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Some FUJIFILM camera users are currently reporting data loss when using macOS systems. This is due to a file system issue that FUJIFILM is trying to resolve.
An issue on FUJIFILM cameras currently has many of their users worried. If you produce a lot of files on your FUJIFILM camera’s SDXC card and use a macOS system to copy the files, you may run into the problem that not all files are being displayed.
To be precise, if you capture more than 4096 files in one folder, the 4097th file and the ones following won’t be displayed when plugging in your memory card over an internal or external card reader. This may not seem like a problem concerning many, but for example, if you set the camera to capture both JPEGs and RAW files, each shutter release captures two files and thus limits the folder to only 2048 photos. While you rarely shoot 4096 clips on one single card, this issue can affect video files as well.
It may become risky when the medium is incorrectly ejected, as these invisible files may be damaged or made inaccessible and therefore lost.
The way macOS handles folders is the reason for this. As it is a UNIX-based operating system, folders are limited to 4096 files. Other operating systems, like Windows or the one used on FUJIFILM cameras, don’t have this limitation. On FUJIFILM models, you can theoretically store 9,999 files in a single folder.
This issue by the way is present both on M1 Macs and Intel Macs.
Affected models
Independent of firmware, these models are affected:
- GFX100
- GFX100S
- GFX50S II
- X-Pro3
- X-T4
- X-S10
- X-E4
- X-T30 II
- X100V
Depending on the firmware, these cameras are affected, as well:
- GFX 50S (Ver.4.00 or later)
- GFX50R (Ver.2.00 or later)
- X-T3 (Ver.3.20 or later)
How to prevent or handle the FUJIFILM & macOS data loss
One way to prevent issues like these is to create and use multiple folders instead of one. FUJIFILM recommends limiting each folder to no more than 1,000 frames or files. When reaching this amount, you can create and switch into a new folder using the “Folder Selection” function in the setup menu.
If you’re already past this point and find files missing, you can connect your camera over USB with the SD card in it and use it as a kind of card reader, as apparently this way the files stay visible.
Alternatively, connect the memory card to a Windows computer and use it to copy the files.
FUJIFILM has detailed instructions on how to handle this issue, which you can read up on here.
This problem isn’t new, as blog posts date back to May 2021 and this video back from July 2021 highlights this problem and some solutions. FUJIFILM confirmed this issue with their press release on February 2nd, 2022.
They also stated that they are working on a solution (by limiting the number of files written to a single folder), but haven’t mentioned when this firmware update will become available.
Have you encountered this issue before, maybe even on other systems? Let us know in the comments below.
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