How to Recover Deleted Pictures from Sony Cybershot Camera in 7 Steps

Reading Time: 5 minutesFor more than two decades, Sony’s Cybershot line of digital cameras has consistently been one of the more popular choices for everyday users and photo enthusiasts. It offers price flexibility, and, sometimes, near-professional level photography.

The thing is, just like with other brands, pictures taken by Cybershots are prone to accidental deletion and data loss. Luckily, there’s a tried and tested method to recover deleted files from Sony cameras, as well as various different ways you can prevent data loss in the future.

Why Files Might Disappear from Sony Cameras

There are various reasons why your precious photos may disappear from your Sony camera. Here are a few:

• You may have accidentally deleted the photos
• Your camera SD card may be failing
• The Cybershot’s memory card could have picked up a virus when connected to a computer
• You suddenly disconnected the SD card while in use
• The camera battery died while you were still using it
• You formatted the SD card

How to Recover Photos Deleted from Sony Camera

In case you’ve mistakenly deleted some important photos from your Sony Cybershot camera, there’s no need to panic since there are a few proven methods you can use to get them back. As far as DIY techniques go, the best way is to utilize a quality data recovery program.

Disk Drill is one of the best there is, boasting a sky-high recovery rate, a simple yet intuitive user interface, and lots of handy features, like a solid drive backup tool and the ability to resume past recovery sessions. It also has a trial version with all of the program’s features and a 500MB recovery limit.

Here’s how to use Disk Drill to recover deleted files from Sony memory sticks or other camera SD cards:

1. Head to the Cleverfiles website and download the Disk Drill installation file.
   
2. Launch the file and follow the instructions until the software is successfully installed.
   
3. Connect the camera’s SD card to your PC or laptop through an external card reader if your machine doesn’t have a built-in one. From there, launch the app, select your SD card from the list of available storage devices, and click the Search for lost data button.
   

   Note: If your memory card is corrupted, you’re better off creating a backup image of it first and then attempting the recovery from the image instead. You can do this by using Disk Drill’s Drive backup feature. Then, you can add the image to the list of recoverable drives through the Attach disk image option.

4. Disk Drill will now begin scanning your memory card. This might take a while, depending on how big the card is. During the scan, you can click the Pictures icon to go to the results page while the process continues. That way, you can see the retrievable photos that Disk Drill finds in real-time. Otherwise, you can just wait for the scan to finish and click the Review found items button once it’s done.
   
5. On the results page, click the Pictures category on the left side to show only image files. You’ll find your deleted photos under the Found files dropdown. If you’d like to preview your pictures before recovering them, you can right-click any of the images and select the Preview option. A panel will appear on the right side of the window, showing you a glimpse of the photo. Tick the checkbox on the left of the photo’s file name to highlight it, then click the Recover button to continue.
   
6. You’ll get a pop-up asking you to choose a directory where the recovered files will be saved. Make sure the destination you pick is on a different storage device than the memory card you’re recovering pictures from. Otherwise, you’ll get an error. Click OK to proceed.
   
7. Disk Drill will now try to recover your pictures. When the process is done, you’ll see a button labeled Show recovered files in Explorer. Click it, and you’ll be taken directly to the folder where your rescued images are located.
   

How To Prevent Data Loss From a Sony Camera in the Future

While you now know that there’s a reliable way to recover lost or deleted files from your Sony Camera, it’s still best if you avoid data loss altogether. After all, it’s not like there are any data recovery programs that have a 100% success rate. So, to minimize the chances of data loss in the future, follow these tips:

• 🖨️ Create backups regularly: One surefire way to mitigate data loss is to routinely create backups of the photos in your Sony camera. That way, even if your memory card fails or you delete some images accidentally, you’ll have copies of the files on another storage medium.

• 🦠 Install anti-virus/anti-malware programs: Hooking up your Sony camera’s SD card to a susceptible computer may lead to the card becoming infected with a form of malware or virus. This, in turn, could cause your photos to disappear or become corrupted. To avoid this, make sure to have quality anti-virus/anti-malware programs installed on your machine at all times and always keep them updated.

• 🧹 Keep your PC/laptop clean: Dust buildup is an inevitable part of owning a computer, especially if it’s a desktop PC. Cleaning your computer regularly is vital because, if left unchecked, dust buildup can cause your machine to heat up. If the heat reaches critical levels, it may cause some of your drives and other components to fail. This includes any backups you may have of your Sony camera pictures.

• 🍹 Drinks should be kept away: It may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised with the number of people who lost perfectly good devices due to an accidentally toppled glass of water. In addition, liquids can severely damage your computer, along with any Sony digital camera Cyber Shot photo backups. They can also ruin both your Cybershot camera and the memory card inside it. That being said, drink your liquids elsewhere.