Why do my photos look normal in thumbnails but become color-shifted and distorted when opened?
Asked 12/5/2015
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2 answers
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Photos copied from my Canon 7D looked normal as small previews on my laptop, but when I open them in a viewer or editor the image shows severe color distortion and shifted bands. The JPEGs are affected, and the RAW/CR2 files look even worse. I suspect the CF card or card reader caused corruption during capture or transfer, and I’ve already deleted the files from the card. Is this a color-profile issue, or are the files corrupted? Can the copied images be repaired, or is recovery from the card my only option?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
1
It's very likely that you have a bad data card. It's also possible that a bad card reader or interruption in the copy process introduced the corruption. You can try copying again with a different connection, or to altogether a different device.
Because the image looks corrupted both before and after you copy it to your computer, the card is the most likely suspect.
Try the process with a different card. Test a new card with something easy to photograph. It's possible that any part of the process, camera, card, reader, cable, computer, is introducing the problem.
Originally by user40058. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user40058
10y ago
0
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This looks like file corruption, not a normal color-management problem. The distorted colors plus shifted bands/sections are typical of missing or incorrect image data. Thumbnails or embedded previews can sometimes look more normal because they use different preview data than the full image.
Possible causes include a failing CF card, bad card reader, cable/connection problems, or an interrupted copy process. Since both JPEG and CR2 files are affected, the original data was likely corrupted either on the card or during transfer.
Unfortunately, if the copied files themselves are corrupted, they usually cannot be fully repaired. Your best chance is to try recovering the original files from the CF card with recovery software, if the card hasn’t been overwritten. If recovery works, recopy them using a different card reader, cable, port, or computer.
For future shoots, test with another CF card and reader to isolate the faulty part of the workflow. This is not likely to be just a display/profile mismatch.
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