Where did the RAW files go?

[dsm363]

Hi,


I'll just start by saying I'm brand new to digital SLRs. Just got back from a great trip with my family where we shot a ton of great photos of whales...etc in Baja. I told my brother to bring his laptop so we could off load the photos. Most of the photos were JPEG + RAW and we imported them into iPhoto. It's my brothers laptop so he took it home with him and I told him to export the photos onto a hard drive and mail them to me. When it arrived, they're all JPEGs with file names likeIMG_0551.jpg and IMG_0551_2.jpg where I think theMG_0551_2 used to end in .CR2.


I asked him how he exported them and he said he selected all the photos from within the iPhoto window and dragged them onto the desktop. Did this just copy a JPEG preview of the original RAW file? He of course then deleted all the original files without checking to see if they exported correctly. Are the RAW files lost or am I missing something here? TheMG_0551_2 type files are all slightly smaller than theMG_0551 type file (one is about 7MB on a Canon 7D file and the other is about 5MB). Guess I learned my lesson about letting someone else handle the files like this. Didn't think I had to micromanage how to export files but will have my own laptop for future trips. Thanks.





David

[neuroanatomist]

Hi David, and welcome to TDP forums!

I asked him how he exported them and he said he selected all the photos from within the iPhoto window and dragged them onto the desktop. Did this just copy a JPEG preview of the original RAW file?

Yes. Dragging images from iPhoto to the desktop converts copies the jpg images only. I suspect Apple decided to design it that way on the assumption that when dragging to the desktop you'd be sharing the images with someone else, someone who may not be able to view RAW images.


The _MG_0551 name, whether with a .jpg or a .cr2 extension, means something different - that has to do with color space. Images in sRGB are saved by the camera as IMG_0000 files, whereas images in the Adobe RGB color space are saved as _MG_0000 files. That's one of the settings in Shooting menu 2.


Back to your issue. To properly export the RAW files from iPhoto, he should have selected File menu > Export and chosen Original from the Kind pop-up.


Note that the originals may not be lost. If he just selected all your files and hit Delete, or dragged them to the Trash in iPhoto, they are still there, unless he also secondary-clicked the Trash can and selected Empty Trash. So, have him click on Trash can (one click!), and if he can still see your photos, he can Select All and drag them back to the Library, then export them using the command in the File menu. Sadly, if he emptied the trash, they are gone for good (short of heroic file recovery efforts - if you want to go that route, there are programs for that, e.g. File Salvage, that have free versions which scan for and list recoverable files, but you'd need to buy the $99 license to actually recover files; also, if you're going to go that route, he needs to stop using that HDD immediately!).


Good luck!

[dsm363]

Thanks. He's checking to see if he emptied the trash in iPhoto but I'm sure he did since he was doing it to free up space on his hard drive. Guess I learned a good lesson. I don't have a laptop at the moment so I asked him to bring his hard drive. When we got on the ship, he only had 5GB free for a 8 day trip.


Out of the two files, the _2 files (I assume were the RAW files) are slightly bigger (megabytes). I assume I want to keep that version then? Thanks again. I'm looking forward to getting into this new hobby. It's a lot of fun. I went out after the trip (was using my Dad's Canon 7D) and bought a Canon 7D for myself along with that newCanonEF 70-200mm F2.8 L ISIIUSMlens. That's an amazing lens. Now if only I can figure out how not to keep the pictures once I take them I'll be set.



Dave

[neuroanatomist]

The _2's were the RAW files, yes. But, you may want to look at both versions for a few pics. I'm not sure who's RAW -> JPG version is better, Canon's in-camera or iPhoto's. Personally, I use DPP for my RAW conversions.


Note that if you import your pics to a Mac using a CF card reader instead of connecting the camera, the CF card mounts as a disk on the desktop - you can then simply copy the files to your HDD.

[dsm363]

Thanks. I brought the last two CF cards home with me and imported them into Aperture 3 myself so at least I have those. I'll check that out.


I really did try to plan ahead. We imported them into iPhoto to look at them each day on the boat and didn't have a card reader with us. I guess it's one way to learn a lesson. Too bad, some of the photos including my favorite were among the missing RAW files. At least I have all the jpeg files so all is not lost.


Dave

[scalesusa]

Its probably worth getting more or larger cards. You can import images to a laptop to view them, just don't delete them from the card.