How to Choose Storage for a GoPro Camera

Jun 2022

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It’s fair to say GoPro gave the average individual the ability to capture high-action videos easily and cost-effectively. From the vibrant sights and sounds of daring downhill skiing over rough mountain terrain to wild motocross rides over bumpy moguls, or trips to exotic locations, everything is caught in the highest resolutions imaginable. With a GoPro camera, adventurists can not only live the experience, but capture every second of it, then share it with others.

With no internal memory itself, the responsibility of safely storing all the breath-taking sights and sounds a GoPro provides falls to a trusty microSD card. Shooting GoPro video in 4K at 60fps or even 1080p at 240fps is highly demanding on your microSD. For sustained recording, a GoPro requires fast write speeds with plenty of storage capacity.

The actual capacity you need is dependent on several things, such as what you are shooting, how long you will be shooting, and if you’re willing to risk running out of space in the middle of a shoot. When possible, buying a larger card from the start can save you in the long run, preventing frustration from the camera not recording any longer due to insufficient storage space on a memory card.

Your choice is made a little easier as microSD cards offer two choices – SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) and SDXC (Secure Digital Extended Capacity). SDHC cards include 32GB capacity and lower, SDXC 64GB and above. And for you techies, SDHC cards use FAT32 filesystem formatting, and SDXC uses the more flexible and newer exFAT filesystem.

GoPro drone with the Kingston Workflow Station

With a GoPro camera, the microSD card’s write speed matters. Faster is better. In fact, lack of speed may well kill your dreams of a long, continuous glitch-free 4K or 8K recording.

At the very minimum, a Class 10 (writes at a minimum of 10MB/s) card is recommended for virtually any GoPro camera. However, a U3 (30MB/s) card is designed to support 4K video, such as a GoPro. Additionally, the card should have an Ultra High-Speed listing of UHS-I or UHS-II, which represents the card’s bus interface speed. To further boggle the mind, look for a VSC (Video Speed Class) classification of V30, V60, or V90, which represents the card’s ability to write 30MB, 60MB, or 90MB per second respectively.

GoPro cameras do their best work out in the real world. You don’t get the action-packed footage they capture by taking a leisurely stroll, the microSD card’s durability/reliability is of prime importance. Be sure to choose a card that has been tested to be shockproof, waterproof, vibration proof, temperature resistant and X-ray proof an accompanying lifetime warranty adds to the investment.

HERO10 Black

You'll need a microSD card (sold separately) to save your videos and photos. Use a brand-name card that fits these requirements:

microSD, microSDHC^™, or microSDXC^™
Class V30 or UHS-3 rating
Capacity up to 512GB

HERO9 Black, HERO MAX, HERO 7/8/9 Black

You'll need a microSD card (sold separately) to save your videos and photos. Use a brand-name card that fits these requirements:

microSD, microSDHC^™, or microSDXC^™
Class 10 or UHS-I rating
Capacity up to 512GB

HERO4 and older cameras

You'll need a microSD card (sold separately) to save your videos and photos. Use a brand-name card that fits these requirements:

microSD, microSDHC or microSDXC
Class 10 or UHS-I rating
Capacity up to 128GB{{Footnote.N66705}}

There’s nothing worse than all that amazing GoPro footage cutting to black halfway through because you ran out of storage on your microSD. Make the memories last a lifetime with a compatible microSD card.

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