NEF corrupted on import from CF card

MarkAlsop · #1 03-31-2011, 11:44 PM

On a Mac Pro, Snow Leopard, all updates applied, lots of RAM and HD space.

I usually open two Finder windows, one open to the CF card or SD card, one open to the target directory ...then I drag the files from the card to the target directory.

The CF reader is a Firewire 800 SanDisk thing that only reads CF cards, including the latest extreme pro UDMA. The SD reader is Hoodman and plugs into a USB port and only reads SD and SDHC cards.

NEF files from the CF card are always copied over but often one (and only one) from a copy operation is corrupted when opened in Bridge CS5. Part of the image will be black or blank or have horizontal lines of color.

If I copy the file over a second time it opens correctly in Bridge, not corrupted.

I have tried using Nikon Transfer but it has the same problem.

This has happened on both NEF and JPEG files copied from CF cards.

The problem with the SD reader is that (sometimes) it only copies a few of the files then quits and ejects the SD card. A remount and retry selecting all of the files will sometimes go to completion and sometimes have the same problem. Sometimes the only way to get all of the files (jpeg files from a Panasonic Lumix) is to start with the first file it failed to copy over.

This is a nuisance but none of the original files are corrupted and eventually all of the files are moved to the hard drive successfully.

I should mention that my photo drive is two drives in a RAID 1 configuration. I have never had a problem dragging multiple files between any two of the drives installed in the Mac Pro, including the RAID drive.

Anyone run into this sort of issue with Mac OS X before? Any ideas how to fix it?

Thanks...

Jerry Skrocki · #2 04-01-2011, 11:24 PM

Have you tried importing directly using Bridges import utility? It works with card readers as well as cameras.

My thinking is that only the preview image is corrupted.

MarkAlsop · #3 04-01-2011, 11:37 PM

No, I have not tried Bridge but I'll try it tonight, just came back with a ton of images (of my Harley to be exact) taken with a D700. I'll post back after I've given it a shot, which every way it goes.

Like you I wondered if it was just the embedded jpeg but no ...I opened one of the corrupted images in ACR and the same image corruption showed up there too. Very strange.

Thanks for the reply...

MarkAlsop · #4 04-02-2011, 12:04 AM

I guess Bridge is the way to go here but it corrupted the first (and only the first) file (of 541 files) it copied onto the hard drive. The corruption was different: It was a blank file and any attempt to open it resulted in an error message indicating an 'unexpected end of file' was encountered.

After attempting to open the corrupted file I opened a Finder window on the CF card and used Drag-Drop to move the affected file to Bridge. It replaced the corrupted file after which Bridge and ACR had no problems with it.

So, the corruption occurs during the copy process. It occurs when different CF or SD cards are used. The corruption results in a corrupted image when Finder is used to copy and a file with an unexpected end of file marker when Bridge imports them.

Very strange.

Jerry Skrocki · #5 04-02-2011, 09:33 AM

The difficulty is determining where the problem is occurring. Is it the card, the card reader or your Mac. Since the problem occurs with both Bridge and Finder, it may be a problem with the card which can be ruled out by reformatting in the camera, taking a few pictures and then transferring new images directly from the camera. If all goes well, I would look for a new card reader.

DougAxford · #6 04-02-2011, 01:21 PM

How I read this is that Mark is using multiple cards (both CF and SD), multiple readers and multiple methods.

Not being a mac guy, I may be off base but you've checked most everything I would check. I would scan your CF card for bad sectors, reformat in the computer then reformat again in the camera, then re-try your copying.

My preferred method of copying files is copy and paste, even though I have software that will do it automatically. I just like to make sure. I also check the number of files copied and the size but that may not prove or disprove that any one of the files may be corrupt. I also have a policy of not using the CF card again until I have had a chance to edit and work on all the files but that is sometimes really difficult when it's busy.

Sorry that I'm not able to help more. Would really like to know the answer though as this could happen to any of us.

MarkAlsop · #7 04-03-2011, 01:53 AM

Doug is right ...I have had corruption with an SD/SDHC USB reader and with a CF UDMA Firewire reader and multiple CF cards, only one SD card though.

I always put a new shoot into a virgin folder and check the count after copying the files. I always set the CF cards aside until I have vetted the imported images in Bridge or LR.

I know about reformatting via the Mac so any bad sectors get marked but since this was on multiple cards of different formats that didn't seem to hold much promise. And, when I'm ready to go on a shoot I always reformat the cards in the camera.

I'll try reformatting with the computer, then the camera body before I do another shoot and see if that helps.

Thanks for the comments. If I find an answer I'll post it back to this thread.