Photos and videos are the files people most want back — and they're often very recoverable. Deleting or formatting a card doesn't erase your images; it just frees the space, and the shots stay there until something overwrites them. Stop using the card or drive, and we can recover deleted, formatted and corrupted photos, in-house.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sdb → Device: SanDisk Extreme SD (256 GB) · camera → Status: FORMATTED — photos intact, file system reset → Client: confidential · Belfast $ bdr engineer-working → Forensic image: taken · originals untouched → Carve: JPEG + CR3 RAW signatures → Found: 4,820 photos · 180 video clips $ bdr verify → ✓ raw_photos — 2,140 files → ✓ jpeg_photos — 2,680 files → ✓ every shot recovered — intact
Every fresh shot and every new save risks landing on top of the very pictures you want back. So: no more shooting on that card, no “fixing” it with a format, and no recovery apps writing straight onto it. Eject it, put it somewhere safe, and get in touch — stopping early is what saves photos.
Most lost photos are still on the card, waiting to be read — but a few situations decide how many come back. These are the ones we recover from most.
We recover photos from every kind of card and drive, and every major make — camera cards, phone storage and computer drives alike.
Camera and drone media of every kind · SD, microSD and CompactFlash · USB sticks · portable and external drives · and the internal drives of Macs, PCs and laptops.
Recovering photos is a copy-first job. We image the card or drive, then recover the images from that copy — pulling them from the file system where we can, and carving them straight out of the raw data where the file system is gone.
Say which card or device it is and what happened; we’ll assess how many frames are still there and reply with a written quote, normally inside 48 hours.
The card or drive is cloned read-only before anything else, and all recovery work happens on the clone — the original is never written to.
Where the file system survives, we bring the photos back with their folders and filenames in place — the cleanest result.
For photos the file system no longer references, we carve them out by signature — JPEG, HEIC, RAW formats and video files alike.
We check the recovered images open and are intact, and can preview them so you can see what's come back before anything is returned.
Your photos come back organised and ready to use, on fresh media.
We copy your photos to an external drive and post it back, or offer a free download of up to 75GB — whichever suits you.
From deleted and formatted camera cards to corrupted and unreadable ones, we recover photos and video — JPEG, HEIC, RAW and more — always from a read-only image, so the card itself is never put at further risk.
Let us know what’s gone missing and an engineer will come back to you — usually inside 30 minutes during working hours.
We will get back to you soon. If it is urgent, call 028 9002 0144.
A free diagnostic first, then a fixed written quote before any work begins. Memory cards and USB sticks are £250 + VAT and hard drives £300 + VAT; where physical repair is needed there's a 50% deposit toward parts and bench time, with the balance only on success.
A representative selection of photo recoveries across different cards and devices — device types and outcomes shown, customer details kept private.
The card hadn't been reused, so we imaged it and carved the JPEG and RAW files back out by signature — almost every frame recovered.
A quick format had left the footage intact. We rebuilt the file structure from the image and recovered the video in full.
An interrupted write had corrupted the file system, but the photos were still there. We rebuilt it and recovered the shoot.
Named, verified reviews from Belfast photo recoveries will appear here as clients share them — never fabricated ones.
No invented reviews here. We're collecting verified, named reviews from our Belfast customers and will publish them here as they come in. In the meantime you're welcome to call and talk an issue through with an engineer on 028 9002 0144.
Post or drop in your device for a free diagnostic, with a note on what happened — an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
First step: get the device onto our Belfast bench. Wrap it well, tuck your contact details in the box, and post it over — the diagnostic costs nothing, and you’ll have a firm written price to approve before we touch a single sector.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is best. Dropping it off instead? You’re welcome Monday–Friday, 9am–5:30pm — please still pack the device as above.
Not ready to send anything yet? Use the form to describe the fault in your own words and one of the engineers will come back with a quote tailored to your situation.
We will get back to you soon. If it is urgent, call 028 9002 0144.
The questions we're asked most about recovering lost photos.
Very often, yes — it's one of the most common jobs we do. Deleting a photo just frees the space it used; the image stays on the card until something overwrites it. As long as you stop using the card, the odds of getting them back are good.
Usually not. Cameras use a quick format, which leaves the images intact underneath the new, empty file system. Providing the card hasn't been shot on since, we can carve the photos back out of the raw data.
Yes. That usually means the file system is corrupted, not that the photos are gone. Don't format it — we rebuild the structure from an image of the card and recover the images behind it.
It's harder, and we'll be honest about it. Phones use SSD-style storage with TRIM, which erases deleted data quickly, so deleted phone photos are often unrecoverable — check your cloud backup first. Photos on a removable card in the phone are a different story and usually recoverable.
Yes — alongside JPEG and HEIC we recover camera RAW formats (such as CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW and DNG) and video files, carving them back out by their signatures where needed.
For photos on a card or USB stick it’s £250 + VAT; on a hard drive, £300 + VAT. The diagnostic is free, most jobs are no fix, no fee, and you get the exact figure in writing before anything begins.
Cards can be handed in at Cromac Square on weekdays between 9am and 5:30pm, or sent by post in a padded envelope. Write your name, address, phone and email on a note inside, and we’ll log it, run the free diagnostic and put a price in writing.
Deleted, formatted or corrupted — the images are usually still on the card until something overwrites them. Stop using it and send it in, and we'll recover what we can. Free diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs.