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SD Card for Trail Cameras (Buying Guide - October 2022)
All modern / current trail cameras use an SD card to store pictures and video.
A few years ago choosing an SD card for a trail camera may have led to confusion, as some of the popular trail camera brands tended to use different size cards.
Today, it’s far more standardised and if you have a trail camera that was designed and manufactured in the last 18 months then the choice is made a lot easier.
Take a look at the General guide below if you think your trail camera may use a card different to a standard size SDHC SD card.
Last update on 2024-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Most Popular SD Card for HD Trail Cameras
Last update on 2024-03-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The SanDisk SDHC 32 GB card will work in all modern trail cameras that record HD video. It’s the “workhorse” SD card of choice that does the job reliably.
If your lucky enough to have a trail camera that records 4k video then I would suggest looking at higher write speed SD cards of 100MB/s plus to allow for the extra data.
SD Card for 4K Trail Cameras
Last update on 2024-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
There’s not a great many 4K trail camera models out there at present.
If you do have something like the Browning Recon Force 4K then I’d suggest an SDXC card like the SanDisk Extreme example shown here.
64 GB is the minimum size I’d go for if your recording in 4K video resolution mode. However 128 GB is a more practical option.
SD Card for Trail Cameras: General Guide
Fitting the correct SD card size into the card slot
There are 3 physical sizes of SD card that may fit an older trail camera:
- Standard SD
- MiniSD
- MicroSD
Standard size card dimensions are 32 x 24 x 2.1 mm. They are the most common size that are used in trail cameras today and it’s almost certain your trail camera uses this size.
MiniSD are the mid size card. Dimensions are 21.5 x 20 x 1.4 mm. They are less common than the other 2 sizes and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter them in the trail camera world. They were originally designed for cell phones.
Lastly, the MicroSD size card. You will find a few older trail camera models but not many, that use this type of card. They’re used mostly in small tablet computers.
SD Card Class
You’ve probably seen the class rating on an SD card before. It’s usually depicted by a number from 1 to 10 inside a circular border. 1 being the slowest and 10 the fastest.
The number denotes the speed at which the card can write data at a sustained rate.
For example the Sandisk card shown above, a class 2 card will store pictures and video at 2 megabytes a second. Always aim for the fastest SD card possible, especially if your recording HD video.
Always make sure the card meets the manufacturer’s recommended minimum requirement. A faster class will work fine than specified by the manufacturer.
Storage Capacity
There are 3 types of storage:
- SD
- SDHC
- SDXC
SD cards will work in all trail cameras that support SD, SDHC and SDXC. The storage capacity ranges from 128MB to 2GB for SD cards.
SDHC or SD High Capacity cards will store data from 4GB to 32GB and are the most common cards used in trail cameras. They will work in SDXC card slots but are not backwards compatible with SD cards.
SDXC or SD Extra Capacity range in storage size from 64GB to 2TB. It’s unlikely you’ll encounter these for trail cameras. Again they are not backwards compatible.
Final Thoughts
The most common SD cards in use by trail cameras are the standard SDHC 32GB cards. I would go with class of 10 and above to ensure they will record HD video.
Moultrie however recommend Class 10. Always check the specification of the camera first. You’ll see a logo depicting either SD, SDHC or SDXC.
It’s worth spending that bit extra on a bigger capacity card with a higher class rating.
Lastly; always remember to archive your cards data and reformat them before heading out on the trail and take spare cards.
I always allocate a number to my trail cameras and mark the card with the corresponding number, that way I know which card belonged to which camera.
It’s good practice to keep your SD cards in a waterproof holder / dustproof while in transit to and from the trail camera sites.
Good luck out there and happy scouting!
