Want to recover lost photos or videos on Kodak Zi8 memory card? If you have accidentally deleted your pictures or videos, this article will tell you exactly how to restore deleted photos. The first thing I have to say is that the Kodak Zi8 is an amazing camera. I am an owner and I love the power it has. However, as you may have noticed, the Kodak Zi8 has a tendency to lose photos and videos that were saved on the memory card. This is a problem that can be solved, read on to discover the quick fix.

The Zi8 file system

Let’s first take a look at the memory system of the Kodak Zi8. These are the memory cards it will accept:

• SD card
• SDHC card

Both cards are acceptable, but the new SDHC is a bit more secure as it protects better from power surges. Because the Zi8 uses a native video resolution of 1920 x 1080 and can take 5mp stills, you would think that a large card is the best option for this camera. However, due to data retention issues, it is often a better idea to use several smaller memory cards and change them frequently. This way, if you lose the data on a card, you haven’t lost everything.

Important: change the damaged card immediately

When you notice this happening to your video camera, it means that your camera and memory card have encountered some kind of transfer error. Many times, the images or videos that you cannot find are still on the memory card, but they are inaccessible, which makes this next step very important: You can recover lost photos, but you have to be disciplined and not use the card anymore. If you continue writing to the memory card, you risk writing over the missing images or videos.

The reason for this is that when you delete a file stored on an SD or SDHC card, it is not actually “deleted” the way you normally think of it. In fact, the file is only fragmented and hidden from view. With data recovery programs, you will be able to fragment the file again, but only if it has not yet been written to. So I can’t stress this enough: change the card and put it in a safe place. That will help your chances of a full recovery.

Check for physical damage

Next, inspect your Kodak Zi8 video camera and memory card. The card or video camera may have some damage, and that is why you will not be able to see the photos you just took. You can clean your card with a microfiber cloth, so that the cloth causes minimal damage to the card. Check the contents of your Kodak Zi8 memory card on the computer. If you can view the content online then that is fine. However, if you still can’t see it, consider getting a photo recovery software.

Scan your SD card

There are some good photo recovery programs available to download for free. The way these programs work is by using an advanced “file carving” algorithm. This means that they can scan your SD card for photos and videos that have been fragmented and do not have the required metadata that a PC or Mac would normally need to view the files.

I recommend trying Photo Retrieval 1.70 for PC because the editor, Odbosso, is constantly updating its definitions to be compatible with the newest camera manufacturers and file formats. However, you can also use Wondershare or Disk Doctors. These are available online and can be used for PC or MAC computers. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the software on your computer, you can easily scan the memory card and it will come out with what you’ve found. You may be able to see the photos that you have previously lost. Make sure to keep the photos in a safe place.

One good thing about these programs is that you can scan your SD card with the free trial version. If you do not recover your lost photos or videos, you will not be prompted to register the software. You only have to pay AFTER recovering your photos or videos. How good is that?

Still out of luck?

As a last resort, you can try a mail-in data recovery center. Do a Google search and you will find many reputable companies. However, trying a software approach is definitely the fastest, easiest, and cheapest. Good luck!