Lightroom Classic fails to import .mov files from SD card

[Hazlip Creative]

I have mixed media content that I create with a Nikon Z5 and I use Lightroom Classic to import everything on the card to an external hard drive. The last import did not copy any of the .mov files on the SD card. Unfortunately, I did not notice that until after I had formatted the SD card, so I lost a lot of valuable content that I was not able to recover. I have been working as a professional photographer since before Lr or LrC existed, and this is the first time this has happened. I did get a message that some content did not copy, but I have received that same message before and the content was copied. I took a quick look at the files and it seemed like everything was there so I formatted the SD card.

I'm putting this in the Bug report because I hope it's just a glitch, but maybe it belongs in discussion if this is what LrC is designed to do. Is this is a bug, or is LrC just giving up on video file formats alltogether? 

I need to stress how important this is for any Adobe staff who might read this.... Importing mixed media content is the BEGINNING of the workflow. I can't use Lr because it doesn't have the catalog organization I need for the volume of images and video I create (~100k/year). If LrC can't import mixed media content, then I have no reason to stay in the Adobe ecosystem. I have used Adobe software for 30 years now and I'm actively looking at alternatives. I create content with Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. and it all begins with importing and cataloging multimedia files in LrC. None of the AI tools or other features matter if I can't get the content from an SD card to my computer. Peroid. Full stop. The whole project grinds to a halt at the beginning. Lightroom Classic is the backbone of my mixed midea Digital Asset Management workflow, and this is a DAM problem!

[johnrellis]

It would be worthwhile to do a quick test to see if the issue occurs again and, if so, file a bug report:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-how-do-i-write-a-bug-report/idi-p/12386373

Do you know where in the folder structure the camera puts the videos on the SD card?  Sonys put the videos in a non-standard folder (PRIVATE/M4ROOT/CLIP !) and I'm always forgetting to select it.

[Conrad_C]

I also have a Sony and have seen the same problem as johnrellis. I don‘t have a Nikon Z, but the next time you import see if you can confirm whether the problem is consistent with what we have seen for Sony cameras — that the default Lightroom Classic selection in the Import dialog box does not include the folder containing videos, and the way to resolve it is to always remember to manually click to select the card under Devices instead. (The camera card appears in both sections.) A picture is below.

Some time ago, Lightroom Classic changed the default selection from the Files section to the Devices section. The switch was made apparently because the Devices selection was relatively slow to load and import compared to doing it through the Files section. But on some cameras going through Files leaves videos behind. 

[Hazlip Creative]

Yes, I do select the SD card in devices and as far as I know the .mov files are in the same folder as the RAW NEF files for the Nikon Z5. I did get a message that the .mov files were not compatible with LrC so the app is seeing them on the SD card. It just didn't import them. I have the card plugged directly into the back slot of my 27" iMac, so tethering isn't an issue either. This should have been a straight forward copy of data from an SD card to an external drive. I don't understand why LrC has so much trouble with this kind of task. My internal HD is full though... maybe that could be causing issues? But I'm going from an SD card to an external HD with plenty of storage space, does the data hit the internal HD on it's way to the external?

[Hazlip Creative]

I have a Nikon Z5 and the .mov files are in the same folder as the .NEF raw files on the SD card. LrC usually puts the .mov files in an incorrectly dated folder a day ahead of the actual image capture date. For example, all of the RAW NEF files would be in a folder created for April 12 but the .mov files would be in an April 13 folder even though they are created on the same day. LrC has been glitchy with .mov files since forever so I didn't think anything of it when I got the error message that some files weren't compatable. Now it seems LrC won't import .mov files at all.