Trail Camera SD Cards
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: Russell
10-Jan-20
I'm in the process of purchasing a few different game cameras for food plots, trails, scrapes, and salt licks.
I need some guidance regarding SD cards. What size is recommended and is there a specific type of card that I should buy.
Tks
From: aDrenalinJunkie21
10-Jan-20
Some cameras can only accept certain size SD cards. Check the specs to make sure.
That being said, unless you’re trying to leave your cameras out all year in a high traffic area, 8 GB should be totally fine.
From: Russell
10-Jan-20
I'll be using a Moultrie cameras. I believe the max size is 32. So I was thinking maybe 16s.
From: Russell
10-Jan-20
I don't plan on leaving the cameras out all year. Most likely early summer through early December. So y'all think an 8 card is good?
From: ben h
10-Jan-20
Memory is pretty cheap to a point, if your cameras can accept larger, I'd probably go more. Your settings will have a big impact on this too like if you have it take 3 pics every time it detects movement and then every 15 seconds vs 3 minutes if it detects again. I like to check my cameras every 2 weeks or so and I regularly have 1-2k pics on them (mine are set up to take a lot of pics). I never have done video, I'd imagine that would take tons more space.
From: Russell
10-Jan-20
Good point about the settings of the camera. I appreciate the feedback
From: Catscratch
10-Jan-20
I would suggest speed class 10 cards....
From: DanaC
10-Jan-20
https://outdoorwilds.com/sd-card-for-trail-camera/
From: Shuteye
10-Jan-20
I use 32 GB cards and have two for each of my five trail cams. If you have a lot of deer you can fill a small card pretty quickly. When I go to check my cams I have a case that carries my spare cards. I change cards and take them home to check the pictures on my computer. If I see pictures I don't want to save I just delete them with my computer. The computer will show a lot more than looking at them on the trail cam or a viewer, that I also have. If a flock of blackbirds come by, or squirrels you can two hundred pictures in one day. When oak trees are dropping acorns you can fill a small card in a couple of days. Make sure you have a quality card carrier that is made just for that purpose. My favorite is called Game Keeper. Moultrie also makes a good one.
From: Shuteye
10-Jan-20
You can get some inquisitive turkeys. They will use a lot of card space when scratching for acorns.
From: Grunt-N-Gobble
10-Jan-20
Most will recommend class 10 cards. And for the cost, a 16g card is a good size card for pics and is what i mostly use. Ive been buying the SansDisk cards at Walmart in the hunting section and i noticed they are waterproof so take that into consideration.
From: Russell
11-Jan-20
Thanks for the valuable guidance. Looking forward to learning my new farm.
From: WI Shedhead
11-Jan-20
Get 2 cards for each camera. Label them and only use them in that camera. Let them format to that camera and you will have no problems with them. I personally buy 16g cards but I leave a lot of cameras out of state and don’t get to them often
From: PushCoArcher
11-Jan-20
^^^^ What he said 2 cards for each camera and don't mix them up it really helps extend the life of the SD card. I usually use 8GB but have a few 16GB rarely needed. I like my Stealth Cam SD cards the best from what I've tried. Would also avoid any micro SD cards in my experience they don't work as well at least with trail cameras.
From: Bob H in NH
11-Jan-20
Important note above, worth saying again.
Format the SD card in the camera it will be in. Sometimes it matters
From: Trial153
11-Jan-20
Trial153's Link
Russell, here is link to a 10 pack, little over 4 bucks each. I been using the same cards for awhile without issue.
From: Russell
11-Jan-20
Good tips regarding formatting the cards to the camera. I never thought about that.
From: Catscratch
11-Jan-20
I quit having problems with cameras when I started formatting cards on every pull. What I thought were camera problems were actually card issues. Formatting is also an easy way to erase pics after I've saved what I wanted. Now that I format every time it doesn't seem to matter if I switch cards to cameras.
From: t-roy
11-Jan-20
Agree with both of catscratch’s posts. Especially about getting class 10 or better cards. I’d suggest going with 16G or better.
From: sticksender
12-Jan-20
SD cards are dirt cheap, especially when bought in bulk on eBay or amazon. Buy the largest capacity card your cam will take. Then you can set your cam to take bursts or videos if you want, and you can leave it out long as you like before changing cards.
From: JL
12-Jan-20
JL's Link
Moultrie will tell you to use Class 10 cards. My two cents is to go with 32 gb's because if you decide to go to vids vs pics this will come in handy. Vids give you more info about the target than pics. Plus you will likely run out of battery power before you run out of space. I set the cam for 30 second vids every minute. Also don't face the cam looking at the sun nor with tall weeds or limbs in front of it. When the wind blows the weeds or limbs will do a false trigger even if you have the sensitivity set to low. This link is the place where I get SD cards.
From: David A.
12-Jan-20
Is there any valid reason to use just the same two cards for each camera if you format your cards each time? Just takes a few seconds...
From: greenmountain
12-Jan-20
I format my cards every time I change them . I have recently upgraded to 16gb class 10 cards. 16gb is a lot of memory. I am frugal but hopefully not cheap. Buy good quality. You will be happy if you do. My computer likes the smaller capacity cards I don't know why.
