One of the biggest areas that is overlooked when getting a video/camera setup for trips out is the speed of the your SD card. The GoPro HD Hero2 camera supports SD/SDHC cards up to 32GB (any SD card over 2GB is considered to be a SDHC card).

The new GoPro Hero 3 range – white, silver and black and the even newer GoPro Hero3+ use Micro SD Cards.

The Speed Class Rating is the official unit of speed measurement for SD cards. Speed Class is a minimum speed based on a worst case scenario test and represents the minimum transfer rate of data that the card is capable of.

unsponsored_32gb copy

Speed Class

Class 2 – 2MB/s
Class 4 – 4MB/s
Class 6 – 6MB/s
Class 8 – 8MB/s
Class 10 – 10MB/s

The Speed Class is important for video mode or camcorders, as when recording video the device is actually saving a steady stream of data. This is exactly what you are expecting a GoPro camera to do whilst filming video at high resolutions. GoPro recommend SDHC cards with a Class 4 rating or higher for the Hero 2. A Class 10 SD card is recommended when using Time-Lapse mode or photo every 0.5 seconds. For the GoPro Hero 3 a Class 10 SD card is the best choice regardless of what you are using it for.

There is always a danger that if your SDHC card isn’t up to it that you could encounter error messages or loss of data. When ever my GoPro has crashed or frozen it has always been down to the card I have been using.

The difficulty comes when you start looking at Speed Class and card storage size. The higher the speed class the higher the price, the higher the card capacity the higher the prices. Therefore finding a Class 10 card with a capacity of 32GB at a decent price isn’t easy (but it is getting better). The larger national stores aren’t the place to look as a decent size card with a high speed class will cost a kings ransom. Over the last year or so I have moved from 8GB Class 4 cards to at least 16GB Class 10 cards for all of my cameras so I don’t have to worry about which card(s) I grab as I rush out of the door.

As a rough guide when recording at 1080p a 16GB card will be good for one full charge of your GoPro battery.

I use a combination of the following Micro SD cards in my GoPro 3 Silver, Black and Black 3+ cameras. Most are 16GB (as I have them) and the others are 32GB. Only one of may cards has a 64GB capacity. The price difference between 16GB and 32GB is so small that I would recommend Class 10 and a minimum of 32GB.

Lexar 633x Class 10 32gb micro SD

Lexar 633x Class 10 64gb micro SD

Samsung Extreme 32GB Micro SD – Transfer speed up to 48MB/s

SanDisk Extreme 32GB microSDHC (SDSDQX-032G) – Up to 80/50MB/s read/write speed.

SanDisk Extreme 64GB microSDXC (SDSDQX-064G) – Up to 80/50MB/s read/write speed.

Sandisk Extreme Pro 16GB microSDHC – Up to 95MB/s read and 90MB/s write speeds.

These SanDisk Extreme Pro (Up to 95MB/s read and 90MB/s write speeds) look very interesting and are getting good reviews.

Due to the fact most of my stuff ends up on Vimeo or the like I don’t shoot any higher than 1080p at present, so the above cards are more than up to the job. Even using Pro-Tune on the GoPro has not changed this.

Some users have reported issues with using Sandisk Ultra cards with the GoPro even though these are the ones GoPro sells (UPDATE: GoPro are now selling the Lexar range of Micro SD cards).

SD Card Recommendations

It’s important to use one of the recommended SD cards in your camera, or you may experience freeze-up or video corruption issues.

Here are the SD card requirements for each camera:

HERO3: Black Edition & HERO3+ Black Edition Cameras

A Class 10 MicroSD card up to 64 GB is required.

Not all Class 10 microSD cards have the same data write speeds. If you plan to shoot in 4k, 2.7k, or Protune video modes with your HERO3: Black Edition or HERO3+ Black Edition camera, GoPro recommend using one of the following microSD cards for the best performance:

SanDisk Extreme 32GB microSDHC (SDSDQX-032G) – Up to 80/50MB/s read/write speed.

SanDisk Extreme 64GB microSDXC (SDSDQX-064G) – Up to 80/50MB/s read/write speed.

Sandisk Extreme Pro 16GB microSDHC – Up to 95MB/s read and 90MB/s write speeds.

Lexar 32GB SDHC 600x (LSDMI32GBSBNA600R) – Up to 90MB/s read speed.

Lexar 64GB SDHC 600x (LSDMI64GBBEU600R) – Up to 90MB/s read speed.

Delkin 16GB SDHC (DDMICROSDPRO2-16GB) – Up to 56MB/s Read & 40MB/s Write in UHS-I Mode.

Delkin 32GB SDHC (DDMICROSDPRO2-32GB) – Up to 56MB/s Read & 40MB/s Write in UHS-I Mode.

Delkin 64GB SDXC (DDMICROSDPRO264GB) – Up to 56MB/s Read & 40MB/s Write in UHS-I Mode.

With the camera software update released July 29, 2013, using other microSD cards with your HERO3: Black Edition camera while shooting in 4K, 2.7K and Protune video modes may result in a reduction of the data stream rate from 45Mb/sec to 35Mb/sec.

For HERO3 Silver and White Editions any class 10 microSD cards can be used.

HERO3: Silver Edition & HERO3+ Silver Edition Cameras

A Class 4 MicroSD card up to 64 GB is required.
A Class 10 MicroSD card up to 64 GB is required for 0.5 sec Time-lapse, 10/1 Photo Burst, and Protune.

HERO3: White Edition Camera

A Class 4 MicroSD card up to 64 GB is required.
A Class 10 MicroSD card up to 64 GB is required for 0.5 sec Time-lapse.

HD HERO2 Camera

A Class 4 SD card up to 32 GB is required.
A Class 10 SD card up to 32 GB is required to use 0.5 sec Time-lapse, 10/1 Photo Burst, and Protune.

HD HERO Original Camera & HD HERO 960 Camera

A Class 4 SD card up to 32 GB is required.

There are a great deal of fake SD cards out in circulation and it is important that you buy yours from a reputable supplier.

I have a fair bit of GoPro kit and to maximise its use I also have a range of must have accessories.