much, that’s too many eggs in one basket, blah-blah-blah,” 

First, they don’t make smaller cards that much anymore. 32GB is the smallest you can typically purchase currently, and even that size’s days are numbered. 

Second, just because you have 32GB at your disposal, doesn’t mean you have to fill it.