Best SanDisk SD card for Mavic Air 2

[OnlyMavic]

I am looking to max out the single flight 4K record time on my new MA2. I know that the MA2 is spec'd to handle microSDXC card capacities up to 256GB, and that's what I want to get. They're cheap, so I figured I might as well eliminate as many worries as possible about being able to store what I am shooting. I'm trying hard to understand the different classifications for microSDXC cards produced by SanDisk, and I want to be sure that I'm getting the best (in terms of read/write speeds) and most compatible. SanDisk offers UHS Class 3 256GB microSDXC cards under the names Extreme, Extreme PLUS, and Extreme PRO. As near as I can figure out from available literature and online resources, it would appear that the Extreme PLUS has been phased out, and the real choices today are the Extreme and Extreme PRO. Specs show that the Extreme PRO is a bit better than the Extreme on read and write speeds, and the price is only a few bucks more, so it would seem the Extreme PRO is what I want to get. I'm just wondering about the write speeds of the MA2 itself, though. If the MA2 can't actually feed data to the card any faster than what the Extreme can swallow, it might not be worth it to go PRO. Does anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

 

[lannes]

Sandisk Extreme Pro 64gb

The Best SD Card for DJI Air 2S and Mavic Air 2 | Cult of Drone

This article shows you all the compatible microSD cards for DJI Air 2S and Mavic Air 2 and helps you to choose the best one according to your needs and preference.

cultofdrone.com

I'd shy away from larger capacity cards as you could loose a lot of data if the AC is lost.
64gb encourages you to download the files to a pc

 

[FoxhallGH]

I am looking to max out the single flight 4K record time on my new MA2. I know that the MA2 is spec'd to handle microSDXC card capacities up to 256GB, and that's what I want to get. They're cheap, so I figured I might as well eliminate as many worries as possible about being able to store what I am shooting. I'm trying hard to understand the different classifications for microSDXC cards produced by SanDisk, and I want to be sure that I'm getting the best (in terms of read/write speeds) and most compatible. SanDisk offers UHS Class 3 256GB microSDXC cards under the names Extreme, Extreme PLUS, and Extreme PRO. As near as I can figure out from available literature and online resources, it would appear that the Extreme PLUS has been phased out, and the real choices today are the Extreme and Extreme PRO. Specs show that the Extreme PRO is a bit better than the Extreme on read and write speeds, and the price is only a few bucks more, so it would seem the Extreme PRO is what I want to get. I'm just wondering about the write speeds of the MA2 itself, though. If the MA2 can't actually feed data to the card any faster than what the Extreme can swallow, it might not be worth it to go PRO. Does anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

You are right in that there are a lot of specifications for SD cards. The 'UHS Speed Class' specification that you highlight is the most important, however. You need to purchase a UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) card. U3 cards will accept a stream of HD video and will not drop below a write speed of 30 MBytes/sec (240 Mbit/s) - U1 cards will allow the write speed to bottom out at 10 MBytes/sec (80Mbit/s). If you use the U3 card, then you are pretty much guaranteed that you aren't going to get any frame-drop in your HD Video.
Bottom line - don't buy U1 ...
The more expensive cards may have an 'Application Performance Class' rating, and show an A1 or A2 logo. These cards are what you need to put into your tablet or phone if you run out of hard-drive space to run app's. These cards not only have storage space, but also have excellent 'read' speeds to load application software into the device - something that is totally useless when you put the card in a Mavic!

 

[OnlyMavic]

Thank you very much! Good advice. I do like the idea of being more frequently forced to get the video off the card and onto other secure storage. And now that I'm looking at the on-card size of recorded 4K 60fps video as it relates to MA2 max flight time, 256GB is complete overkill. A good half hour of continuous 4K60 won't fill a 128GB card.

But there's another question that arises from this discussion. Does anyone know if there is a max file size, possibly defined by the directory structure used on the card?

 

[k9kids]

I’ve always thought that a formatted FAT32 memory card has a 4GB maximum single file size.
exFAT and NTFS formats are much larger.

 

[OnlyMavic]

I’ve always thought that a formatted FAT32 memory card has a 4GB maximum single file size.
exFAT and NTFS formats are much larger.

Yes, and my understanding is that when you do your formatting in-craft with DJI Fly, it formats exFAT. So, the limit on file size is only defined by volume capacity. Thanks!

 

[ven]

I have the extreme pro 64gb , u3 v30. No issues as expected on 4K/60. As mentioned, it forces you to upload more often which limits the chance of loosing a lot of footage.

 

[k9kids]

Yes, and my understanding is that when you do your formatting in-craft with DJI Fly, it formats exFAT. So, the limit on file size is only defined by volume capacity. Thanks!

Supported File System
FAT32
exFAT (recommend)

Per the DJI user manual, I copied and pasted the above info. When I formatted in craft I don’t recall seeing an option to choose. Did you?

 

[rhexis]

even with exfat the software will only allow 3.76Gb files and then start a new one. there is no way around that unfortunately.

 

[Dincena]

I use the extreme plus 128gb
Never had an issue reading/writing videos 4k 60fps.

Two 128gb cards for $45

https://www.costco.com/sandisk-extreme-plus-128gb-microsd-card-with-adapter%2C-2-pack.product.100485627.html

 

[k9kids]

I use the extreme plus 128gb
Never had an issue reading/writing videos 4k 60fps.

Two 128gb cards for $45

https://www.costco.com/sandisk-extreme-plus-128gb-microsd-card-with-adapter%2C-2-pack.product.100485627.html

Wow!

Great price. I bought the same card on Amazon for $34.95 for one card.?

 

[k9kids]

Remember a lot of info I haven’t thought about in years.

