What is the best microSD card to use with our wonderful new DJI Phantom 3 Professional (or Phantom 3 Advanced)?

The included Lexar 16 GB card works great. But when you shoot DNG+JPG and shoot 3 or 5 brackets (for HDR) it takes a fairly long time before the camera is ready to shoot another picture. This is not that strange since shooting just one DNG takes up about 25 MB. If you add the perhaps 5 MB of the JPG that is 30 MB. If you then shoot 5-brackets that is 5x30=150 megabyts for just one photo

I switched out the Lexar with a SanDisk 32GB Extreme - but I have not yet done tests to see if taking DNG-pictures are faster or not. Both a fast enough do 4K recordings without a problem (at a 60mbit bitrate that should amount to about 7.5 MB per second - a lot less than shooting DNG+JPG brackets).

There are SanDisk microSDs that can do 90 MB/s write/read speed. Anyone know if getting one of those would make saving DNG Raw photos faster over the included Lexar which has a write speed of about 24 MB/s or the SanDisk Extreme I already have? Or is the bottleneck somewhere else in the camera?

I did a speed-tests of the included Lexar 16 GB microSD and my SanDisk Extreme 32. The Lexar has a fast read-time - but thats only really interesting when emptying the card to the computer (I presume?).

This is the speedtest of the SanDisk 32GB Extreme. Significantly faster write speed - but slower read speed.

Please share your thoughts and experiences.

-

Buy your DJI Phantom 3, DJI-gear, intelligent DJI Batteries, DJI Hardshell Backpacks from the DJI Store by using this link - it'll help me out

Always, choose the best writing speed

I am a photographer and have lots of camera equipment and using fast cards is a generally a good thing. I only use 90mb/s cards or better if i plan on doing Video and raw dng files. However that being said it most likely will not effect the speed the camera captures multi shot images. Our at least not enough to notice. The majority of that time is the camera's codec converting the data and a smaller portion of that time is actually write speed. Basically it's reliant on the camera's internal cpu speed.

However a fast card will make it a lot faster to download files to your computer so in the end you are saving yourself time ;)

This is the fastest memory card available right now:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ... Id=OOGRROFPDPGMSJHB

There are some other good options here:
http://www.PhantomHelp.com/#MemoryCardsP3

---

www.PhantomHelp.com
Find the latest must-haves, fixes, mods, how-tos, guides, and accessories for your Phantom.
Phantoms in stock and ready to ship worldwide! (see availability)

digitaldave Posted at 2015-5-23 02:34
I am a photographer and have lots of camera equipment and using fast cards is a generally a good thi ...

Makes a lot of sense

I will have to actually test how long it takes to save (be ready for next photo) when shooting RAW+JPG in 3 or 5 brackets - which is really the only time there is a real problem with speed of the camera (possibly SDcard). As I mentioned, the speed of the included memory card is MORE than fast enough for saving the compressed 4K video the P3Pro can produce. But taking multiple RAW-photos is a lot more data.

It might be that DJI picked the right kind of microSD - that has a fast enough write speed for the camera - and a very fast read-speed so we can empty our cards really quickly

Nevertheless, getting one of those very fast Sandisk 90 MB/s read/write cards couldn't hurt. Guess I thought the "Sandisk Extreme" (sounds fast) I have would be plenty fast - but is actually only "medium"-speed read/write (40/40MB/s).

-

Buy your DJI-gear, batteries, cases by using this link - it'll help me out

Does it matter if the card is faster than 60, when they write this about the Phantom 3?

Max Bitrate of Video Storage
Phantom 3 Professional
60 Mbps
Phantom 3 Advanced
40 Mbps

Or is that not the same as when the say the card has a writing speed of f.ex. 80MB/s

I purchased the 64 GB SanDisk Extreme Plus,  Oh MY! I copied a 4 gb video directly from my P3P to a folder in 53 sec!  With the original 16gb card I would be waiting for almost 4 min.!  Figures out to almost 75K MB's (Megabytes sec!)   Assuming my math is right.  I can play 4k video directly from the Phantom with very little pausing/stuttering!

Original price was $159, got it for $59

boesenfoto Posted at 2015-10-1 00:06
Does it matter if the card is faster than 60, when they write this about the Phantom 3?

Max Bitrate ...

DJI states that the Phantom supports Class 10 or UHS-1 Micro SD cards up to 64GB in capacity and a max bitrate of video storage of 60 Mbps (http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php ... onal-Specifications). Because our camera can capture large quantities of data, the faster the card, the better our video or photo capture performance.
So what is Class 10 and USH-1/3? The SDHC spec defines Class 2, 4, 6, 8, & 10 where the class represents the bitrate. So, Class 10 is 10MB/s. This spec was broadened in 2009 to include UHS Speed Class where UHS-1 is 10MB/s and UHS-3 is 30MB/s. (http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answer ... C-and-speed-ratings)

I tend to agree that our hardware may well be the limiting factor with SD Cards faster than 60MBps.

One other thing to consider. If you get a card that writes/reads much faster than the Phantom can take advantage of, and which therefore provides no benefit while the card is in the Phantom, that card still might operate closer to its limits if, like me, you remove the card and insert it into your computer to move and save files. I move 40-60 Gig from SD card to computer regularly in photography, and a slow card can take a long time. It might be worth the difference in price to some.

