Recovering lost photos: A quick how-to

It's not very hard to lose hundreds of photos from your digital camera's memory card in the blink of an eye. Just ask my colleague, Eileen McCooey, who asked for my help after accidentally erasing pictures of her recent summer vacation when she unintentionally reformatted the memory card.

Fortunately, if you know what you're doing, it's nearly as easy to recover deleted images as it is to erase them.

Here's how I rescued Eileen's photos:

1. I told Eileen to immediately remove the memory card from the camera. This is critical, because right after photos are deleted (or a card is formatted), they're usually still intact and recoverable. But once you use that card to store additional shots, you put your deleted photos at risk.


2. I knew there was software that could recover deleted files, because I had bought and used programs at home to help family members with similar problems. (Card makers Sandisk and Lexar both sell such software.)
   
   But I wanted to recover these photos in the office, without buying more software. So I Googled "freeware to recover memory card." Several hits seemed to fit the bill. But I wasn't sure if those downloads were both spyware- and virus-free, so I checked Download.com, which has a reputation for safe downloads.


3. At Download.com, I searched for "recover memory card" which turned up 82 hits. I tried a couple that appeared to be free (there was no "Buy now" displayed). One of them actually found the lost photos, but wouldn't recover them unless I paid up.


4. So, I used "Narrow Your Search" on the results page to find the few that actually were free. That turned up just four hits.


5. I downloaded and ran VaioSoft Recovery Manager 1.5 (click on image at left), which recovered nearly 500 photos in just a minute or two. There they were, on my hard drive. I copied them to a CD for Eileen. VaioSoft encourages users of its software to make a contribution to support its work.
   
   (Note to Mac users: Recovery Manager 1.5 runs only under Windows. You may need to hunt for alternatives through reputable freeware sites that cater to Mac users.)

How I accidentally erased my digital photos, then recovered them

It took me more than a year to shoot 488 photos and less than a second to lose them—purely by accident, when I unwittingly reformatted the memory card in my point-and-shoot camera.

These were photos I wanted to keep, capturing memories of my first trip to Yosemite, family and friends, even the before-and-after pictures of my kitchen renovation. But I foolishly ignored two commonsense pieces of advice every digital camera user should follow:

• Don't use your memory card for permanent storage. It's arguably the least robust, most vulnerable storage device you can use for archiving your pictures. Download images you want to save to your computer, an external hard drive, or a CD.
• Even if you don't peruse your camera's user manual cover to cover, at least crack it open to get some idea of how to use your camera’s controls and menus.

I shamefacedly admit that I did neither. While I printed out a bunch of pix, e-mailed others, and put a fair number up on a photo-sharing Website, close to half the shots existed only on the CompactFlash card that never left my camera.

Adobe Photoshop Express beta blurs the lines

The lines are blurring. Again.

Adobe has just launched a public beta of a new version of Photoshop called Photoshop Express, which allows users to upload and edit JPEG images through any web browser. Once photos are uploaded into the web application, you can crop them, distort them, remove red eye, and do many of the standard image edits you’d do in your computer-based image editing software. The service, which requires you to fill out a brief registration page, also includes 2 gigabytes of storage to upload images. What this means is that no matter where you are, if you have access to a computer and the Internet, you’ll be able to make edits to your photos.

This is certainly not the first free online image-editing tool. There are many others available, including FlauntR and Picnik. So, Adobe’s not the first to blur the lines between an image editor and what many call a Web 2.0 application, or a software app that runs via a web browser. But since Adobe sells such well known image-editing programs like Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Elements 6, it's able to make this type of web app more mainstream. The company has even designed the Express version with the same clean interface that appears on CS3 and Elements.

PMA2008: Two serious printers for serious photographers

HP and Epson, as well as other printer manufacturers, showed a variety of printers, from the very inexpensive snapshot models to very large-format models costing thousands. Two in particular caught my eye: The Epson Stylus Photo R1900 (right) and the HP Photosmart Pro B8850 Photo (below). (Click on the images for a closer look.)

