M3 GB Per battery?

[akdrone]

With a standard M3 (non-cine) if I film 40min using .mov or mp4 or cine mode how many GB -max- would I use ??

 

[Sky Cyclist]

My M3 uses 3.5GB per 0:02:45 (MP4) => 1.272GB per min or 50.91GB per 40 mins.

However, the flight time per battery is about 30min, it will use about 40GB per battery.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You can't record to the microSD card in ProRes, if that is what you meant by "cine mode."

 

[akdrone]

You can't record to the microSD card in ProRes, if that is what you meant by "cine mode."

I couldn't recall the correct term. The options available include ProRes and I wasn't sure if that used more GB per min. I recently became a convert to using a separate sd card for each flight after watching a friend fly his M3 into an inaccessible snow bank and lose the day's files. Previously I'd fly with a 400GB card and have several other available but think I'll change my practice to swapping cards for each flight. I am just checking on what card will hold a full battery ( I do get close to 40min per battery) if I am filming the entire time (although I never really do that). I think a half dozen 64GB cards should do given the fact I have several other cards laying around. I am now a believer in swapping cards after each flight .

 

[GadgetGuy]

I couldn't recall the correct term. The options available include ProRes and I wasn't sure if that used more GB per min. I recently became a convert to using a separate sd card for each flight after watching a friend fly his M3 into an inaccessible snow bank and lose the day's files. Previously I'd fly with a 400GB card and have several other available but think I'll change my practice to swapping cards for each flight. I am just checking on what card will hold a full battery ( I do get close to 40min per battery) if I am filming the entire time (although I never really do that). I think a half dozen 64GB cards should do given the fact I have several other cards laying around. I am now a believer in swapping cards after each flight .

ProRes definitely uses up significantly more GB per minute, and no microSD card can support the necessary write speed, which is why they use an unremovable SSD.
As to using microSD cards, I use 128GB cards. I record continuous 4K video on every flight, and always swap batteries and cards at the same time. With a max realistic flight time of 35 minutes for me, the video is usually under 30GB. So, even if I forget to reformat the card before flight (I keep the previously recorded files on the card as an additional backup until it is needed), I still have room for a full flight on 64GB cards. I just prefer to have room to forget to reformat twice. 128GB cards are not much more than 64GB, but I still have lots of 64GB cards that I still use. If you are getting closer 40 minutes, you'll likely want the 128GB cards, too, as only one 35GB recording will fit onto a 64GB card. Go with twice the minimum. Better to have more than too little, and get the dreaded "card full" error 75% into your flight!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The OP has a regular M3, co cine / pro res not relevant.
Also not sure what the OP might be shooting in, resolution, FPS, makes a big difference.

An older quick comparo site I just found with a fast search.

Drone video file size [A complete guide with real examples]

I think the easiest way to work this out is go fly / record how you normally do and see how many gb you get on a 128gb card for whatever battery level you normally fly down to.

On my older drone I get away easily with 64gb microSD, have a few 128gb too, but recording is done in scenes now, more than over a whole flight, and probably lower res than many will shoot with an M3.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The OP has a regular M3, co cine / pro res not relevant.
Also not sure what the OP might be shooting in, resolution, FPS, makes a big difference.

An older quick comparo site I just found with a fast search.

Drone video file size [A complete guide with real examples]

I think the easiest way to work this out is go fly / record how you normally do and see how many gb you get on a 128gb card for whatever battery level you normally fly down to.

On my older drone I get away easily with 64gb microSD, have a few 128gb too, but recording is done in scenes now, more than over a whole flight, and probably lower res than many will shoot with an M3.

Agreed. However, he also asked about recording in Cine mode, so I missed the non-Cine version. Max bit rate on the M3 is 200 mbps. Basically, his options are 64GB and 128GB, so if buying new cards, I would opt for the larger 128GB, in case one forgets to reformat the card before flight. Better larger than too small, where the prices aren't that much different. $21 each right now at B&H.