Sandisk 32 gb, go with best writing speed.

FantomDK Posted at 2015-5-24 00:50
Makes a lot of sense

I will have to actually test how long it takes to save (be ready f ...

When can i get my filters??

ahgiaw Posted at 2016-2-8 15:24
When can i get my filters??

Why post that question here, it has nothing to do with SD cards. If you want an  answer, then post a question with more detail in a thread of its own.

mike@singerscre Posted at 2015-5-22 20:06
This is the fastest memory card available right now:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ... Id=OOGRROF ...

Hi Mike, The list you supply includes cards that dont refer to the Class 10 spec for the Phantom 3 Pro ...

e.g the SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB UHS-I/U3 Micro SDXC Memory Card Speeds Up To 95MB/s With 4K Ultra HD Ready-SDSDQXP-064G-G46A.  Is Class 10 marking on a card critical?

simon.modera@sh Posted at 2016-2-24 10:39
Hi Mike, The list you supply includes cards that dont refer to the Class 10 spec for the Phantom 3 ...

That page uses class in a misleading way. It states "UHS class 3" where it should just say UHS-3 or U3 (I could be wrong on how the UHS is stated, but using the term 'class' in two different ways is misleading).

If you scroll down on the page (a bit less than 1/2 way down), you'll find a table that lists 4 of the Extreme Pro's as being Class 10, including the 64GB.

Not A Speck Of  Posted at 2016-2-25 06:36
That page uses class in a misleading way. It states "UHS class 3" where it should just say UHS-3 or ...

The class 10 label is essentially obsolete, as many cards exceed that rating.

Here are my results from a 64 GB UHS-1 SD card using H2testw.exe:

Product:
Sandisk UltraPLUS 64 GB Class UHS-1 (Purchased at Costco in spring, 2016)
H2testw.exe Results (August 11, 2016, using internal SD reader on a Dell Latitude Core i5)

Test Results:
Warning: Only 60873 of 60874 MByte tested.
Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 15.3 MByte/s
Reading speed: 71.8 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

runnionator Posted at 2016-8-11 14:01
Here are my results from a 64 GB UHS-1 SD card using H2testw.exe:

Product:

Unfortunately, those tests are meaningless, as they are performed on a Windows computer, and not in the gimbal processor of an aircraft. The aircraft does not necessairly run at the same speed as a computer. Also, in terms of operation in a Phantom, the read speed is irrelevant, only the write speed is of interest.

Geebax Posted at 2016-8-11 14:30
Unfortunately, those tests are meaningless, as they are performed on a Windows computer, and not i ...

Sure, we know that Class 10/UHS-1 cards are capable of higher read/write speeds than what the aircraft card reader can handle, but the higher (read) speed is helpful for quicker transfer of the data to the computer. For a typical, single-mission, 16 min video at 4K resolution (~5.6 GB), that's 1:18 min:sec vs 3:50 min:sec for a Class 4 card I tested yesterday.

It's good practice to test an SD card before using it in the aircraft.

runnionator Posted at 2016-8-11 15:52
Sure, we know that Class 10/UHS-1 cards are capable of higher read/write speeds than what the airc ...

Sure, it is good for transferring, but in reality, the aircraft is very fast at writing, and it tests any card you insert anyway to see if it will work.

joanenricc@yaho Posted at 2015-5-22 15:06
Always, choose the best writing speed

And the best read speed or you will have to wait forever when trasferring to a computer...

Here's an example of why it's important to test your SD card before sending it on a mission with your (expensive) drone. I tested an SD card that (barely) doesn't meet the requirements of UHS-1 and was half the speed of an SD card (also UHS-1) that I tested a few days ago. The card might be OK for recording 4K video, but I'm not taking any chances:

Product:
Samsung EVO 16 GB Class UHS-1 (Purchased online August 9, 2016)
H2testw.exe Results (August 14, 2016, using internal SD reader on a Dell Latitude Core i5)

Warning: Only 15270 of 15271 MByte tested.
Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 9.52 MByte/s
Reading speed: 37.7 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

Moneyshot Pilot Posted at 2016-8-14 02:58
Here's an example of why it's important to test your SD card before sending it on a mission with your (expensive) drone. I tested an SD card that (barely) doesn't meet the requirements of UHS-1 and was half the speed of an SD card (also UHS-1) that I tested a few days ago. The card might be OK for recording 4K video, but I'm not taking any chances:

Product:

those speeds are significantly lower than 90MB/s read/Write.
is possible that your card was connected via usb 2 which offers low speeds.
the real test for the card is by using a gopro, which is known to write at the speed of the card

Ive been in photography b/f going to drones and there is a big diff in the card speed. Not sure how fast the P3 pro reads and writes but me and my wife made it a rule of thumb to not get anything lower than a 90mbs or 95 but now they have come out with a massive 270mbs. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012PK ... ding=UTF8&psc=1

Raptor Heli Posted at 2017-1-21 15:30
Ive been in photography b/f going to drones and there is a big diff in the card speed. Not sure how fast the P3 pro reads and writes but me and my wife made it a rule of thumb to not get anything lower than a 90mbs or 95 but now they have come out with a massive 270mbs. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012PKPIEU/ref=twister_B01AIPRNOW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

That won't make any difference to how fast the camera writes the files to the card as explained back in post #3 above.