Which memory card should I choose for my drone?

Which memory card for your drone?

There are several factors involved in choosing a memory card for your drone. These are capacity, standard and recording speed. In this article (in human!) we will explain what the different designations mean and which SD card to choose for a particular drone model.

Capacity standard

The first parameter worth writing about is the capacity standard, which is usually found in the main description of the memory card. In short, it denotes the capacity of the card in the range, so that they can be divided into two standards:

• SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) - from 2 GB to 32 GB
• SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) - from 32GB to 2 TB

What card capacity to choose for your drone?

The specific capacity is indicated by a large number expressed in giga bytes (GB). Currently, there are cards available on the market with sizes ranging from 32 to as much as 512 GB. Which one you choose depends on what kind of materials you will create.

Larger capacity is associated with convenience (you don't have to flip materials to the computer every time and worry if everything will save), it is with the amount of space that the price of the card increases. Therefore, you should choose the optimal capacity depending on what material you are saving. It is obvious that videos will take up more memory than photos, and im higher the quality and number of frames, the more of the card will be occupied.

We performed the test with a drone DJI Mavic Air 2S and 11 960x720 px photos + videos with a total length of 15 min recorded in 4K 30 fps together took up 1/3 of the space of the 32GB card. It is not a lot of material, so in this case this card was quite sufficient. However, if you know that your materials will be more extensive, buy a card with a larger capacity. Here, less is not better.

Writing speed - the slug won't see the hare

Another and key parameter to consider when choosing a card is the write speed class. In this case, three designations are adopted:

1. District speed class
2. Speed class "U"
3. Video speed class "V"

The difference is that the marking in the circle and the "V" shows the actual writing speed, while the "U" has zero removed. In the table below you will see how each designation is presented and what it refers to:

Minimum recording speed	Speed class	UHS speed class	Speed class "Video"	Application
10 MB/s	Class 10 (C10)	Class 1 (U1)	Class 10 (V10)	full HD (1080p) video recording, live broadcasting of large HD video files
30 MB/s	-	Class 3 (U3)	Class 30 (V30)	4K video files at 60/120 fps
60 MB/s	-	-	Class 60 (V60)	8K video files at 60/120 fps
90 MB/s	-	-	Class 90 (V90)

How the card's write speed relates to drones?

In the specifications of each device, you can find the heading Max Video Bitrate, which is the maximum transmission rate, which is expressed in mega bits per second. The memory card should be selected just for this parameter.

But don't confuse bits with BAJTs! Bytes are marked with an uppercase "B" and bits with a lowercase "b". One bit is 1/8 of a BAJTA. This means that if max. video bitrate of the drone is, for example, 150 Mbps (Mega bits per second) then a card with a minimum write speed of 150/8=18.5 MB/s will fit it. In this case, choose a memory card with a write speed of 30 MB/s, due to the fact that there are no cards with a write speed of 20 MB/s. In addition, if the final value comes out evenly, it is worth choosing a card of a higher class.

This can be counted, of course, but we let the math take care of itself, and in the following section we present the compatibility of drones with individual cards. Additionally, for DJI drones, a list of all compatible cards is available at manufacturer's website in the specifications of each device.

List of memory cards compatible with drones

Below is a list of drones and dedicated cards:

Memory card
Name	SanDisk Ultra MicroSDHC 32GB	SanDisk Extreme microSDHC 32 GB	SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDHC 32 GB	SanDisk Ultra microSDXC 64GB	SanDisk Extreme microSDXC 64 GB	SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC 64 GB	SanDisk Extreme microSDXC 128GB	SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC 128 GB	SanDisk Extreme microSDXC 256 GB	SanDisk Extreme PRO 256GB V30
DJI Mavic Mini / Mini SE	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Mini 2		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Mini 3		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Mini 3 Pro		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Mavic Air 2		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Air 2S			✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Mavic 3		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Phantom 4		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI FPV			✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DJI Avata		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
AUTEL Evo II Pro 6K			✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
AUTEL Evo II 8K			✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Parrot Anafi Thermal		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Parrot Anafi Work		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Skydio 2		✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Price of memory card for drone

The difference in the price of the cards is large, as it ranges from PLN 30 - 400. The optimal size we recommend is 64 GB, and the prices of such cards are about 60 - 90 zł.

Beware of cards from unknown manufacturers! It looks about the same as with counterfeit clothes - the stamp has it, but it is nowhere near the quality. We have been using cards from companies such as SanDisk, Lexar and Samsung for years and sincerely recommend them.

Summary

When choosing a memory card for your drone, you must be guided by two parameters: capacity and write speed. While the first value depends on personal preference, i.e. how much and in what quality you record material, the second value must be selected for a specific device.

Use the table above, or if your device isn't in it, look up the transmission rate and calculate that from the formula provided. When choosing the capacity of the card, remember that it is better to pay extra once for a larger capacity and create materials without problems, than to see the message "no memory".