SD card re-format

[sawyerbrownlive]

I used the attached SD card with my MP and it works fine with the Mavic Air 2 if i use DJI Fly. But when i use Litchi, it tells me that i need to reformat. Even after i reformat and snap a few photos/videos, i still have the error/warning and sure enough there is nothing on the card. But my images from the Fly app are on the card. Any guidance is appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Not an answer to your question but ........I am a bit surprised an MA2 does not complain about a U1 card being too slow. If you shoot video, what resolution are you shooting at?

 

[sawyerbrownlive]

4K 60fps. I'll go to Best Buy today and get a different card if you don't mind telling me what i need to look for. I just figured the card i used for the MP would suffice for the MA2. I plan on using the follow-me mode for some photography in a Lamborghini and don't want to have it nullified by a wrong SD card.

 

[MA2 317]

I'll go to Best Buy today and get a different card if you don't mind telling me what i need to look for.

Here's the cards I use for the Spark and MA2.

No complaints at all.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk-extreme-plus-128gb-microsdxc-uhs-i-memory-card/6282919.p?skuId=6282919

Anything with a U3 rating should work and a smaller GB storage.

Cards are cheap and a lot of pilots may change the cards with each battery so no content will be lost.

.

 

[sawyerbrownlive]

Great, thank you

 

[Skybuyer]

You really need a U3 rated card. If you get a U1 to function with your drone you are lucky and might even drop frames because of the speed.

 

[eEridani]

I had to go to a V30 card in my Air2. A Samsung U3 wasn't cutting it.

 

[RMS001]

sd speed chart

 

[eEridani]

sd speed chart

Take such charts with a serious grain of salt. An SD V30 is NOT the same as a SD U3 card. There can be huge differences in performance between them. Plus, there are factors beyond the interface that also affect read/write speeds. Heck, there can be huge differences between different U3 interface cards based on RAM type and configuration.

 

[John Locke]

That's interesting. Litchi actually implies something is wrong when a card is too slow. Very nice. I found out about the U1 problem the hard way flying my A2S with the Fly app, which doesn't tell you anything when this mistake is made. It simply records poorly, with all kinds of jerky video that's worthless.
Now that the write speeds are much higher at 150 & 200mbps, when it's key to use U3 cards, DJI should put this warning in they app to help prevent such problems. Otherwise many pilots will learn this the hard way, with garbage video, when its to late.

 

[eEridani]

That's interesting. Litchi actually implies something is wrong when a card is too slow. Very nice. I found out about the U1 problem the hard way flying my A2S with the Fly app, which doesn't tell you anything when this mistake is made. It simply records poorly, with all kinds of jerky video that's worthless.
Now that the write speeds are much higher at 150 & 200mbps, when it's key to use U3 cards, DJI should put this warning in they app to help prevent such problems. Otherwise many pilots will learn this the hard way, with garbage video, when its to late.

A U3 card interface can support 600MBps, but few if any U3 cards achieve that speed. Also, bus transfer speed and read or write speeds are not the same thing. Also - and not helpful - some marked U3 interface cards are actually only UHS I rated. So it's buyer beware.

Wish there was some realistic benchmark site that tracked SD card performance. But so far I haven't found a reliable site, and resort to CrystalDiskMark on my PC. It is pretty sad to see even the SD reader has a huge influence on performance. I've tried several cheap readers, expensive SanDisk readers, and not so cheap Samsung readers. So far, it is hands down the Samsung readers that can achieves fast performance.

Here's the same Samsung Pro Plus U3 A2 V30 Micro SD XC card benchmarked in three different USB adapters.

 

[Speedster 1966]

Here's the cards I use for the Spark and MA2.

No complaints at all.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk-extreme-plus-128gb-microsdxc-uhs-i-memory-card/6282919.p?skuId=6282919

Anything with a U3 rating should work and a smaller GB storage.

Cards are cheap and a lot of pilots may change the cards with each battery so no content will be lost.

.

I also use the SanDisk extreme plus 128gb and 256gb and find they work very well too.

 

[ronsav98]

I am using 2 - Sandisk Extreme plus 256GB cards. SanDisk 256GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter - Up to 160MB/s, C10, U3, V30, 4K, A2, Micro SD - SDSQXA1-256G-GN6MA

If I format the card in the Smart Controller, it works in the MA2 and the Smart controller. It is not readable by my Mac. This is not a good option since the only way to offload quickly is to use a card reader.

However, if I format with Mac disk utility, ExFAT, the card is readable by the Smart Controller, MA2 and Mac. No issues with video or file system that I have experienced.

This is an odd instance, but this does work for me.

 

[eEridani]

Again - do not plan to remove the SD card from the smart controller. You will likely lose data if you do.

Saying it again, simpler: when you power down the SC and then remove the SD card, the OS and files on the SD card have NOT been properly closed, and may end up truncated and zero length. I lost countless files before I discovered this user trap.

It may also be related to time between stopping recordings and powering off; but there is a glitch in the system that will damage files. The only way to ensure everything works as expected is to "pop-up" the SD card before removal; or, simpler, plug in a USB stick to offload files from the SC.

ps: "Pop-Up" is DJI's term for EJECT - you do it in the menus.

 

[Rickder]

I used the attached SD card with my MP and it works fine with the Mavic Air 2 if i use DJI Fly. But when i use Litchi, it tells me that i need to reformat. Even after i reformat and snap a few photos/videos, i still have the error/warning and sure enough there is nothing on the card. But my images from the Fly app are on the card. Any guidance is appreciated.

View attachment 142068

I have the same problem the Litchi says my card is full and I used 2 diffrent cards. I am looking around to see if there is answer to the problem. Did anybody find an answer to this?

 

[MS Coast]

These are working very well for me in the Mini 2 and the Air 2S. 64 GB, $26 on Amazon

SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC Memory Card Plus SD Adapter up to 100 MB/s, Class 10, U3, V30, A1 - 64 GB