Lost photos help please.

Thanks for your kind replies, I will reshoot the light pods and the ice rink in Bournemouth before it gets too cold. I think you can also lock the card, a I right?

I'm sorry for the loss. If your photos are corrupted, it's more than just a format that has happened. And chances are slim that they can be recovered.

On the other hand, as you consider it now as lost, have you tried to recover them yourself with any of the applications that were mentioned? You never know how 'good' the person is that did the recovery or how 'good' the tools were that were used.

Good luck, and don't forget to make backups in future.

Also, if you don't have a second card, buy one. From experience, my P&S camera told me after three days shooting on a safari trip that there were no images on the card. Took the card out and marked it, put a spare one in and happily continued. Without a spare, it would have been a decision between 'no more photos' or 'loose what I already had'. Once home, I managed to recover all images.

Laura, yes you can lock the card. You would take the card out of the camera, after you have taken some pictures. On the side of the card there is a small slider. This is simply slid to the opposite end of the card to be the other end to when the card is taken from camera.
With the card having the slider in this locked position you would be able to put it into a card reader or back into the camera, then connect to your computer, and then "read " the card contents. You can copy the pictures from the card while it is locked. Remember though that while the card has the "lock" in position that you will not be able to take any more pictures onto this card until it is "Unlocked".
Unlocking is simply a reversal of the Locking. Slide the slider to the other end of card, make sure it goes all the way.

If you have a spare card, why not format one, after saving your pictures, and then have a go at retrieving any pictures on the card by using the free program mentioned earlier as a practice just in case of any future mistakes. At least then you would have more confidence in using the program and also save yourself money which I am sure is tight for most people.

Good luck and Merry Christmas

Pat