Micro sd for action camera. How to choose a memory card for SJCAM action camera. What to look out for

Good afternoon, dear readers. In this article, I am ready to answer the question of concern to many, which memory card to choose for a camcorder. When buying a memory card Special attention should be given to the choice of storage media, because memory tends to end at the most inopportune moment, it is unlikely that anyone would want to lose the most interesting part of the recorded video. Which accessory to choose, what to focus on - these important issues will be discussed in this article.

The main criteria for choosing an information carrier are:

Support suitable video type;
capacity;
Recording speed;
Reading speed.

It would seem that such a trifle, but requires such a careful selection. Do you wonder why? All this is due to the fact that a wide range of media offered in hardware stores is very large. But not every card will fit a certain model of video camera. That is why variety and size are of fundamental importance.

If it is quite easy to figure out the supported device type and volume, then speed issues remain a mystery for some camera users. The speed of writing a flash drive is responsible for the scope of this accessory. If the flash drive has a low speed, then it is unlikely that you will be able to shoot a Full HD quality video or the device will simply “freeze”. Agree, an unpleasant situation. Therefore, every aspect must be carefully considered.

Varieties and speed of memory cards

Often, you have to deal with the choice of a flash drive for a camcorder immediately when buying a device. With the question of which media to choose for the camera you like, you can always contact the sales assistant, who will determine the maximum possible recording speed of the flash drive and the type of necessary component. But what to do if something happened to the memory card, or you just need to increase the memory. Then you will have to figure it out on your own, or rather, with my help.

Common types of cards:

SDHC, capacity, which does not exceed 32 GB;
SDXC, with a capacity of 64 GB or more.

The most popular manufacturers of flash media can be considered Silicon Power, Transend, SanDisc, Kingston.

What you should pay attention to when buying a USB flash drive from manufacturers:

What threatens buying a slow flash drive

Proper equipment is very important for the continuous and productive operation of the camcorder. Therefore, the use of media that does not match the speed of the camera is fraught with numerous consequences. Purchasing a slow card may damage the files captured by the camcorder or reduce the recording extension to match the ratio of speeds. When shooting short clips, there may be a problem with a long wait, since the previous file is still saved to the USB flash drive. Another problem that you may encounter is camera freezing, long and persistent shooting can result in the video breaking off at any moment due to insufficient speed.

So, we have dealt with the types of carriers and their speed indicators. Let's start discussing another important aspect when choosing a video camera card.

Memory card capacity

If you ask me how much memory is needed for a video camera, then I will answer you: "The more the better." That's why good option cameras are considered models where there are 2 memory card slots. Owners of such a practical device will definitely not have to face the problem of insufficient capacity. Therefore, we will now discuss the amount of storage devices for units with 1 slot.

When buying, there are several factors to consider:

The purpose of the video. If you are professionally engaged in shooting video, for example, you work as an operator at celebrations, then the capacity of the flash drive should be maximum, as far as it is provided by the camera;
The weight of the video, if you have to, for example, shoot a 4K video, then 1 second of a video of this quality will take about 10 MB. Having made simple calculations, you can understand that approximately 2 hours of shooting will fit on a 64 GB card.

I would like to advise you to conduct a small capacity test right in the store before choosing a memory card. Shoot several videos of various formats and calculate how many videos will fit on such an important part of the camera package.

When buying a card, you should follow two important rules. First, choose a media that matches the technical parameters of the camcorder. Secondly, give preference to well-known, reputable manufacturers, they often provide a guarantee for their products, this gives confidence that the component will last a long time, and the recorded data will not be lost.

That's all for me, dear readers, see you soon. By adhering to these rules, you will always know the answer to the question of which memory card to choose for the camera. Subscribe and share information about me with your friends, then I will help you more than once in solving many issues.

Thank you for your attention! See you again on my blog. Sincerely, Rostislav Kuzmin.

Every owner of a digital camera or a smartphone with a camera sooner or later thinks about buying a memory card. Even if the device already has several gigabytes of internal memory, you will need a large flash drive with a high recording speed to save photos and videos. It may seem that all cards are the same, but there are a lot of pitfalls in this topic. We will tell you how to choose the best card memory.

