These videos and sounds can be used as evidence for traffic accidents.

Some dash cams will come with a memory card but some may not.

Most dash cams will use micro SD card to store videos.

SD Card Speed Class

But how to choose the best micro SD card for dash cam?

What should be taken into consideration when you choose a micro SD card for dash cam?

just keep reading to know these factors.

SD Card Speed Classes, Sizes and Capacities - All You Should Know

How to Choose a Right Memory Card for Your Camera [3 Factors]

Factor 1.

In some cases, some manufacturers even go as far as having their own brand of memory cards.

Although these micro SD cards are typically more expensive, the compatibility and video quality can be guaranteed.

SanDisk MAX ENDURANCE microSD Card

Factor 2.

Speed

To see to it the video is clear enough, most dash cams will record 1080p videos.

Some better dash cams can even record 1600p (2K) and 2160p (4K) videos.

Samsung PRO Endurance microSD Memory Card

Its obviously that better video quality requires faster micro SD cards.

The speed of a flash drive is variable.

Sometimes, it is fast, but sometimes it is slow.

Samsung EVO Select vs EVO Plus SD Card - Differences

The variable speeds are difficult to reliably record streaming content and it will affect the video quality.

In a word, recording videos requires a constant writing speed.

What do these minimum sequential write speeds stand for?

choose Format option

If it meets the speed class, it will have the speed class mark.

Before buying an SD card, youd better know SD card speed classes, sizes and capacities.

Now, read this post to get the related information.

choose FAT32 file system

Factor 3.

Capacity

How much capacity do I need for dash cam micro SD card?

If the memory card space runs out, the dash cam will erase old videos to record new videos.

click the Apply button

In general, you may drive 3-4 hours a day (sometimes 7-8 or more).

If there are important videos, you could back up them to other devices later.

How much video can 32GB hold?

How much 1080p video can 64GB hold?

Can 32GB or 64GB hold 3-4 hours of videos?

To figure out these problems, you should refer to the following two tables.

Some advanced dash cams may use H.265 encoding method.

But if you dont want to calculate, you’re able to refer to the following table.

This table is from SanDisk.

like check your dash cams resolution and video coding method to find out the bitrate it uses.

720p vs 1080p: Difference Between 720p and 1080p Resolution

Factor 4.

Lifespan

Flash drives have limited write cycles.

Recording videos will erase data and write data over and over again.

Therefore, you should choose a memory card that has a long lifespan.

The lifespan is related to many factors like SLC/MLC/TLC technology, wear leveling algorithm, etc.

This is very complicated.

In general, manufacturers will offer a longer warranty to flash drives that have longer lifespan.

In addition, this series of cards meets U3/V30 speed class.

Compared with the SanDisk MAX ENDURANCE microSD Card, this card offers shorter warranty and video recording time.

In addition, it just meets U1 speed class (not U1).

But its price is also cheaper.

In a word, choose cards according to your actual needs.

Samsung EVO Select vs EVO Plus microSD, whats the difference?

Check answers in this post.

Also learn how to recover data from corrupted Samsung SD card.

If the file system is wrong, the dash cam will not recognize this card.

If the micro SD is not larger than 32GB, it is pre-formatted to FAT32 file system.

you’re free to use it without reformatting.

Right-tap the partition of the micro SD card and chooseFormat.

Step 3:Set theFile SystemtoFAT32and click theOKbutton.

Step 4:Click theApplybutton to execute the pending operation.

Here is a post talking about how to choose the best micro SD card for you dash cam.