Hey it’s Andrew with Car Cam Central
Did you know your SD card wears
out faster in a dash camera?
Picking the right SD card can improve durability
for not much more money
We tell you what to look for and why
Sandisk Ultra cards should be avoided
[Intro]
Starting with the storage space
I think the sweet spot for value is 32GB
It provides 3-7 hours of 1080P recording time
which is more than enough for the average driver
If you purchase a smaller card you pay more money
per gigabyte and only save a few dollars
Professional drivers may benefit from larger cards
to respond to complaints about their driving
with video evidence
These are significantly more expensive
and aren’t worth it for the typical driver
Next, you want the right speed rating
Too slow and your camera can stop recording
You want to look for either a Class 10 or
UHS U1 Speed Class markings
Both mean a minimum performance of
10 megabytes of data per second written to the SD card
There are faster speeds
but it won’t improve the performance
of your dash camera
You'll also want the right NAND type which is how
the memory chip inside your SD Card was constructed
Most consumer SD cards use TLC NAND
which is cheaper but less reliable
More expensive cards are MLC which cost more
but have better durability
and are the best choice for dash cameras
Durability is important as dash cameras constantly
write videos to the SD card which
permanently damages the memory cells
Cheaper cards have much less capacity
to absorb damage and can fail earlier
leaving you without protection
One of my recommended cards
is the Transcend Endurance
It uses MLC memory which Transcend
rates for 6,000 hours of 1080P recording
on the 32GB card
If we do the math that means it can overwrite itself
with videos over 2,000 times before failing
Let’s compare that against the Sandisk Ultra
It uses TLC memory which on average
only has 500 write cycles
Comparing the two cards
the Transcend Endurance has 2 ½ times
more durability per dollar spent
But that’s not all
many premium cards
have better wear leveling technology
controllers, and error correction codes
which all help to improve reliability under heavy use
The Sandisk Ultra card is speculated to have
an especially poor controller
which has compatibility problems with dash cameras
Many users have reported problems
and several manufacturers warn people away
from the Ultra series
Your warranty is also void
if the Ultra is used in a dash cam
Sandisk isn’t a bad brand
If the Transcend isn't available
Sandisk’s High Endurance card is a great pick
It’s just not our top recommendation
because it’s less durable for the same size
They also don’t talk about their
error correction codes which is found in their
pricier products and on Transcend’s Endurance
If you’re looking for a 128GB card
the Lexar 633X is a great option
It has a lifetime warranty valid for dash cameras
and is made from MLC NAND
When purchasing your SD card
make sure it’s from a reputable source
Counterfeit cards are everywhere
they look like the original, but they’re slower
they’re smaller,
or less reliable than the original
Now, don’t buy off of eBay
don’t buy off of Aliexpress
don’t buy used
If you purchase from Amazon
you want to make sure your cards
are sold directly
and not fulfilled through Amazon
by an unknown third party vendor
Amazon’s marketplace makes it easy
for companies to set a lower price
and become the default seller
We went through a lot of information
so here’s our recommendations on one page
I personally prefer Transcend’s high endurance
as it has optimizations for dash camera use
But this could all be marketing talk
as it’s difficult to verify claims
which is why Lexar’s 633X is a great option
it's cheaper and has a
better lifetime warranty and speed
Sandisk’s High Endurance has good reviews
but on paper it’s not as good as Transcend
If you’re a fan of Sandisk,
this is a good purchase
I would avoid their Ultra series
because of it’s history of early failures
and the loss of your warranty
when used in a dash camera
We have more details
on the article we wrote on SD cards
such as how Samsung may
deny your warranty if their SD cards
are used in a dash camera
So that’s the end of this guide
hope you found it useful
If you liked it please
give me a thumbs up
if you want more please subscribe
and - thanks for watching