Welcome to the discussions,
you can get your contacts and photos taken with the camera back, if you have a backup of your backup folder is located here:
Where backups are stored
The folder where your backup data is stored changes depending on the computer's operating system. Since iTunes only keeps one backup per device, you should ensure the backup folder is included in your periodic data backup routine.
iTunes places the backup files in the following places:
Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
copied from:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
If you did not include this folder in your computer backup routine, you'll not be able to get the data back.
You can deactivate the autosync feature in iTunes/Settings/Devices
