A memory card for an action camera should not only have sufficient capacity, but also high reading speed, as well as resistance to adverse factors. The main selection criteria and an overview of the best models are presented in this article.
The content of the article
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Main criteria
- Card type
- Memory
- Optimal write and read speed
- Top 5 best flash drives
Main criteria
When choosing a device, it is necessary to take into account its type, memory size, reading speed and other technical characteristics.
Card type
Manufacturers produce several types that are suitable for specific devices. Therefore, when buying, you need to study the description of the camera and find out which media are suitable for it.
Most models are compatible with SD cards. But if the device was released 5-7 years ago or more, perhaps only SDHC or SDXC is suitable for it. For them, there are restrictions on the amount of memory - 64 GB and 512 GB, respectively.
Memory
This is not the only, but a very important indicator that you should immediately pay attention to. If you purchase a memory card for a 4K action camera or another type, you should select at least 32 GB. A smaller amount will definitely not be enough. You need to focus on the duration of the shooting. It is optimal if the memory is enough for one full day, that is, for 10-12 hours. For such cases, it is worth considering flash drives from 128 GB.
And for recording it is better to use several flash drives at once. If any of them is lost, the material can be easily restored at the expense of a spare. When considering which memory card to buy for an action camera, you need to consider the relationship between memory capacity and video length, as well as the number of photos. The ratios are:
- Each gigabyte corresponds to 10 very high quality photos. For example, if the volume is 64 GB, approximately 640 photos can be recorded on the device.
- As for the duration of the video, approximately 0.8 GB is required for each minute. Thus, for 10 minutes you need 8 GB, for 60 minutes - 48 GB, for 120 minutes - 96 GB, etc.
Optimal write and read speed
When considering how to choose a memory card for an action camera, it is important to consider not only the memory, but also the speed of writing, as well as further reading. Even if the capacity is good enough, but the device is slow, it will be extremely uncomfortable to use.
Depending on the speed, all flash drives are divided into several classes, which are simply indicated by numbers, for example, 1, 2, 6, 10. It is allowed to consider carriers of a class not lower than 6, and optimally - 10. This means that the recording is carried out at a speed of 6 Mb / s and 10 Mb / s, respectively. Also, the indicator is often written on the flash drive itself, as shown in the diagram.
Considering which flash drive to choose for an action camera, you should take into account the features of shooting. So, if you plan to shoot serial high-quality video, it is better to choose media with a speed of 45 Mb / s.
Top 5 best flash drives
If we talk about which specific memory card for an action camera is worth buying, you should carefully study customer reviews and equipment descriptions. If we take into account the value for money, the popularity of the brand, we get the following rating:
- Kingston Canvas Go! Plus provides 64 GB of memory for the action camera. The read speed is 180 Mb / s, which is quite enough for any shooting. The device is reliable, the manufacturer provides a lifetime warranty.
- Flash drive with a high processing speed of 130 Mb / s. Resistant to external influences, including temperature extremes, radiation and others. A 10 year guarantee is provided.
- SanDisk Extreme V30 A2 - a device with speeds up to 160 Mb / s. Reliable card with moisture protection, transfers blows and radiations.
- Transcend microSDXC 256GB A1 is a device with high speed up to 100Mb/s and large capacity of 256GB. It can be used in both action cameras and smartphones.
- SanDisk Extreme Pro V3 A2 is another 256 GB flash drive that is highly resistant to shock, temperature and other factors. Has a lifetime warranty.
Because the memory card must operate in harsh environments, it's important to only consider reliable hardware with at least a 5-10 year warranty. Such flash drives do a really good job of recording and are not afraid of mechanical and weather influences.
