Cameras changed the world like no other invention. The ability to take a moment or memory and immortalize them in the form of a picture is quite fascinating. However, we often lose our images due to corruption or deletion. This might seem like the end of the road, but we’ve got your back. This article will explain what ORF files are and how to repair them easily.

There are a few reasons why ORF files get corrupted; they are:

• Corrupt SD card.
• Malware.
• Power failure during the transfer of photos.
• Improper ejection of SD card.
• A failed format conversion.
• Physical damage to the SD card.

What Are ORF Files?

Every camera manufacturer has its raw image format, such as Nikon’s NEF format and Canon’s CR2. ORF files are Olympus’s raw counterpart. The files contain the image information exactly as rendered by the camera’s sensors. These files also have headers with image information, like saturation, contrast, sharpness, colour temperature, etc. They also include details about the camera used to take the picture.

Like other raw formats, ORF files cannot be viewed directly and need to be processed first. They are the ideal choice for photographers who shoot using Olympus cameras and want to edit their pictures extensively after capture. In comparison to formats, like JPEG and TIFF, raw formats offer the advantage of being able to tweak the white balance and saturation.

ORF files contain 12, 14, or more bits per pixel per channel, as compared to the 8 bits per pixel per channel of JPEG images. If you are serious about editing your photographs after you shoot them, you should consider shooting in a raw format like ORF. However, if you only shoot casually and want to snap pictures so you can view them directly later, you would be better off using JPEG or TIFF.

Repair Using Editing Software

If your images are not corrupted and only have some colour variations, sharpness, and white balance issues, you can use an editor, like Adobe Light room or Photoshop. This might improve the quality of your image, but its functionality is limited to making retouches to images that are slightly off. It cannot repair or recover files that are corrupted because of having a corrupt file headers, data, and structure. If your image appears distorted or split, use the next method.

How to Repair Corrupted ORF Files

ORF files are raw and uncompressed, which makes using an ORF recovery software our best bet. There are few tools out there that are capable of recovering raw format images, and Stellar Repair for Photo is the best tool for this purpose. It helps you repair the corrupted raw file and converts into JPEG after the repair process. If your Olympus digital camera’s ORF files seem to be greyed out, blurry, noisy, or pixelated, you can use Stellar Repair for Photo to repair the images as best as possible. Even if the corruption of your files is severe, the photo repair software will be able to make it usable again.

Here’s how to repair corrupted ORF files:

1. Download the photo recovery software from stellar official website and install Stellar Repair for Photo.
2. Connect the SD card or hard drive containing the corrupted ORF files.
3. Open Stellar Repair for Photo, click Add File, and choose the files that you want to repair.
4. Click Repair.
5. Preview the photos that you want and click Save Repaired Files.

It’s that simple! Your repaired files should be usable now.

Other features of Stellar Repair for Photo include:

• Repair RAW format images like ORF, NEF, and CR2.
• Repair corrupted images from damaged or corrupt storage media.
• Recover thumbnails of severely corrupted images.
• Repair multiple images simultaneously.
• Fix header, data, and structure issues.

Conclusion

If you’ve had the misfortune of losing your images to corruption, Stellar Repair for Photo will put your problems to rest with ease. The software is capable and tested to repair severely corrupted images with header and structure issues. The software is capable of Olympus RAW ORF recovery, which makes it an essential part of every photographer’s toolkit.

That being said, there are a few precautions you can take to prevent your files from getting corrupted:

• Use the RAW+JPEG option when shooting images, so you’ll have a backup JPEG image to rely on, even if your RAW image gets corrupted or damaged.
• Backup your SD card regularly and format it properly every time you insert it into your camera.
• Regularly backup your photos onto a cloud storage service.
• Install an anti-virus onto your computer to ensure that your files don’t get corrupted by malware.
• Only open ORF files in Olympus Viewer, Olympus Studio, or other programs that support the format.
• Make sure not to disconnect the SD card from the computer, while transferring images.

Clare Louise