SD Card

[debauch]

Hi there,

Can someone help explain how the SD Card on the P4P works? (precursor: I am a new pilot)

I read it came with 16 GB card, so i figured i would need something like 128 gb if I was going to be doing 4k videos. When i put in my card (lexar 633x 128 GB), it said it wasn't recognized, so for my maiden voyage, i used the default card. After the flight, i realized all the videos were transmitted to my phone somehow, so my question is two fold:

1) Would you ever need a large SD card? (since it somehow magically transmits back to my phone)
2) If yes, any ideas why the lexar says it's not recognized, do i need to format it? (it's xFAT)

Any help, background, insight is appreciated.

BTW - all the crashes i am seeing on this forum, has me wanting to buy the refresh program ... hate to waste $2k for a silly mistake. It is crazy fun though!! I was nervous to go past 33m lol.

 

[Erised]

Format the card in the bird using GO in the camera menu. When I format in my laptop my bird does not see it. Bird and RC has to be powered, leave your props off for safety if you are doing this in your house. I have a 64g and it more than I need, always better to transfer files each day in case something would happen to the card. My 64 can record 4 batteries of flight with room to spare. DJI say that 64 is max but some report they can run 128.

 

[smiller]

A 16GB card is enough to record in 4K for longer than a single battery will last so it is really all you need since you can just swap cards when changing batteries. Some like to swap at each battery change to minimize chance of loss of footage (in case the card fails or the drone is lost) and some like to use a larger card for the convenience of not having to swap it as often, your option. As noted above 64 GB is fine even for multiple flights, I wouldn't go larger than that or you will be putting a lot of eggs in one basket.

 

[debauch]

Thx guys, I'll try the format from device.

Why would you ever need to swap SD cards though (re point #1)? It looks like all the video is already on my phone...I have a pixel XL and it backs up to the cloud in original quality. How does it transmit from phantom to phone??

 

[smiller]

Thx guys, I'll try the format from device.

Why would you ever need to swap SD cards though (re point #1)? It looks like all the video is already on my phone...I have a pixel XL and it backs up to the cloud in original quality. How does it transmit from phantom to phone??

The version on your phone is a lower-resolution copy transmitted over the air while in flight, but its quality is limited by available radio bandwidth. For maximum quality you'd want to use the file recorded on board the aircraft.

 

[debauch]

The version on your phone is a lower-resolution copy transmitted over the air while in flight, but its quality is limited by available radio bandwidth. For maximum quality you'd want to use the file recorded on board the aircraft.

Ohhhh, ok. That makes more sense...It show 720 on phone. It's mp4 too vs mov. Appreciate it!

 

[out4fun]

A 16GB card is enough to record in 4K for longer than a single battery will last so it is really all you need since you can just swap cards when changing batteries. Some like to swap at each battery change to minimize chance of loss of footage (in case the card fails or the drone is lost) and some like to use a larger card for the convenience of not having to swap it as often, your option. As noted above 64 GB is fine even for multiple flights, I wouldn't go larger than that or you will be putting a lot of eggs in one basket.

I have used the stock 16gb card that comes with the bird, however it only shows a record time of 17mins, that's recording in 4k highest resolution 30fps. Also when it does record it isn't 1 single file, if I try to record 16 min all together it will break it up its 3 or 4 files. Not sure why this is happening

 

[smiller]

I have used the stock 16gb card that comes with the bird, however it only shows a record time of 17mins, that's recording in 4k highest resolution 30fps. Also when it does record it isn't 1 single file, if I try to record 16 min all together it will break it up its 3 or 4 files. Not sure why this is happening

The record time counter indicates a worst-case estimate of remaining time assuming every second of every recording is at 100 mbps, and this won't usually be the case. So while it might be theoretically possible to run out on a single battery I don't think you will see it happen in the the real world. The file-splitting thing is annoying and happens even if the card is formatted in exFAT (which allows very large file sizes) so it appears be be a limitation that DJI has incorporated, not sure why. But I've found that when edited together you can't see the 'splice'... you may lose a few frames, but it's not really visible.

 

[out4fun]

The record time counter indicates a worst-case estimate of remaining time assuming every second of every recording is at 100 mbps, and this won't usually be the case. So while it might be theoretically possible to run out on a single battery I don't think you will see it happen in the the real world. The file-splitting thing is annoying and happens even if the card is formatted in exFAT (which allows very large file sizes) so it appears be be a limitation that DJI has incorporated, not sure why. But I've found that when edited together you can't see the 'splice'... you may lose a few frames, but it's not really visible.

Kinda annoying that it spilt the files up, this also happens when I record long videos with my go pro.

Is Mp4 or mov format easier format when uploading to youtube?

Thanks

 

[smiller]

YouTube will transcode whatever you upload to their internal format anyway so I'm not sure that it matters. More info at Upload instructions and settings - YouTube Help

 

[marciano]

From DJI