MicroSD cards and write speed???

Scott J. Breier · Jun 4, 2015

Can anyone offer me a little insight into the world of MicroSD cards??? I'm wanting to purchase a 32G or 64G card for my Phantom 3 Pro. It seems as though there are a million variations and obviously, not all cards are created equal. I would appreciate some constructive advice on what I should be looking for in making this purchase. Ideally, I would like to be able to capture 2x flights worth of 4k video and a few (10-20) still shots without hesitation as a result of write speed, or memory capacity. Any assistance or information on the topic would be greatly appreciated!!

Best Regards,

Scott

msinger · Jun 4, 2015

Here are a few memory cards that will work well:
DJI Phantom Accessories & Tips - Phantom Help

As for specs, here's what you want to look for:

- Micro SD
- Class 10 or UHS-1 rating
- 64GB (32GB would be okay too)
- 40MB/s write speed or higher (since that's what the P3 comes with)

If you want to compare specs, here's the memory card that comes with the P3.

Meta4 · Jun 4, 2015

What you are looking for is any micro SD card that comes up to DJI's recommendations:
Micro SD Max capacity: 64 GB. Class 10 or UHS-1 rating required
Don't worry about trying to find the best & fastest card because the buffer memory in the Phantom camera is what determines the speed of transfer.
As long as it meets DJI's standard, it will work fine.

You will get about 2 mins of 4K video per GB and photos are quite small by comparison.

danjordrone · Jun 4, 2015

I got a samsung 64gb evo class 10 cheep as chips of amazon yes its genuine just make sure to get the real thing just my recommendation and enjoy
No need for fastest and best and most expensive the P3 isnt demanding lol

loganboyd · Jun 4, 2015

Here are 3 posts that I've written on the subject. Hope this helps

http://www.phantompilots.com/threads/micro-sd-card-question.43648/#post-400268

http://www.phantompilots.com/threads/micro-sd-card-question.43648/#post-399489

http://www.phantompilots.com/thread...mats-and-bitrate-data-rate.42039/#post-393019

ctp · Jun 4, 2015

The SD Card "Class" and "UHS" ratings are based upon the minimum serial write (what we do recording video and pictures) speeds the card is capable of.

See https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/speed/

As loganboyd has pointed out a few times the maximum encoding rate of the P3Pro is 60Mb/s or about 7.5MB/s. Class 10 and UHS-1 cards are capable of a minimum 10MB/s sustained serial write speed. The only time you use the highest speed capabilities is when you are transferring the files from the card to your computer (if you have an SSD fast enough to write as fast as the card can read).

Personally I'm buying UHS-3 (U3) cards because I can share the cards between the P3Pro and my camera (using the SD adapter).

If you do buy some additional cards I strongly recommend that you keep the original card that came with the P3 in a case attached to your flight kit so you can save yourself after you gotten to location and realized the SD card from your last flight is still in your laptop at home. (Go ahead, ask me how I learned that, twice

bbfpv · Jun 4, 2015

ctp said:
Go ahead, ask me how I learned that, twice

Only twice? I'm probably around 5 now. Wasn't a huge deal with only 1 battery, but would ruin an afternoon with 3+ batteries

dhaslam · Jun 4, 2015

If you are using windows XP the largest card you can read is 32 GB, at least on mine anyway. With 64MB it means starting up my Widows 8 PC.

ctp · Jun 4, 2015

bbfpv said:
Only twice? I'm probably around 5 now. Wasn't a huge deal with only 1 battery, but would ruin an afternoon with 3+ batteries

My new savior is remembering I have a microsd card in my dash cam, but I don't think I put a Class 10 or U1 in there, might be time for an upgrade... I actually have a ridiculous number of microSD cards. I need to admit that I need 4 at most between the camera and P3Pro.

Scott J. Breier · Jun 4, 2015

ctp, I learned this lesson the other day. It was a rather embarrassing experience. I had prepared for a flight in a rather high profile area. That included notifying the FAA/control tower for a local airport, local police, and the museums I was planning to shoot. All agencies were very cooperative, to the point that some of them came to the location and wanted to watch. After realizing during my preflight that I was missing a critical element (the MicroSD that was sitting in my computer), I tried to play it off as though everything was running silky smooth... Then, at the end of the flight... they asked to see the footage[emoji27]. Everybody had a good laugh, I eventually returned to my normal color (as opposed to bright red), and they thanked me for my professionalism and outward adherence to safety procedures/"compliance." Welcomed me back anytime

.

jlo · Jun 4, 2015

dhaslam said:
If you are using windows XP the largest card you can read is 32 GB, at least on mine anyway. With 64MB it means starting up my Widows 8 PC.

What the heck is this 'Windows XP' you speak of??

/sarc

Okie72 · Jun 4, 2015

This card below was recommended by B&H Photo, because it has a high read/write speed for video 4K.

SanDisk 32GBGB Extreme UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card (U3, Class 10)
B&H # SAEMSD32GB MFR # SDSDQX-032G-A46A

Authorized Dealer

CUSTOMER
PHOTOS

0
IN STOCK
Order Now to ship Tomorrow
Free Shipping for This Item
Free Expedited Shipping on Orders over $49
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

32GB Capacity
Class 10 - UHS-1
UHS Speed Class 3 (U3)
Max. Read Speed: 80MB/s

Show more
Reviews (99) Q&A
Capacity: 32GB

16GB 32GB 64GB
You Pay:$34.95

Arct1c0n · Jun 4, 2015

^^^ Thats the one I got also but for $22 at Amazon

duse500 · Jun 4, 2015

Okie72 said:
This card below was recommended by B&H Photo, because it has a high read/write speed for video 4K.

SanDisk 32GBGB Extreme UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card (U3, Class 10)
B&H # SAEMSD32GB MFR # SDSDQX-032G-A46A

Authorized Dealer

CUSTOMER
PHOTOS

0
IN STOCK
Order Now to ship Tomorrow
Free Shipping for This Item
Free Expedited Shipping on Orders over $49
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

32GB Capacity

Class 10 - UHS-1

UHS Speed Class 3 (U3)

Max. Read Speed: 80MB/s

Show more
Reviews (99) Q&A
Capacity: 32GB

16GB 32GB 64GB
You Pay:$34.95