SanDisk 128GB Extreme UHS-I microSDXC Memory Card with SD Adapter

Buy SanDisk 128GB Extreme UHS-I microSDXC Memory Card with SD Adapter featuring 128GB Storage Capacity, A2 / UHS-I / V30 / U3 / Class 10, Max Read Speed: 160 MB/s, Max Write Speed: 90 MB/s, Min Write Speed: 30 MB/s, Records Full HD, 3D, and 4K Video, Water / Shock / X-Ray Proof, Can Withstand...

www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Agreed. However, he also asked about recording in Cine mode, so I missed the non-Cine version. Max bit rate on the M3 is 200 mbps. Basically, his options are 64GB and 128GB, so if buying new cards, I would opt for the larger 128GB

Agree re the 128gb for sure.
The OP doesn't have pro res option though, maybe not aware of that if he did ask.

Still hard to imagine most pilots here would get much from the Cine and pro res, upgrade of all equipment would likely be required, near as much as a M3 Cine I imagine to cope with storage and post type work . . .
I think from past posts the 1TB sdd takes only 30 mins to fill ?
Then needs downloading as it's a fixed piece of hardware ?

Movie makers maybe, having a couple (of M3 cine) on hand to switch between for as uninterrupted use as possible.

 

[ZoneAerial]

Agree re the 128gb for sure.
The OP doesn't have pro res option though, maybe not aware of that if he did ask.

Still hard to imagine most pilots here would get much from the Cine and pro res, upgrade of all equipment would likely be required, near as much as a M3 Cine I imagine to cope with storage and post type work . . .
I think from past posts the 1TB sdd takes only 30 mins to fill ?
Then needs downloading as it's a fixed piece of hardware ?

Movie makers maybe, having a couple (of M3 cine) on hand to switch between for as uninterrupted use as possible.

Yeah. The non-removable SSD was incredibly stupid.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Agree re the 128gb for sure.
The OP doesn't have pro res option though, maybe not aware of that if he did ask.

Still hard to imagine most pilots here would get much from the Cine and pro res, upgrade of all equipment would likely be required, near as much as a M3 Cine I imagine to cope with storage and post type work . . .
I think from past posts the 1TB sdd takes only 30 mins to fill ?
Then needs downloading as it's a fixed piece of hardware ?

Movie makers maybe, having a couple (of M3 cine) on hand to switch between for as uninterrupted use as possible.

Completely agree about the Cine. The OP's concerns using the 400GB card for an entire day's flights illustrates the problem. Unless one has a laptop in the field to download the ProRes footage at every battery change, all one's eggs are in a flying basket! It's also far more expensive to replace a crashed Cine version the microSD only version. Twice as expensive!

Exactly! One needs a second Cine version for alternate flights!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yeah. The non-removable SSD was incredibly stupid.

If they had at least had made it removable...

 

[akdrone]

Had it been removable I would have bought one

 

[GadgetGuy]

Had it been removable I would have bought one

Same here! ProRes files are so much easier to work with, without having to resort to using proxies, which requires another whole step, before the editing can begin.

 

[DelBeachFlyer]

Keep in mind SD cards (all flash) have a maximum number of write cycles. While 64GB cards might be the current sweet spot from a flight time perspective, moving to 128GB will give you twice the lifetime. It then comes down to the cost per GB. The larger capacity cards always come with a premium (higher cost per GB), but when you're in the low end - which is where 64 vs 128 GB cards are today - when you include shipping costs, the marginal cost for that second 64 GB may be less and worth the extra $.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Keep in mind SD cards (all flash) have a maximum number of write cycles. While 64GB cards might be the current sweet spot from a flight time perspective, moving to 128GB will give you twice the lifetime. It then comes down to the cost per GB. The larger capacity cards always come with a premium (higher cost per GB), but when you're in the low end - which is where 64 vs 128 GB cards are today - when you include shipping costs, the marginal cost for that second 64 GB may be less and worth the extra $.

Good point. At $21 each for 128GB cards at B&H above, it's no brainer!