Look what Lightroom does to my pictures!

[Björn Carlén]

When I import my files into Lightroom CC, about 20 % of them are becoming corrupted in a way that's visible below.
The images are ok on the hard drive, but not through Lr. I'm using Nikon Transfer 2 to tank them over to the hard disk. I'm on Windows 7 64bit/D600/Nikkor 16-35/4 VR.
What could be causing this?

[Björn Carlén]

Ok, my links to the images don't seem to be readable. I guess I'll have to become a supporting member for that.

[Björn Carlén]

Another go:

[simsurace]

When you say "the images are ok on the hard drive", you may be looking at a JPEG preview that your file browser displays. You may need to look at the RAW data with a program other than Lightroom to determine whether the RAW data is already corrupted prior to being imported into LR (which is likely). You may also check whether the files on the memory card are corrupted as well.

[Björn Carlén]

Simsurance, you're right! When I view the images in ViewNX and click the RAW-button the artefacts are there. The raw files are corrupted from the camera. Sorry about that, Adobe. I'd better check the backup SD-card.

[Björn Carlén]

It seems to be an SD-card failure. The files on the backup card are fine.
The faulty one is Trancsendend 300x 32 GB SDHC. The good one is Sandisk Extreme Pro 95 MB/s 32 G.
I never encountered an error like this before. Thanks for your help, simsurance!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Bit errors are not uncommon. As files grow larger and hard drives reach new epic levels in storage capacity, we will encounter this issue more and more frequently.

Store several 'raw' copies and check the health of your files once in a while.

[RobOK]

Very interesting.... why does a bit error cause streaking? I would have expected some more random bit changing that looked like speckles. Of course I have zero knowledge of how RAW files are stored!!

[Airy]

I have had that problem several times, but never with SanDisk cards. Since then, I only buy Sandisk (call that superstition - it is - no, it is a Bayesian attitude; I am just testing the hypothesis "Sandisk has more reliable cards").
Card recovery software was sometimes helpful.

[Bjørn J]

This is an example of why I rarely use large capacity cards. 8GB in my D3X's and 16GB in the D810 is max.
And it gives me peace of mind knowing that my cameras have two cards (one backup).  At least that reduces the risk of destroyed photos.

[The_Traveler]

Totally agree on using medium size cards.

[stenrasmussen]

I've experienced similar problems which related themself to faulty cards.
A regular deep formatting with subsequent in-camera formatting is a healthy habit in my world.
On a side note I might add that I now buy Sandisk only as I had Transcendial Lexarius...a bad disease that nearly wrecked my personality 

[Bjørn J]

I have exclusively used Lexar and Sandisk for many years, but have had my share of faults on both of them. They are both very good, but none is better than the other. But be aware that one third of all SanDisk memory cards on Earth are counterfeit, according to a SanDisk engineer.
Now I use some Toshiba Exceria Pro CF-cards, they have a very good reputation for reliability. Toshiba actually makes the memory for SanDisk, and Micron owns Lexar. Both Toshiba and Micron are leaders in flash technology.

[Jørgen Ramskov]

Most things will fail after a certain amount of time/wear. Flash storage is limited to a certain amount of writes before they fail.