MEMORY CARD TYPE

There are several types of memory cards on the market today. The one indicated in the description of your device will suit you. For example, most cameras today are compatible with SD (Secure Digital) memory cards, which have two subtypes: SDHC (high capacity cards) and SDXC (extra high capacity cards). Cameras made a few years ago may not be compatible with SDXC memory cards, while digital camera models made before 2006 may not be compatible with SDHC.

The maximum capacity for SDHC is 64 GB, and for SDXC it is 512 GB.

In some professional cameras, as well as in cameras of past years, CF (Compact Flash) type flash drives are widely used. Today, they are not much superior in their characteristics to other types, but they are the ones in terms of volume and recording speed. However, before purchasing a fast CF card, make sure your camera can provide this high speed data transmission. In particular, there should be support for the UDMA (direct memory access) function from the camera.

There are also CFast 2.0 memory cards with ultra-high read (up to 515 MB/s) and write (up to 440 MB/s) speeds. Their maximum capacity is 128 GB, the minimum is 64 GB. This is a relatively new format that is supported by several professional cameras. But it is already clear that due to the high speed characteristics it will be in demand in the future.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II / EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM SETTINGS: ISO 1000, F6.3, 1/1000 s

In tablets and smartphones, where compactness is especially important, along with conventional SD cards, their reduced versions - microSD can be used. They are often used in action cameras and some pocket cameras. Today, microSD cards are in no way inferior to their full-size counterparts, neither in speed nor in volume. They can also be used in cameras with a standard SD slot via an adapter. Max volume microSD memory is 200 GB in the SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I model. You can read more about microSD memory cards on the pages of our magazine.

MEMORY CARD STANDARD UHS-I and UHS-II

Today, UHS-II memory cards are being actively introduced. Fujifilm X-T1, Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II are already working with them. The file write speed reaches 250 MB/s, and the read speed reaches 280 MB/s. Such high performance allows us to realize all the possibilities of modern technology. Outwardly, flash drives of the old and new standards are no different, but this is only from the front side. On reverse side UHS-II cards have two rows of contacts. But most importantly, UHS-II has backward compatibility: they can be used in cameras and camcorders that do not support this standard. Obviously, the future belongs to them.

Some manufacturers of photographic equipment have tried to introduce their own types of flash drives. But on this moment almost all camera models are compatible with one of the above types, and for using your own types of flash drives, either a separate or a combined slot is provided.

WHAT CAPACITY OF MEMORY CARD TO CHOOSE?

The capacity of the memory card determines how many pictures or minutes of video you can record. Naturally, more capacious cards cost more. But we live in the age of multi-megapixel cameras and the coming era of 4K video. SLR cameras have crossed the 50 megapixel mark, and mirrorless cameras are already equipped with 42 megapixel sensors. And even in mobile phones you can meet the resolution of pictures more than 40 million pixels! The average number of pixels is 24 million. The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II records video at 800 Mbps. One forty-second clip from this camera takes about 5 GB! And the higher the resolution of the image and video, the more space will be required on the flash drive.

The volume of the file directly depends on the amount of details stored in it, that is, on its quality. If you shoot photos in RAW+JPEG format, the size of a single shot can be over 100 MB! Now there is an ultra-high-definition 4K video format, where one minute can take up the volume of an average amateur photo shoot.

It makes little sense to buy memory cards with a capacity of less than 16 GB today. If you plan to actively photograph and shoot a little video, then we recommend memory cards with a capacity of 16 and 32 GB. At the same time, you should not shoot all the material on one card, it is better to split the session into several flash drives. It's not so much about the unreliability of memory cards (they are just very reliable), but that we can lose them. When shooting video, the size of the memory card should be selected so that it is enough for the entire shooting day. Below we provide a table for modern multi-megapixel cameras, which will allow you to roughly estimate how many pictures and minutes of video can be recorded on memory cards of different sizes.

