Best SD Card For GoPro Max (The Only Card You'll Need!)

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Rob Johnston

Editor & Article Writer for Outdoor Wilds

Best SD Card For GoPro Max - 360 VR Camera

If you’re reading this article then you’ve probably just acquired a GoPro Max and are wondering what is the best SD card for a GoPro Max.

I have used Sandisk SD cards with my own Max for a number of months now. Filling the card to capacity and formatting many times without any negative experiences so far.

I have outlined below all the key information that you’ll need to fully get to grips with in regards to SD card selection.

If you’re in a hurry then I’d suggest the SanDisk Extreme 64 GB microSDXC Memory Card. You may opt for the SanDisk Extreme Pro, although in real world conditions you won’t notice any major performance increases compared to the Extreme card.

Last update on 2024-04-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

SD Card Specifications

There are a few key considerations when choosing an SD card for your GoPro Max. The write speed and capacity are the 2 most important.

Card Capacity

I’m sure you’re familiar with the size or the amount of data an SD card can hold which is denoted in Gigabytes or GB. I’d suggest a minimum size of 64GB for the Max although you can use a 32GB card to record footage if you wish.

The largest capacity card supported is 256GB. I personally prefer to use 64GB cards, the reason being that in the rare event of a card failing you have less data that is going to be lost.

In essence 2 x 64GB cards spread the data over the 2 cards, which minimizes the loss of data compared to using a single 128GB card. This is my own philosophy in regards to SD card management and is by no means essential.

Write Speed

Write speed is arguably the most important specification when choosing a card for your Max. If the write speed is too slow then you stand the chance of dropping frames when recording video and at worst corrupting the cards data.

The following specifications displayed on the SD card are critical:

UHS (Ultra high Speed) – Displayed as a U with a number 1 – 3 inside, 1 being 10MB/sec, 3 at 30MB/sec.
VSC (Video Speed Class) – Displayed as a V10, V20 V30 – The number indicating MB/second.
Application Performance Class – Displayed as either A1 or A2. A2 being the higher performance SD card.

If you would like to know more about A ratings of SD cards have a read of this article. Although all you really need to know is to choose an A2 rated card for a GoPro Max.

SD Card Capacity For GoPro Max

The following capacities are for a 64GB SD card at the various video resolutions and frame rates for the Max.

1080 at 60fps – 1hour 57 minutes
1080 at 30fps – 2 hours
1080 at 24fps – 2 hours
3K at 60fps – 2 hours
5.6K at 30fps – 2 hours

NOTE: 5.6K at 30fps is the resolution used to record 360 VR Video. To learn how to edit 360 VR video check out the link.

Formatting The SD Card In The GoPro Max

It’s important to format a new SD card in the GoPro Max before recording any video or still pictures.

To format the SD card. With the camera powered ON, swipe down from the top of the rear touch display LCD screen. This will reveal the Preferences tab which you tap with your finger.

Scroll down the settings to the very bottom to reveal the Reset menu option. Tap Reset with your finger.

You will now see Format SD Card. Tap this option which then displays a confirmation screen informing you that all files will be deleted.

Tap Format and the camera will format the SD card in a matter of seconds. You are now ready to use the GoPro Max.

GoPro SD Card Reference Table

For further reference to all current GoPro models take a look at this table on the official GoPro website.

Last update on 2024-04-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API