Why you should use 64GB SD cards

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It can often be a challenge to decide what equipment to get or use with your drone, especially if you are just getting into flying drones or are entering new areas of the drone world. This is very much true when it comes to SD cards and how to use them. Some drone pilots swear by using 64GB SD cards across the board, while others prefer a mix of 64GB and higher-capacity cards. Here’s a breakdown of the reasoning behind each approach.

Those who stick to 64GB cards appreciate the maximum interoperability that comes with using the same capacity across all devices. Swapping out the SD cards of the drone and goggles is done every time the battery needs changing. This ensures that the footage captured on your most recent flight is safe for processing. If your drone is downed over water, crashes in an irretrievable location, or a system issue causes the data to be wiped, you will have minimized the footage loss to that which can be stored on a 64GB SD card.

Some pilots prefer to use higher-capacity cards, such as 128GB or 256GB, in their goggles and 64GB cards in their drone. The thinking behind this is that the footage stored in the goggles is less essential than the footage captured by the drone. It is also significantly less likely that the goggles themselves will be lost or damaged in flight, so there is less chance to lose the data captured. So, while you do lose the total interchangeability of your SD cards between drone and goggles, you won’t have to swap out the goggles’ SD card anywhere near as often. This will save you time and get you back in the sky quickly.

Some pilots do use higher-capacity SD cards in their drones. This makes sense for those who do a lot of indoor drone flying or ‘low and slow’ flying in quite controlled environments. The drone will always be retrievable, and the chances of serious impact are significantly reduced, and they never get up to enough speed or a high enough altitude to cause irreparable damage if the drone goes down. You also may want to consider higher capacity cards if you are filming in higher resolutions such as 4k or 8k.

Ultimately, the choice between using 64GB SD cards exclusively or mixing and matching with higher-capacity cards comes down to personal preference and how much risk you’re willing to take. Personally, we stick to 64GB SD cards as we do a lot of flying outdoors and in locations where drone crashes could be significant. Regardless of your choice though, be sure to invest in high-quality, reliable SD cards to ensure that your footage is safe and secure. To see our favorite SD cards, check out our selection below.