The pair have several things in common. Both were announced in January and are targeted at the advanced amateur, one who most likely owns a digital SLR and wants to get the most from those photos. Both can print up to 13- x 19-inch prints (or longer panoramas). They each use an 8 pigment-based cartridge system, as opposed to a dye-based one, since the longevity of pigment is supposedly twice as long. Both are priced around $550. And from the specs and product demos, both offer quite a variety of printing options that will be quite exciting for most any photographer, from the ability to print on paper of varying texture to traditional black-and-white prints.

One of the improvements on the Epson R1900, the successor to Epson's R1800, is (according to Epson) enhanced gloss in the ink, making it much smoother than the R1800's gloss coating. The ink set itself has also undergone an overhaul: the new Ultrachome Hi-Gloss 2 ink set now includes a new red and orange cartridge, which Epson says offers more accurate facial color tones. Epson's also says that it has improved the printer's speed, which can now produce photos (in the highest quality mode) from 37-41 percent faster than its predecessor. Among other improvements on this model are two USB 2.0 ports. (The new HP printer includes one port.) The R1900's highest resolution is 5760 x 1440 dpi.

The HP Photosmart Pro B8850 Photo printer (left), which has a maximum resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi, is roughly the same size as Epson's R1900, although a bit heavier. Like Epson, HP claims that its new-pigment based inks are more water-resistant and resilient than dye-based inks from previous printers. HP claims to have a better color system for handling black-and-white prints, since it includes not only matte black and photo black ink cartridges (as does Epson), but also a light gray cartridge (Epson does not have a gray cartridge).

HP also said that they've worked with Adobe and other software companies to make the B8850 (and its driver software) integrate more seamlessly with image editing programs like Photoshop CS3. For many photographers, color management can be tricky and time-consuming HP claims that they've reworked their system to make that easier, too.

To show the value of using its branded inks, HP offers an online demo showing the effects of aging on two versions of the same photograph: one using HPs inks, the other a third-party ink. You can upload your own image to see how it might age. It's an intriguing visual demo on how digital color photographs can age and fade.

The Epson R1900 will be available later in February, the HP PhotosmartPro B8850 in April.

—Terry Sullivan

PMA 2008 Preview: What's incoming in cameras and more

Each year, camera enthusiasts and pros wait to see what the major camera manufacturers will introduce at the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show (PMA), which will take place this year in Las Vegas from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2. And while some companies opted to unveil some products at CES, just three weeks ago, most have chosen to stick with PMA08 to introduce not only cameras, but also lenses, printers, software, and photo accessories.

Starting Wednesday, I'll be at the show, posting the latest news about cameras and related products and services to this blog.

Although I expect a few surprises at the show, some developments and trends are already evident. Here's what I expect to see, by camera type or technology:

Canon PowerShot G9: An SLR wannabe

Today's entry-level, point-and-shoot digital cameras do much of the "grunt work" you used to have to do yourself. Almost all include autofocus, auto exposure, and auto modes. A few can even set the camera in the appropriate scene mode for the subject you're shooting. Sony recently included a model that detects when your subject is smiling before snapping the shot. At the same time, many new cameras have fewer external dials, buttons and controls on their body, which further enhances this zeitgeist of relinquishing control.

However, there are some shutterbugs who want to take back the controls without stepping up to a bulkier digital SLR, the ultimate camera for the control freak. If you're one of them, consider the Canon PowerShot G9. It's not that you can't shoot in auto mode on this PowerShot. You can. But if you're looking to immerse yourself in options, the G9 gives you ample opportunity.

Like its predecessor, the PowerShot G7, the G9 has a 6x zoom lens, an image stabilizer, manual controls, manual focus and a hot shoe (for an external flash). But it has increased the megapixel count to 12 (from 10 megapixels) and also expanded the LCD to 3-inches while still maintaining an optical viewfinder, which many camera manufacturers are doing away with. It has lots of dials, buttons and controls that make it easy to set up your camera the way you want to.

(Since we haven't fully tested the G9 yet, it isn't in our digital camera Ratings, available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers. Its predecessor, the G7, which has been discontinued, did very well in our tests and was a CR Quick Pick, also available to subscribers. We hope to add the G9 to our Ratings soon.)