Memory capacity	Full HD H.264 video	Photo RAW+JPEG
8 GB	10 minutes	80 photos
16 GB	21 minutes	160 photos
32 GB	43 minutes	320 photos
64 GB	1 hour 27 minutes	650 photos
128 GB	2 hours 54 minutes	1280 photos

HOW TO DEFINE THE OPTIMAL WRITE AND READ SPEED?

Many do not pay attention to the speed of the memory card. But in vain, because it is more important than the volume, because it determines the scope of the flash drive. For example, you won't be able to record Full HD on a slow card - the recording will be constantly interrupted. If you take a series of shots with a slow flash drive, the camera may freeze for a long time while recording it. Once we had to wait a full three minutes for a series of shots from a 42-megapixel camera to be recorded on a Class 10 card. High-speed photography of more than 10 frames per second is no longer surprising, and 4K and 360° video formats have raised the bar for recording speed to new heights. So how to distinguish a fast memory card from a slow one and choose the best one for your device?

Previously, flash cards were divided into classes: 2, 4, 6 and 10. In fact, this is the write speed in megabytes per second: class 2 - 2 MB / s, class 6 - 6 MB / s. The tenth class implies that a flash drive can record pictures at a higher speed than 10 MB / s. Such fast flash drives, in addition to the letter C, are marked with the letter U with the number 1 or 3. The manufacturer always indicates the actual read and write speed on the card (for example, 45 MB / s), and on the right - the class of the card. The situation is similar with Compact Flash and microSD.

HOW TO CHOOSE A MEMORY CARD SPEED CLASS?

If you plan to shoot video in Full HD format, then memory cards of at least speed class 6, and preferably 10 or higher, are suitable for you. The same cards are suitable for everyday shooting. For continuous shooting, it is better to choose faster flash drives - about 45 MB / s. This will allow you to take pictures in short continuous bursts. With slow flash drives, you run the risk of missing an interesting shot while your camera is recording previous shots.

Shooting moving objects places even greater demands on speed: you have to shoot almost continuously in a series. And here the ideal speed of the memory card is already equal to 80 MB / s and higher.

Finally, for professionals shooting long bursts, the fastest flash drives with speeds from 90 MB / s are simply necessary. Recording speed is key, and don't skimp on it. A professional camera with a high-speed memory card is capable of shooting a continuous series of frames until the free space runs out.

Reading speed is less important for a camera. It is always higher than or equal to the write speed. By choosing a memory card with a high write speed, you will definitely not experience problems with read speed.

WHAT TO PAY ATTENTION TO?

As long as the memory card is inside the device, it is protected. But as soon as it is removed, it immediately becomes vulnerable. The photographer at least once, but be sure to drop it, leave it on the table under the scorching sun, in a photo bag in severe frost, or even worse - douse it with water! What can we say about travel: at the airport, luggage will definitely be illuminated with x-rays. We recommend choosing memory cards that are protected from all of the above negative effects.

WHICH MEMORY CARD MANUFACTURER TO CHOOSE?

Prophotos recommends SanDisk memory cards. With them, we have been testing all the cameras that come to us for many years, because we trust their reliability and appreciate high performance. Below are recommendations for different types of devices.

Ideal for digital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses following models memory cards: SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme Plus SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash, SanDisk Extreme Plus microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash.

For amateur photo and video shooting, depending on the type of camera, the following are suitable: SanDisk Extreme Plus microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme Plus SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra PLUS microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra PLUS SDHC/SDXC, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra SDHC/SDXC, SanDisk microSD/microSDHC.

Professional Video Capture: SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme PRO Compact Flash, SanDisk Extreme PRO CFast2.0, SanDisk Extreme PLUS SDHC/SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme SDHC /SDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash.

Ideal for action cameras following cards Memory: SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC UHS-II, SanDisk Extreme PLUS microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Extreme microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra PLUS microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC/microSDXC UHS-I.

