OH oh 40D missing files - WTF?

[DougAxford]

After a few hundred thousand digital shots, I have a problem. I was shooting 100 or so posed shots of figure skaters Saturday on a Canon 40D and the last 3 skaters are not on the card.

Lots of spare room on the card. Card formatted in camera prior to shoot.
Shots were taken by me - no one else to blame or question. All shots were jpg
NOTHING - repeat NOTHING was changed on the camera. The last 3 shots were taken just moments after the previous ones. I doubt camera even went to sleep between.
No error codes showed at all, absolutely NOTHING abnormal at shoot or afterwards
Card was never removed until return to studio
Shots were taken for sure. Camera was hooked up to TV on video-out and each skater previewed and approved their shots. Approx. 5 exposures missing. Yes, lights, etc. were fine, otherwise image on TV would not be good. Even then, there would have been under/over exposures.
Recovery software shows images from other shoots, weeks earlier plus everything that day up to the last 3 skaters. Nothing else except for the usual fat & file info. recovery shows everything very clearly and cleanly and nothing else.
All shots that were there are perfect, no blips, weird noise, nothing - at least that I see so far.
No, I have not taken anything with either the card or the camera since.
I checked it upon return to the studio, saw a few files missing and decided to tackle it today when I was not so tired. Nothing magically changed.
No alien encounters that I know of and no lost hours unaccounted for on the drive home.

OK, I've helped lots of people with their lost files before but this has me stumped. If there was something the recovery software had trouble seeing, it would show questionable files. Just not there, so other software is highly unlikely to recover anything else. I've gone through recovery of HD's before and they can look like a dog's breakfast. This card is real clean.

I haven't used the camera since the problem. I know there is a buffer, but can it be accessed?

Any reasonable suggestions? Make of card doesn't matter but it was SandiskExtreme III Ultra. Used hundreds of times prior, never a problem. Images came off reader just fine, everything normal. The 3 skaters represent $100. in sales so I'm not going to go nuts on this BUT, it sure makes me wonder what happened and will it happen again.

I'm stumped. Is Chuck still reading this forum?? Is Mulder out of sex rehab yet??

DougA

[KevinStecyk]

Originally Posted by DougAxford

Recovery software shows images from other shoots, weeks earlier plus everything that day up to the last 3 skaters. Nothing else except for the usual fat & file info. recovery shows everything very clearly and cleanly and nothing else.

Doug is it possible that the photos actually existed on the card and the recovery software failing to see any trace? In other words, even if you (or someone else) had deleted the images, wouldn't the fingerprint still be there? In other words, how could the recovery software fail to see the fingerprint?

[DougAxford]

That's why I added the line about aliens and Mulder.

If anyone else had shot these and not confirmed the images on the TV, I wouldn't need to post, just need another drink. It's a complete mystery.

Somehow, I think that either I've discovered a Canon problem (I hope not) or something real stupid and simple happened. For the life of me, I can't recall anything happening and NO ONE is allowed anywhere near the camera when I'm shooting.

Very odd. Thanks for the thought though.

If I call Canon tech support, I know they will want to see the camera and card. Hmm. Probably that's the next step. I'd like to take some test shots first to confirm that the camera and card are both OK, just hesitating in case there might be anything else I can do first.

[KevinStecyk]

Originally Posted by DougAxford

If I call Canon tech support, I know they will want to see the camera and card. Hmm. Probably that's the next step. I'd like to take some test shots first to confirm that the camera and card are both OK, just hesitating in case there might be anything else I can do first.

If you're unable to recreate the problem, then was it a one-time wonder or has the problem resolved itself?

If you're unable to recreate the problem, no matter how hard you try, then I suspect Canon will have difficulty diagnosing and addressing the issue.

You've got my sympathies as it does sound like a challenging nut to crack.

[Jerry Skrocki]

Could you have turned the camera off before the buffer had a chance to finish writing to the card?

[DougAxford]

Good thought but the camera is always left on until the end of the shoot.

BTW, battery has plenty left on it too.

[JeffONeil]

Blue skying for a moment:
Have you tried another recovery program?
Is it a UDMA issue?
Did you read the card from the camera or a card reader? On a MAC you can lose data if you remove the card from the reader without ejecting first. And I have heard that it can happen on a windows system but I never had that problem.
Try contacting the card manufacturer, they may have some ideas.

Otherwise... another drink may be in order.

Murphy's Law working to it's fullest.

Hope it can be resolved Kevin. Good luck!

Jeff