Memory cards, what’s best, what’s even suitable?

[jokiin]

Card types


There are three different types of card: SD, SDHC (High Capacity) and SDXC (eXtended Capacity).

The original format introduced in 1999, the SD card, could hold up to 2GB of data using Microsoft's FAT-12 or FAT-16 file format. In 2006, when the 2GB limit was becoming too small for many devices the industry introduced the high capacity SDHC cards that could store up to 32GB using FAT-32. (SDHC are the card type most commonly used in car cameras today)


In 2009 an updated format was introduced, the SDXC card, able to store up to 2TB using Microsoft's proprietary exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) format. Apple added support for the exFAT file system starting with Mac OS X 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard), Being a proprietary file system though means that many cameras are not yet able to fully support the SDXC format.



File format


Although it is possible to format memory cards via computer the computer operating systems don’t fully comply with the SD file system protocols, however the SD Card Association provides a freeSD Formatter 4.0 for SD/SDHC/SDXCprogram for Windows and Mac OS X for people who want to check or reformat cards. This optimises performance and protects the Secure Digital card's secure "Protected Area".



Card speed


The SD Card Association has different classes of cards, and produced mandatory logos with the class number inside a big C. the designation is as follows, Class 2 is 2MBps, Class 4 is 4MBps, Class 6 is 6MBps, and Class 10 is 10MBps or faster, faster cards are often marked with the speed in large type, such as 45MB/s or 90MB/s.


It should be noted that the class rating designates a minimum speed, not the actual speed. A good quality Class 2 card may outperform a Class 6 or even a Class 10 card. The only way to find the real performance of a card is to test the card using benchmark software


These minimum speed ratings are calculated in megabytes per second (MBps), usually written as MB/s on cards is actually eight times faster than megabits per second (Mbps), there are 8 bits in a byte. For example a 2MBps card is a 16Mbps card.

Read more about card speed here



System bus speed


The speed rating of the card is an important consideration for recording full high definition video, however the system bus may also influence the speed at which a particular device can send data to the card. The initial SD format used what is now referred to as the standard bus, once speeds reached 10MBps and above (Class 10) however a faster bus was needed, the High Speed Bus was introduced to handle the faster data write speeds. Beyond that there is the Ultra High Speed Bus (UHS-I), and the even faster (UHS-II), more information on the performance and markings for these can be found here


So what to use?


A good quality Class 6 (6MBps) card or above should handle Full HD (1080p30fps) video at up to 15Mbps data rate.

UHS-1 cards may not be compatible because the new bus has new pins and reassigns some old pins. Cards with both logos – ie C10 and U1 – may work, but will often cost more. They still won't write data faster than your camera can send it so a good quality Class 6 or Class 10 card is often a better choice.


Not all memory is created equally. Personally we use and recommend Transcend memory cards but have also achieved good results from Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung, and PNY.

Panasonic invented the SD format, and developed it with SanDisk and Toshiba.


What not to use?


Non branded memory carries the greatest risk of the unknown, online sellers are renowned for supplying memory that is fake or low grade and it is best to buy with caution. The primary reason to have a car camera is to record video evidence, given the importance it’s always best to use quality memory, if you are experiencing unexpected results with the recordings it’s wise to test the memory to make sure it is performing up to spec, the H2testw memory card analysis software can be downloaded from here this can help you to test the card for errors and identify if the card is possibly fake or has been relabelled to a higher speed than actual.

 

[country_hick]

This is to good to lose in the archives.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

You're digging deep in the forums lately, good info even from 2013.
(except should be class 10 and above, not 6 thinking about how emergency files are moved/locked)

 

[jokiin]

This is to good to lose in the archives.

this and the others I wrote that might be useful are in the links in my signature, you might not see that if accessing the site on mobile though

 

[Mauro]

UHS-1 cards may not be compatible because the new bus has new pins and reassigns some old pins. Cards with both logos – ie C10 and U1 – may work, but will often cost more. They still won't write data faster than your camera can send it so a good quality Class 6 or Class 10 card is often a better choice.

so should we use Transcend premium 300x 64gb UHS-1 sd cards?, or they are not suitable for dash cams?

 

[jokiin]

Transcend cards are fine, UHS-1 is fine for most recent model cameras also

 

[Mauro]

thanks

 

[NZDashcam]

so should we use Transcend premium 300x 64gb UHS-1 sd cards?, or they are not suitable for dash cams?

I use 2 in my camera. No issues with the cards at all.

 

[Chris Hunt]

This is great info...most new users to Dashcams would have no idea how much impact the type of memory card will have on the performance of their dashcam...Great advice Jokiin.....

 

[jokiin]

I wrote that a while ago and it probably needs to be updated, falling memory prices have seen some manufacturers move to less stable solutions to compete, more of a problem in second tier brands which I think are probably best avoided anyway, people do shop on price a lot though

 

[Chris Hunt]

I wrote that a while ago and it probably needs to be updated, falling memory prices have seen some manufacturers move to less stable solutions to compete, more of a problem in second tier brands which I think are probably best avoided anyway, people do shop on price a lot though

Still really good relevant basic info for new users.

We have seen some issues with branded memory cards in Vico cameras (that customers bought from big brand retailers, so are unlikely to be fake). Mainly Sandisk and Kingston, not sure why as I am relatively new to this myself, but when we can get them to switch to Samsung cards problem solved. I assume different brand cameras have compatibility issues with certain cards. The better quality the card the less likely you are to have an issue.

 

[jokiin]

it's not so cut and dried unfortunately, some chipsets will be more problematic with some brands than others, the Samsung EVO cards are very popular right now, one of the problems with that though once something becomes popular the fakes flood the market, we supply all our cameras with 32gb memory cards, the brands vary but we generally use Kingston or Toshiba mostly, supplying them with the card helps rule out the customer buying cheap eBay cards and wanting to return a camera that has nothing wrong with it just because it doesn't work well with fake cards, go figure

 

[Google]

As noted in this thread: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/using-microsd-with-adapter-a-bad-thing.9339/ some cams might be problematic if you use a microSD adapter in place of the more expensive (and less common) full size SD card.

 

[jokiin]

As noted in this thread: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/using-microsd-with-adapter-a-bad-thing.9339/ some cams might be problematic if you use a microSD adapter in place of the more expensive (and less common) full size SD card.

I would never recommend using a MicroSD card in an adapter as anything but a temporary solution