There can be two reasons why you decided to read this article: either there was no memory card included with your action camera, or there is not enough memory in the existing one, or it is incompatible. It turns out that not all memory cards are equally suitable for most action cameras. The most common reason is the low data transfer rate. If you shoot video in FullHD, then there is no problem. But if you bought yourself a camera with a resolution of 4K, this is where compatibility errors arise. Cards differ primarily in the speed of writing and reading information. When we write a video in a very high resolution, the bitrate value (the amount of information per unit of time) rises, and if the media is not able to record it so quickly, then an error occurs due to data overflow. High-speed cards that solve this problem tend to be significantly more expensive than their predecessors. Plus, marketing cheats for the brand get stuck in this mess. Cards can be exactly the same in all respects, and due to the fact that this brand is twice as old as the other, the price tag will also double. People's thinking is built on trusting higher prices in the hope of not being too cheap. Since you are buying a top speed card, then do it from trusted sellers, because now they like to fake such brands as Transcend, Kingston, SanDisk. Do not rush to buy top options right away, you may not need them. So you will only waste money by acquiring unnecessary excess potential.

Now let's take a closer look at what was said above. For cameras that do not record 4K video, it makes no sense to buy media over 32 GB. The optimal size is 16-32 GB. Such cards are suitable for cameras SJ6 Legend , SJ 360 , SJ 4000Wi-Fi , SJ 5000 , SJ M10 , SJ M20 and all models derived from them with index +. If you put a larger card - again, it may not work or throw surprises when writing / reading. By the way, such complaints about non-working cameras have already arrived at our store, but as it turned out, they put voluminous 64 GB MicroSD on them and the camera equipment itself is not designed for such numbers.

The micro memory cards we are interested in come in three types: SD, SDHC, SDXC. These prefixes were invented for a reason and characterize individual compatibility with the gadget (responsible for formatting, writing and reading) and the amount of writeable memory. For example, SD supports up to 4 GB, SDHC - up to 32 GB, and SDXC - over 32 GB. It has nothing to do with speed. More detailed information compatibility with a specific action camera can be found on the SJCAM box or in the passport, and if this is not possible, then always give preference to micro SDHC.

Let's talk about storage class. Usually this information is indicated by the numbers 2, 4, 6, 10 in a circle and is immediately after the volume in GB. This is specifically the write speed in megabytes per second and our bitrate should not be higher than this figure. For example, a class 10 card has a speed of 10 Mbps = 8*10 Mbps = 80 Mbps. If you meet the number 3 on the package (there are no other numbers except 1 or 3) in the form of a square glass, then multiply the available recording speed by 3 = 240 Mbps. Sometimes there are still cards with a useless UHS-1 or UHS-2 index. The second one has a higher transfer rate due to an additional row of contacts (see picture below). Only now there are very few ports in which this advantage will work. The situation is reminiscent of the use (or rather lack thereof) of USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. The speed advantage will be only when using two pins with a blue connector.

I would like to finish the article with the following list, which SJCAM published on its website. All of them have been tested and there will certainly be no problems.

Silicon Power Micro SDXC 64GB Class 10

Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB

Sandisk Extreme Plus 64GB UHS-3

Other action cameras:

Samsung EVO Class-10 32GB

Sandisk Extreme Class-10 32GB

Lexar EVO Class-10 32GB

Transcend Premium 300 Class-10 32GB

Stronium Class-10 32GB

Sony Class-10 32GB

Kingston Class-1016GB

Samsung EVO 16GB SDHC

Sony Micro SDXC Class 10 UHS-1 16GB

For most people, microSD is just a form factor, but it really isn't. You can easily insert any microSD card into a standard slot, but not every one of them will work, since cards differ in many ways.

Format

There are three different SD formats in total, available in two form factors (SD and microSD):

SD (microSD) - drives up to 2 GB, work with any equipment;
SDHC (micro SDHC) - drives from 2 to 32 GB, work on devices with support for SDHC and SDXC;
SDXC (microSDXC) - drives from 32 GB to 2 TB (currently maximum 512 GB), only work on SDXC-enabled devices.

As you can see, they are not backwards compatible. Memory cards of the new format will not work on old equipment.

Volume

Support for microSDXC declared by the manufacturer does not mean support for cards of this format with any volume and depends on the specific device. For example, HTC One M9 works with microSDXC, but officially only supports cards up to and including 128 GB.

