Lexar Media is using this week’s Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany to introduce its Image Rescue software for Windows and Mac OS X, and as well as a new USB-based reader designed to support multiple Flash media interfaces.
Image Rescue ships in mid-October for about $40. The software is designed to identify and retrieve image files that would otherwise be lost on scrambled (but otherwise physically undamaged) CompactFlash cards. Lexar Media director of product marketing David Klenske said that the software has a 95 percent recovery rate.
The software uses a proprietary file recovery system to restore data that is “perceived to be lost.” This can happen, for example, if the card is removed from a camera or reader before the image has been fully stored; if a picture is accidentally deleted; or if a card is reformatted. The software examines the root-level of the card’s data structure to find images, even if the computer can’t see the card. It can restore JPEG, TIFF and RAW file formats.
Lexar Media has also rolled out the USB Multi-Card Reader. It’s a new device that enables users who need access to different flash media formats to connect through a single device. The Multi-Card Reader supports CompactFlash Type I and II, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard and SecureDigital formats. It costs about $40.
It communicates with PCs and Macs through USB, and sports a built-in data write protection light that will warn you when files are being written to or transferred from the memory card within the reader — thus helping to reduce the likelihood that you’ll accidentally pull a flash memory device too soon and subsequently scramble the data.
Photokina runs through September 30. Look for Lexar Media in booth 1.2 F48.
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