I used my Sony memory card in a Canon camera, and now all my footage is gone

I used my Sony memory card in a Canon camera, and now all my footage is gone — how can I recover it?

Tagged: SD Card Recovery

SD card

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Kael Rowan

Participant

November 12, 2025 at 11:14 am

When you put a Sony memory card into a Canon camera, the Canon system usually reformats or changes the way the card stores data. That’s why all your Sony footage suddenly “disappeared”.

Here’s what you can do:

First thing — stop using the card right now. Every new photo or video can overwrite the old data and make it unrecoverable.

Don’t format it again, even if your camera or computer suggests it.

Try a good recovery tool. Pop the card into your computer with a card reader and use something like Stellar Photo Recovery, Recuva, or Disk Drill. These apps can scan the card deeply and usually bring back photos/videos even after a format or file system change. Stellar is pretty solid for camera footage (supports Canon, Sony, GoPro, etc.).

Save the recovered files somewhere else, not back on the same card.

If the footage is super important and software recovery doesn’t work, it might be worth sending it to a pro data recovery lab — they have hardware tools to dig even deeper.

Pro tip for next time:
Always back up before switching cards between different camera brands, and format the card inside the camera you’re going to use. Saves a lot of headaches later.