Another important point is connected with the volume of drives. All microSDXC cards use the exFAT file system by default. Windows has been supporting it for more than 10 years, it has appeared in OS X since version 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard), exFAT support has been implemented in Linux distributions, but out of the box it does not work everywhere.

High speed UHS interface

SDHC and SDXC cards can support the Ultra High Speed interface, which provides higher speeds (UHS-I up to 104 MB/s and UHS-II up to 312 MB/s) if the device has hardware support. UHS is backward compatible with earlier interfaces and can work with devices that do not support it, but at standard speed (up to 25 MB/s).

2. Speed

Classifying the write and read speed of microSD cards is as complex as their formats and compatibility. The specs allow four ways to describe card speed, and since manufacturers use them all, there's a lot of confusion.

speed class

ordinary cards

The Speed Class is the minimum write speed to the memory card in megabytes per second. There are four in total:

Class 2- from 2 MB/s;
Class 4- from 4 MB/s;
Class 6- from 6 MB/s;
Class 10- from 10 MB/s.

Cards operating on the high-speed UHS bus have only two speed classes so far:

Class 1 (U1)- from 10 MB/s;
Class 3 (U3)- from 30 MB/s.

Since the minimum value of the entry is used in the designation of the speed class, theoretically a card of the second class may well be faster than a card of the fourth. Although, if this is the case, the manufacturer will most likely prefer to state this fact more explicitly.

Max Speed

The speed class is enough to compare cards when choosing, but some manufacturers also use the maximum speed in MB / s in the description, and more often not even the write speed (which is always lower), but the read speed.

Usually these are the results of synthetic tests under ideal conditions, which are unattainable with normal use. In practice, the speed depends on many factors, so you should not focus on this characteristic.

Speed multiplier

Another classification option is a speed multiplier, similar to the one used to indicate the read and write speed of optical discs. There are more than ten of them, from 6x to 633x.

The 1x multiplier is 150 KB/s, which means that the simplest 6x cards have a speed of 900 KB/s. Most quick cards the multiplier can be 633x, which is 95 MB/s.

3. Tasks

Choose the right card for specific tasks. The biggest and fastest is not always the best. For certain use cases, volume and speed may be excessive.

When buying a card for a smartphone, volume plays a bigger role than speed. The advantages of a large storage are obvious, but the advantages of a high transfer rate on a smartphone are almost not felt, since large files are rarely written and read there (unless you have a smartphone with 4K video support).

Cameras shooting HD and 4K video are a completely different matter: both speed and volume are equally important here. For 4K video, camera manufacturers recommend using UHS U3 cards, for HD - regular Class 10 or at least Class 6.

For photos, many professionals prefer to use several smaller cards to minimize the risk of losing all the pictures in force majeure. As for the speed, it all depends on the photo format. If you shoot in RAW, it makes sense to invest in microSDHC or microSDXC class UHS U1 and U3 - in this case, they will reveal themselves to the fullest.

4. Fakes

No matter how trite it may sound, but to buy a fake under the guise original cards now it's easier than ever. A few years ago, SanDisk claimed that a third of the SanDisk memory cards on the market were counterfeit. It is unlikely that the situation has changed much since that time.

To avoid disappointment when buying, it is enough to be guided common sense. Refrain from buying from untrustworthy sellers and beware of "original" cards that are priced well below the official price.

Attackers have learned how to counterfeit packaging so well that it can sometimes be very difficult to distinguish it from the original. With full confidence, it is possible to judge the authenticity of a particular card only after verification with the help of special utilities:

h2testw- for Windows;

If you have already experienced the loss of important data due to a broken memory card for one reason or another, then when it comes to choosing, you will most likely prefer more expensive card a well-known brand than an affordable “no-name”.

In addition to greater reliability and safety of your data, with a branded card you will receive high speed and a guarantee (in some cases even a lifetime).

Now you know everything you need to know about SD cards. As you can see, there are many questions that you will have to answer before purchasing a card. Perhaps, best idea will have different maps for different needs. So you can use all the advantages of the equipment and not expose your budget to unnecessary costs.