Not all SD cards created equal!!

SRJ_Mavic_PRO · Mar 25, 2017

It was an awesome day here in MD to fly and I burned through all three of my Mavic batteries and three on my P4P which meant I filled up two of my 64 Gig which I got on Amazon when I first got my P4P in February.

Amazon.com: SanDisk Extreme PLUS 64GB microSDXC UHS-I/U3 Card with Adapter (SDSQXSG-064G-GN6MA): Computers & Accessories

Well the other day I saw these on Amazon

Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra 64GB microSDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter, Grey/Red, Standard Packaging (SDSQUNC-064G-GN6MA): SANDISK: Computers & Accessories

And for the price I ordered two... I put the first one in the P4P and after the first two minutes kept seeing in the SD Icon "slow writing" or something to that effect. Over and over again the same message. So buyer beware!! Spend the extra and get the good cards.

That is all....

msinger · Mar 25, 2017

The Ultra only writes at a max speed of 15MB/s. That won't be fast enough unless it can sustain that max write speed the entire time.

I have a list of memory cards that are known to work well with the Mavic here. You shouldn't have a problem if you use memory cards from that list (or other memory cards with similar specs).

Cyberpower678 · Mar 25, 2017

I think you just got a bad egg. Those little cards have a bit of lottery involved when it comes to silicon.

Cyberpower678 · Mar 25, 2017

Actually you bought a different type of card. The first link takes you to the product that is a class U3 SD card, which are the fastest of the bunch. The second is a standard class 10 card which has a top speed of 10MB/s.

SRJ_Mavic_PRO · Mar 25, 2017

Yup... found out the hard way! Needless to say they are on their way back to Amazon on Monday and two new 64G Ultras are due here Monday as well. Live and learn..

And no bad egg just the "you et what you pay for" egg.

Cyberpower678 · Mar 25, 2017

SRJ_Mavic_PRO said:
Yup... found out the hard way! Needless to say they are on their way back to Amazon on Monday and two new 64G Ultras are due here Monday as well. Live and learn..

And no bad egg just the "you et what you pay for" egg.

Yea. Class 10s won't cut it for 4K. Class U3 is the minimum you need.

Flawless · Mar 25, 2017

I noticed that I only have the options for 4K@24 FPS and 4K25, is 4K30 only on firmware 0.500 or does it require a U3 card? I have a couple of U1 32GB cards, and a U1 16GB (Lexar Class10/U1/633x).

Cyberpower678 · Mar 25, 2017

Flawless said:
I noticed that I only have the options for 4K@24 FPS and 4K25, is 4K30 only on firmware 0.500 or does it require a U3 card? I have a couple of U1 32GB cards, and a U1 16GB (Lexar Class10/U1/633x).

Are you recording in PAL?

RobertD · Mar 25, 2017

Funny the Mavic comes with a 16BG U-1 Micro SD card. I bought two 32GB U1 40Mbs cards and they could not keep up with 4K recording. I could see the cached images, but not open the files on the card. I bought a 32GB U-3 90 Mbs card it it worked perfectly! U-1 SD cards will work with HD, but struggle with 4K. If you want the best, buy a U-3 80-90 Mbs card.

Cyberpower678 · Mar 25, 2017

RobertD said:
Funny the Mavic comes with a 16BG U-1 Micro SD card. I bought two 32GB U1 40Mbs cards and they could not keep up with 4K recording. I could see the cached images, but not open the files on the card. I bought a 32GB U-3 90 Mbs card it it worked perfectly! U-1 SD cards will work with HD, but struggle with 4K. If you want the best, buy a U-3 80-90 Mbs card.

The best is actually a V90.

RobertD · Mar 25, 2017

You are correct! V90 is overkill for most [non-professional] cameras. Personally, I buy the fastest memory card I can (reasonably) afford to load into my Mavic Pro. I might spring for a V90 card if I had a camera that would actually use the speed.

erkme73 · Mar 25, 2017

I must just be really lucky because all of my Sandisk Ultras U1 or class 10 write the UHD w/o any problems. No errors, no dropped frames. I have a bunch of them from when I updgraded to 128GB on my various dash cameras in multiple vehicles.

Flawless · Mar 26, 2017

Cyberpower678 said:
Are you recording in PAL?

Yes, I was. I switched to NTSC and it offers 24/30. I'll see how my cards handle it later.

pilot1 · Mar 26, 2017

Is 64 GB U3 the largest practical size to use?

Cyberpower678 · Mar 26, 2017

RobertD said:
You are correct! V90 is overkill for most [non-professional] cameras. Personally, I buy the fastest memory card I can (reasonably) afford to load into my Mavic Pro. I might spring for a V90 card if I had a camera that would actually use the speed.

I know it's overkill, but just saying what card is actually the best.

SRJ_Mavic_PRO · Mar 26, 2017

Drooling!

SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO UHS-II microSDXC SDSQXPJ-128G-ANCM3

Ifti · Mar 26, 2017

The Sandisk Ultra cards are best for smartphones etc - anything that records with a higher bitrate, such as a GoPro, the Mavic, etc, needs a Sandisk Extreme or above.

I have also tested the Lexar 200GB, which I generally reserve for my GoPro, but it works perfectly in the Mavic....

AlanTheBeast · Mar 26, 2017

SRJ_Mavic_PRO said:
It was an awesome day here in MD to fly and I burned through all three of my Mavic batteries and three on my P4P which meant I filled up two of my 64 Gig which I got on Amazon when I first got my P4P in February.

Amazon.com: SanDisk Extreme PLUS 64GB microSDXC UHS-I/U3 Card with Adapter (SDSQXSG-064G-GN6MA): Computers & Accessories

Well the other day I saw these on Amazon

Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra 64GB microSDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter, Grey/Red, Standard Packaging (SDSQUNC-064G-GN6MA): SANDISK: Computers & Accessories

And for the price I ordered two... I put the first one in the P4P and after the first two minutes kept seeing in the SD Icon "slow writing" or something to that effect. Over and over again the same message. So buyer beware!! Spend the extra and get the good cards.

That is all....

Thanks for the warning.

I put an Amazon sourced SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC UHS-I Card in my Mavic Pro. Right now it's doing duty aboard the P4P as the MP is in Carson for camera repair. But I'll buy the identical 128 GB card for the Phantom. No issues over 120+ flights.

mfarris2 · Mar 26, 2017

I purchased this card at someone's recommendation from this forum.
SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter, Black, Standard Packaging (SDSQUNC-128G-GN6MA)
I can tell you it records just fine. But I do have some issues when plugging my Mavic to my iMac. Sometimes the files show up empty. I have to disconnect,...shut down the Mavic and controller,...then start back up and reconnect before the files show up. Not sure if this is because of the card or just a bug in the Mavic.