Specifically when it comes to SD card sizes and formats.

FAT32 is only supported by SD/uSD cards with capacity less than 32GB, and it does not support storing or transmitting any single file that exceeds 4GB in size. I think it will split larger video clips into multiple files.

The exFAT file system was released by Microsoft to address FAT32's inability to carry files over 4GB. Also if the capacity of your SD/uSD card is larger than 32GB, you should format it to exFAT.

If I want to format my 128GB card in my iMac, I have to choose exFAT. And it seems DJI would prefer that.

 

[OnlyMavic]

Two 128gb cards for $45

https://www.costco.com/sandisk-extreme-plus-128gb-microsd-card-with-adapter%2C-2-pack.product.100485627.html

That Costco 2-pack is a steal of a deal! And thank you for the testimony on the 128GB Extreme Plus. I ordered one 128GB Extreme (not Plus) with my MA2 from DJI direct on the same order. Probably shouldn't have done that, but the deal is done. We'll see how the Extreme performs. If I see any problems in the footage (dropped frames, etc.), then I'm going to go for either this 128GB Extreme Plus 2-pack deal, or go looking for a good price on a 128GB Extreme PRO.

 

[OnlyMavic]

If I want to format my 128GB card in my iMac, I have to choose exFAT. And it seems DJI would prefer that.

So, as far as you know, there are absolutely no problems using the card in the MA2 after having been formatted exFat on an iMac?

 

[hdjones]

The only spec that matters is that the card be U3 rated. And, I absolutely don't use a card any larger than 64gb. I previously owned a drone Yuneec) on which had many many missions of video stored... and pressed my luck. Due to time constraints and job, I had not taken the time to offload over 100gb of video. I then flew my bird and had a crash with such a total destruction of the camera that the card was split in half. Every last bit of data was lost. Lesson learned.

 

[Km5er]

A long answer:

‘Speed Class’ refers to the absolute minimum sustained write speeds. Cards can be rated as Class 2 (minimum write speed of 2MB/s), Class 4 (4MB/s), Class 6 (6MB/s) or Class 10 (10MB/s). The next rating is the UHS Speed Class. This stands for Ultra High Speed and refers to minimum sustained writing performance for recording video. UHS came about due to 4K-capable video devices needing faster write speeds. There are two UHS Speed Classes, UHS Speed Class 1 and UHS Speed Class 3. UHS Speed Class 1 supports a minimum 10MB/s write speed, whereas UHS Speed Class 3 supports at least 30MB/s write speed. The UHS Speed Class is denoted by either a 1 or 3 inside of a bucket U symbol. As a rule of thumb, 4K-capable camcorders will usually require at least a U3 rated SD card. Extremely high-resolution video (4 or 8K), demanded even faster cards and this is provided by V class which range from 6 to 90. The number represents MB/sec. Confused yet? Keep reading. So, going from fastest to slowest with these numbers it is V90, V60, V30 (which is equal to U3) V10 (which is equal to U1 and Speed Class 10). The remaining are not worth considering.

Also, for drones ignore A1 and A2 ratings and just pay attention to V ratings. The A ratings are for application extensive operations such as smartphones and mobile gaming consoles. This is the Application Performance Class Specification. These cards essentially extend the memory of these devices. The apps that run on these devices interact with memory space differently. Rather than a stream of sequential data (think video), they write a lot of small chunks of data wherever there's space available. That's known as random read/write (compared to sequential read/write that's important for video). A card that is suitable for random reading and writing may not be suitable for sequential reading and writing. The A1 and A2 cards have different random read and write ratings but have the same minimum sequential write speed of 10 megabytes per second. This speed is equivalent to the Class 10 video speed rating. The Class 10 rating is about the same is the V10 rating. The V10 rating is too slow for your drone.

So, the bottom line for your drone camera (at least DJI drones) you need a minimum V30 card (or U3). The card may also have other ratings (Such as A or U) but if it says V30 or better you are good. And as always, the best bet is to see what the manufacturer recommends/requires. But keeping it simple = V30 minimum.

For MA2 DJI specifically recommends:

SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB V30 A2 microSDXC
SanDisk High Endurance 64GB V30 microSDXC
SanDisk Extreme 64GB V30 A2 microSDXC
SanDisk Extreme 128GB V30 A2 microSDXC
SanDisk Extreme 256GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Lexar 667x 64GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Lexar High-Endurance 64GB V30 microSDXC
Samsung EVO Plus (Yellow) 64GB microSDXC
Samsung EVO Plus (Red) 64GB microSDXC
Samsung EVO Plus 128GB microSDXC
Samsung EVO Plus 256GB microSDXC
Kingston V30 128GB microSDXC
Netac 256GB A1 microSDXC

 

[nencmeister]

I use extreme pro 128GB, no issues

 

[OnlyMavic]

Netac 256GB A1 microSDXC

I was wondering about those Netac cards. They get great ratings. And, at least from their Amazon store, the prices are pretty awesome, too.

Netac: microSD card

Our star product: Netac P500

www.amazon.com

I mean, jeez... a 128GB with adapter for $17.41?

https://www.amazon.com/Netac-128GB-microSDXC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B0834R1NRF

 

[lannes]

The problem with memory cards is when they fail you might loose great footage with them, probably advisable to go as small as you can go capacity wise and with a reputable model.

 

[OnlyMavic]

Does anyone have props for the SanDisk High-Endurance cards? For the couple of extra bucks they are, is the "high-endurance" claim all its cracked up to be? Built for and tested in harsh conditions; temperature-proof, waterproof, shockproof and X-ray-proof. Seems like a fairly good idea for drones flying out in direct sun and extreme heat in some cases. But maybe you get the same exact performance and "endurance" from the Extreme line.