SawMaster
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2015
- Messages
- 9,450
- Reaction score
- 8,315
- Location
- SC
- Country
- United States
- Dash Cam
- Numerous and ever-changing
Your dashcam will need a Micro SD Card to record to, so unless it came with one you'll need to buy one separately. There are a lot of Micro SD cards available but only a few will work well in your dashcam. The short answer here is that the best way to ensure you are getting a card which will work well in your particular camera is to check it's forum on this site to see what other owners of that cam are currently having success with, then use only one of those cards. If there are currently no recent postings about which cards work, please post a question about that. Just because a card functions well with other devices doesn't mean it will work in your cam, as dashcams write a lot of data quickly to the card and it needs a high enough "write speed" to capture it all. Generally the cards your cam's manufacturer or seller recommends are a good choice but sometimes that information isn't up-to-date. Cards can and often do change over time due to changes in their manufacturing process, so what was good for your dashcam last year may or may not be good today.
You'll also need to consider how much recording time you need to select a suitable card size. There is a 'Recording Time Calculator' on this site HERE which will help you with this. Remember that it gives only approximate recording times for mid-level 1080P single cams, so if you have a newer higher-performing cam those times will be shorter. If you've got a 2-channel cam you'll get about half of those stated times. You cam manufacturer or seller will list the largest card size recommended for use, but you can often use much larger cards by re-formatting them to use the "fat32" file system. Even then you may encounter cards which are too large to work in your cam so once again check the forum for your cam to see what other owners are currently experiencing. You can find out how to re-format cards over 32GB to fat32 HERE. Some cams will not require this step, but generally almost every cam will work with fat32 and there's little advantage to using other card file systems so unless it's specifically mentioned in your cam's forum, plan on doing this with the larger cards over 32GB in size. Most cams will; not function with cards less than 8GB in size and the minimum size recommended for dashcam use is 32GB. If you are updating your cam's firmware via the SD card 32GB is the maximum size you should use, as larger cards often will not do this job correctly.
Do you need a "High Endurance" type card for your dashcam? The answer is generally "No" but those cards will last longer than a standard card, and because of that they may be a better choice. Some "High Endurance" cards have relatively low write speeds so be sure the one you are considering will handle the data being written to it. Cards do wear out in time and must then be replaced, but generally you should get at least a couple years service from your standard SD card based on your cam usage and the card size. Larger sized cards will last longer than smaller ones, but many cams will not work with the largest card sizes, so once again do your research before buying your card. If you card cannot be formatted or you are getting a "Write Protected" warning when formatting or testing it, then it's time to replace the card.
A few cam manufacturers sell and recommend self-branded cards, often at inflated prices, and configure their cams to work only with those specific cards. Sometimes other cards can work, but with most of those cams any warranty of functionality depends on you using only one of their self-branded cards. Once again by checking your cam's forum you may find a better or cheaper alternative. This is a well-known issue with all Blackvue brand cams.
Where you purchase your card is also important as the market is full of fakes, most of which will either not work at all or will quit working soon after you begin to use them. You can find tools to spot fakes HERE. The best way to avoid fakes is by purchasing your card only from it's manufacturer's store on any of the larger web-shopping venues like Amazon or Ebay. Sales which are listed as being "Fulfilled by Amazon" are also safe to buy. Watch the sales process as you go along as some web-stores will switch you to a more popular seller during the checkout process which you do not want. Local computer or electronics stores may also be safe to buy from, but you generally want to trust only the largest ones who have an easy return policy as even those places have occasional problems with fake cards. Buying a card from your cam's seller is usually a safe bet with the better cams, but cheap cams sometimes come with poorly made cards which will fail quickly. Always test your cards immediately with the tool listed above on receipt even when you use a safe seller in case the card is defective or is a fake.
Your choice of card is critical with any cam so don't be temped to try any cheaper alternatives or you may find the recording you need isn't there for you when you need it. Many of the functioning problems found with dashcams are card related so again you really need a good card and nothing else will do. As cards are ever-changing any list of cards made here would be obsolete soon, so check your cam's forum for current recommendations before buying a card!
You'll also need to consider how much recording time you need to select a suitable card size. There is a 'Recording Time Calculator' on this site HERE which will help you with this. Remember that it gives only approximate recording times for mid-level 1080P single cams, so if you have a newer higher-performing cam those times will be shorter. If you've got a 2-channel cam you'll get about half of those stated times. You cam manufacturer or seller will list the largest card size recommended for use, but you can often use much larger cards by re-formatting them to use the "fat32" file system. Even then you may encounter cards which are too large to work in your cam so once again check the forum for your cam to see what other owners are currently experiencing. You can find out how to re-format cards over 32GB to fat32 HERE. Some cams will not require this step, but generally almost every cam will work with fat32 and there's little advantage to using other card file systems so unless it's specifically mentioned in your cam's forum, plan on doing this with the larger cards over 32GB in size. Most cams will; not function with cards less than 8GB in size and the minimum size recommended for dashcam use is 32GB. If you are updating your cam's firmware via the SD card 32GB is the maximum size you should use, as larger cards often will not do this job correctly.
Do you need a "High Endurance" type card for your dashcam? The answer is generally "No" but those cards will last longer than a standard card, and because of that they may be a better choice. Some "High Endurance" cards have relatively low write speeds so be sure the one you are considering will handle the data being written to it. Cards do wear out in time and must then be replaced, but generally you should get at least a couple years service from your standard SD card based on your cam usage and the card size. Larger sized cards will last longer than smaller ones, but many cams will not work with the largest card sizes, so once again do your research before buying your card. If you card cannot be formatted or you are getting a "Write Protected" warning when formatting or testing it, then it's time to replace the card.
A few cam manufacturers sell and recommend self-branded cards, often at inflated prices, and configure their cams to work only with those specific cards. Sometimes other cards can work, but with most of those cams any warranty of functionality depends on you using only one of their self-branded cards. Once again by checking your cam's forum you may find a better or cheaper alternative. This is a well-known issue with all Blackvue brand cams.
Where you purchase your card is also important as the market is full of fakes, most of which will either not work at all or will quit working soon after you begin to use them. You can find tools to spot fakes HERE. The best way to avoid fakes is by purchasing your card only from it's manufacturer's store on any of the larger web-shopping venues like Amazon or Ebay. Sales which are listed as being "Fulfilled by Amazon" are also safe to buy. Watch the sales process as you go along as some web-stores will switch you to a more popular seller during the checkout process which you do not want. Local computer or electronics stores may also be safe to buy from, but you generally want to trust only the largest ones who have an easy return policy as even those places have occasional problems with fake cards. Buying a card from your cam's seller is usually a safe bet with the better cams, but cheap cams sometimes come with poorly made cards which will fail quickly. Always test your cards immediately with the tool listed above on receipt even when you use a safe seller in case the card is defective or is a fake.
Your choice of card is critical with any cam so don't be temped to try any cheaper alternatives or you may find the recording you need isn't there for you when you need it. Many of the functioning problems found with dashcams are card related so again you really need a good card and nothing else will do. As cards are ever-changing any list of cards made here would be obsolete soon, so check your cam's forum for current recommendations before buying a card!
