Fujifilm RAF recovery on Mac

Fujifilm's RAF format is one of the easier RAWs to recover, for a reason that isn't obvious until you look at the bytes: every RAF starts with the literal text `FUJIFILMCCD-RAW` followed by a version number and the camera model name. It doesn't share a signature with TIFF, MP4 or anything else. A carver can't mistake it for a different format, and a human can read the first line in a hex editor and know what camera it came from. That makes RAF recovery from a formatted or damaged card unusually clean.

After the 16-byte magic string and the model identifier, a RAF header contains a small directory of offsets: where the embedded JPEG starts and how long it is, where the camera's metadata block (CFA header) lives, and where the compressed sensor data begins. The JPEG is a full-size or near-full-size rendering of the shot with EXIF, and it's what the camera uses for playback and what macOS Quick Look shows you. The sensor data follows, and on the X-Trans bodies it's the part that needs Fujifilm-aware software (or Lightroom, Capture One, RAW Power) to demosaic.

Two things follow for recovery. First, because the header carries explicit offsets and lengths, a recovery tool can compute the true file size from the header instead of guessing at an end marker. DataRecover Pro's carver uses those lengths, so a carved RAF ends where the real file ends. Second, because the JPEG sits near the start and is complete on its own, a RAF whose sensor data was partly overwritten still usually yields a full JPEG of the frame.

Fujifilm bodies write to SD (X-T, X-S, X-H, X-Pro, X100 series) and, on the X-H2 and X-H2S, CFexpress Type B in slot 1. Cards are formatted exFAT above 32 GB and FAT32 below. The camera's Format command is a quick format on either: it rewrites the directory and allocation structures and leaves data in place. Files are `DSCF0001.RAF` and, if you shoot RAW+JPEG, a sibling `DSCF0001.JPG`. Film-simulation JPEGs made in-camera from a RAF go into the same DCIM folder with a new sequence number.

The dual-slot behavior matters. Many X-series bodies are set to Sequential (fill slot 1 then slot 2) or Backup (write to both). If you formatted one card and the body was in Backup mode, the other card has your photos and you're done. Check before recovering.

One quirk: some X-series bodies write large RAFs (uncompressed on the 40 MP sensors runs past 80 MB) and on a nearly-full card those files can be fragmented. A carved fragmented RAF has a correct header and a wrong tail; the embedded JPEG is usually intact regardless.

If you deleted frames in-camera or on the Mac and the card wasn't formatted, the exFAT directory still holds the entries with a deleted flag, and the file's clusters are still reserved until something reuses them. DataRecover Pro's quick scan reads those entries and returns the RAFs with their original names and the DCIM path. Recover to your Mac or an external, not the card. This takes a minute and needs no deep scan.

If the card was formatted, or the Mac says it isn't readable, run a deep scan. It reads the card end to end and carves every RAF by the `FUJIFILMCCD-RAW` signature, sized by the header. Original filenames are gone in this path; the app assigns sequential names and you sort by capture time in your editor. The thumbnails in the results grid come from the embedded JPEG, so you can see every frame and pick the keepers before recovering. A card that the Mac refuses to mount can usually still be scanned, because the app reads the device directly; if the card is throwing errors or the reader is stalling, make a byte-to-byte image first and scan that. Scan and preview are free, no account. Download DataRecover Pro.

The card isn't the only place RAFs go missing. A folder of imported RAFs deleted from an external drive, a Lightroom catalog folder moved and then trashed, or a culling session where the wrong batch got rejected and emptied are all Mac-side losses, and the filesystem changes the approach. On an exFAT external, it's the same quick scan as the card. On an APFS drive (the Mac's internal disk or a Mac-formatted external), DataRecover Pro checks local Time Machine snapshots and walks older APFS checkpoints during the scan, which can return the files whole and named even after the Trash was emptied. On an internal SSD, TRIM can erase freed blocks within minutes, so scan as soon as you notice; the details are in APFS SSD recovery and TRIM. Whatever the drive, recover to a different one.

The likely causes are a truncated or fragmented carve (wrong tail), or sensor data that was overwritten by later shooting. DataRecover Pro's repair pass will extract the intact embedded JPEG from a RAF whose RAW data can't be rebuilt, and label it as a salvage rather than a repaired RAW so you know what it is. For the general repair flow, see repair corrupted RAW photos on Mac.

Any frames shot after the format overwrote older data, and those are gone. Fujifilm's in-camera format is recoverable; a full erase from a card manufacturer's utility is not. A card that isn't detected in any reader, or a CFexpress card that's hot and dropping off the bus, needs a lab rather than another scan attempt. And if the card was never written (the camera showed a write error and you pulled it), there's no RAF on the card to find.