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Weird imports

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abufletcher

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Mar 21, 2019
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Intermediate
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Cloud Service
Lightroom Version Number
LR Classic CC (v. 8.2)
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  1. macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Just the last couple of weeks I've been getting some weird results when importing to LR. The images are on a SD card (using a SD card reader) and shot on a Nikon D500. They look fine in the camera but are hopelessly damaged when imported. Some images import properly others not.

Is this an issue with LR or the SD card or even the camera???

12386
12386
 
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I should mention that I've tried reformatting the SD card in camera. Oh, and one more thing...when the import starts the image looks fine, then a moment later this appears.
 
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abufletcher said:
Oh, and one more thing...when the import starts the image looks fine, then a moment later this appears.
Click to expand...
The reason for this is that your computer/Lightroom is initially displaying the JPG preview files that the camera created/embedded in the RAW file. Then, as it loads and reads the RAW data it hits the corruption and it all goes pear shaped.

The issue could be either the camera, the SD card, the card reader or your harddrive. The camera may have corrupted the RAW files before writing them to the card*. The card could be failing/faulty. The card reader/cable could be faulty, the area of the HD you are writing to may be failing.

The best way to test is to eliminate each of the elements in turn. Try a different card, different reader, import the images to a spare external HD etc.

* This is unlikely given that the camera was able to produce a proper JPG preview from the RAW data.... though the error could have occured during the write to the SD card.
 
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OK, thanks for your reply. I guess I'll start with a different SD card. (Oh, and you're right that I'm shooting in RAW.)
 
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I've narrowed it down. I went to the local camera shop and 1) bought a new SD card 2) shot a quick series of photos in the shop 3) read the new SD card on the shop's card reader and 4) read my old SD card via my own SD card reader plugged into the shop's USB port.

All of this with no problems.
 
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It's a mystery. I just closed LR, reopened it, then checked the new card on my home Mac and the images shot at the shop are all fine. But when I did the same procedure with the old card, there was the same problem with only ONE of the images...and this image appeared fine at the shop.

As before it first shows up the LR import window OK, then after a few seconds goes to the corrupted form.

12388
 
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Are you viewing in Library or Develop? Does the corruption show in both modules or only one?
 
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Curious and curiouser. I can open the "damaged" file without problem in Photoshop (CC 2018).

12389
 
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Jim, it appears in corrupted form the Library before importing, but also this is the way it remains after it has been imported in both Library and Develop modes.
 
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I have this nightmare of shooting some special event...and having everything look fine in the camera...only to discover when I get back that that one perfect shot is spoiled! :eek2:
 
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I guess all I can do is see if the problem occurs again with the new SD card.
 
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abufletcher said:
Curious and curiouser. I can open the "damaged" file without problem in Photoshop (CC 2018).
Click to expand...
Can you clarify how you opened the file in Photoshop, i.e. did you use the same file on the hard drive that Lightroom is using, or did you open the file from the SD card?
 
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Man, I thought I had this problem beat with the new SD card. :confused: There were no problems with the last import. Then just now when I imported two new shots (have first properly ejected the SD card and then formatted it in the camera), the first was corrupted but the second was fine.

Jim, I opened the last "currupted" file from PS directly from the SD card. These two were imported in LR.

12392


12393
 
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I don't exactly know what hard drive LR is "using. " Do you mean the drive that I import images to? If so, that's a external HDD. I also export to this drive but in a different location.
 
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I'd suggest you remove that new corrupted photo from the Lightroom Catalog, then re-import it from the SD card....but this time change the destination drive in the Import Dialog to perhaps the internal system drive. I suspect the problem is likely to be the external drive starting to fail. The fact that the file you opened into PS directly from the SD card shows that it isn't being corrupted in the camera, so it's either probably the cable or the hard drive onto which the file is being copied.
 
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Thanks, Jim. It would be a serious matter indeed if this external drive failed. Time to back everything up!
 
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Hmm...this time both images shows up fine the LR import dialog...even before I switched the destination drive. I waited as before, but neither appears in corrupted form. Then I switched the destination drive to the Mac HD and there didn't appear to be any problem with either file.
 
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The fact that the issue is inconsistent just means that at this stage the failure is intermittent, not yet hard. Personally I'd be working on the assumption that it's the hard drive and would start using a different drive for now. If the problem still occasionally happens with a new drive, then obviously it's something else....card reader, cable or even system memory can cause this.

It does seem, however, that at least the images that you capture onto the SD card are not corrupt, which should be a little reassuring!
 
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Distressing to say the least. But, as you say, at least the camera and SD card are fine so I can go ahead and take photos. And, yes, I'll start migrating images to a new drive.
 
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OK so you seem to have eliminated the camera and the card.

Do you have a cable that can connect the camera to the computer (don't use the card reader) or a different card reader? Do multiple test imports to both drives and see what happens. Repeat using the original card reader, multiple imports to both drives.

And obviously get busy backing up in case if is the external HD.
 
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I don't have another card reader but I did plug my USB reader into the USB connection at the camera shop and the shop's computer was able to open the file without problem. To me that means the card reader is OK. I'm sure the D500 came with a direct connect cable but I haven't used one of these for years. Not sure where it is now.
 
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abufletcher said:
Thanks, Jim. It would be a serious matter indeed if this external drive failed. Time to back everything up!
Click to expand...
Hard drives will all fail, eventually. Guaranteed. External hard drives can fail earlier than internal drives, if improperly handled or dropped. Once you have ruled out other causes of image corruption you have to consider the hard drive. The wise thing to do is to copy off the contents of this drive now to another disk drive, internal or external, before the drive fails completely and your data can no longer be copied off. Then check the warranty on the external drive to see if you can get a replacement/repair, or not. I know it feels frustrating

If you feel comfortable doing a test on the drive, see if you can download a test utility for this drive, and run the test.

Phil Burton
 
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I copied the entire contents of the external drive in question to another external drive. At least I feel better about that. But if I move files, how can LR file them again to continue editing?
 
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