Online Photo Repair Service – JPEG, CR2, ARW, NEF, etc.

[Information about photo recovery and repair in Dutch language, click here]

NEW! I now also offer a specialized Data Recovery – Photo Recovery Service!

You will always first receive a price quote from me after I have examined your corrupted photos! Actual
cost depends on issue at hand. Can be as low as $0.10 per file for header type damage that can be repaired in batch, up to $10
per file in case if visual damage that has to be corrected file-by-file, manually. Minimum order is $20.

This is not an automated service, I examine and repair photos manually. These things take time and depending on queue
and work load may take from a few hours to a few days.

RAW photos too! Apart from JPEG I also repair RAW photos on a regular basis (Canon CR2, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, etc.).
Note that some times I can only export these as TIFF files.

Uploading Files:

Failure to comply with the following mandatory ‘requests’ means I will simply delete the file(s) from my server. I am aware this sounds rather unwelcoming and unfriendly but it’s not meant that way.

1. ZIP corrupt file(s) plus a reference file: photo shot with the same camera using the same settings (resolution, quality, white balance, etc.). Usually the pictures taken right before or after the corrupt photo are shot with the same settings. Preferably name the ZIP file, yourname.ZIP.
2. Provide a short explanation of the problem. Provide context. So for example explain if the files became corrupt after recovery, or after copying, or if they became corrupt without apparent reason. ‘Can not open’ or ‘photo is corrupt’ or ‘photo half grey’ is NOT an explanation of a problem, it is stating the obvious.
3. Upload a few photos only initially! I will diagnose those and we’ll take it from there. There is little use in uploading 100’s of photos that are beyond repair.
4. If you share a ZIP file with me (Google Drive etc.) email me (joep@disktuna.com)  the non password protected URL to the shared FOLDER. So in other words, I want to be able to access the folder containing all the files so that I am not forced to download images one at the time.

And with all that out of the way, I’d love to give it a try!

Online Photo Repair Service File Upload

Note: Upload supports drag and drop.  DROP ZIP FILE HERE. Following restrictions apply: Max file size 64 MB, for larger ZIP files use file sharing service like Google Drive. Accepted file extensions: ZIP. Include a sample/reference file, shot with same camera and settings (resolution, quality, white balance, etc.) please! DROP HERE JPEG Repair Service File Upload Your email address empty Order number! If you have a JPG-Repair Order ID you'll be given priority. empty Describe the problem. 'File is corrupt' is stating the obvious. No context = you will get no answer empty Provide name of reference file. No reference file = you will get no answer empty JSON parse warning! By activating this option I agree to let the DiskTuna website keep my personal data: Images uploaded and contact email address. Note that uploaded photos will be deleted ONE week after I have processed them.   * – If blank or nonsense: You’ll get no answer.

With regards to the sample / reference file:

• The image file must be undamaged.
• The image file must be created by the same device (camera or mobile phone).
• The picture must have the same resolution and should have been taken with the same settings.
• The picture should NOT be edited using a photo editing software as it will re-encode the photo and make corruption permanent.

Data Recovery from memory cards:

Although it is not a service I primarily offer, I occasionally agree to performing the actual photo or video recovery myself. In this case I need access to the disk image of the memory card via a file sharing service. In case of higher capacity cards this often impractical though. You can then opt to send me the actual memory card but note that I will not return the card. I will quote a price per card, not per photo. Card needs to properly ID itself, I do not offer physical repairs or chip-off or off chip recovery. I now offer a photo recovery service even if your SD Card (or USB thumbdrive) is unstable (keeps disconnecting) or does not properly ID!

NEW: I now offer photo recovery as a flat fee, no cure no pay service.

Types of JPEG file corruption

JPEG is a standard, a specification. A standard that describes how data inside JPEGs is stored. A JPEG is typically a chain of ‘markers’. One marker points to the next, then the next, etc.. Each marker serves a different purpose. For example, a marker can contain a comment. Another contains EXIF data which can contain all kinds of information on the image file: data taken, geo info, camera model etc.

The most important marker I guess, contains the actual image data. Roughly 5% of a JPEG file is meta data, the rest, 95% is the actual image. The 5% meta data is found at the start of the file and is also called the header.

Corrupt header

A typical symptom of a damaged header is that the file is not recognized as a JPEG file and that it can’t be opened at all. To fix this kind of damage I also need an intact JPEG file, shot with the same camera using the same settings. If only some data inside the header is corrupt, depending on the image viewer you may get a more relevant error message, like “invalid Huffman table” (which is required to decompress image data).

Corrupt image data

When the image data itself is corrupt, the JPG will probably load, however the image will be distorted. If a portion of the image data is missing (truncated file), part of the image will show. The latter is quite common after using photo recovery or file recovery software.

Another type of damage is bit corruption: Data inside the image ‘stream’ is corrupt. This can result in the image shifting and color errors.

How do I do it?

I am using a number of tools that are constantly under development. I call my tools the JPEG Repair Toolkit. Apart from that I use a 3rd party hex editor (HxD) and several photo editors for post processing (Paint.net, PhotoDemon, Photoshop).

Other formats like CR2, NEF etc..

I am frequently able to repair RAW photos like CR2 or NEF as well. Of course I can try extracting embedded JPEGs but also repair is often possible to a degree if your RAW files refuse to open even when not showing any previews. It is sometimes necessary though to convert these files to TIFF format. For repairing RAW photos from various brand cameras I wrote the Universal Header Repair Tool (U.H.R.T.). It allows me to research files, come up with a solution and then apply that that multiple files. This reduces cost when having to repair a larger number of RAW photos.

I can often repair RAW files that fail to open or even those that show corrupted images:

Repaired: