Any recent, full-size SDXC card between 64 GB and 2 TB from a major brand is very likely to work well with the SM5. There are a few factors to check before using very old cards.
Form Factor (SD vs. microSD)
We recommend using full-size SD cards, when possible.
A microSD card installed in a microSD to full-size SD adapter will generally work, but the adapter adds a possible point of failure that is not present with full-size SD cards.
Capacity Categories
We recommend using SDXC cards, which are sized between 64 GB and 2 TB. SDXC cards from major manufacturers meet all of the SM5's performance requirements.
There are four capacity categories of SD cards that have been produced or are planned for release:
- SD or SDSC (Up to 2 GB)
- Incompatible with the SM5 due to this category's unsupported file system.
- SDHC (4 GB to 32 GB)
- Compatible with the SM5, but some old cards in this category may perform too slowly to reliably record audio.
- SDXC (64 GB to 2 TB)
- Recommended. Cards in this category from major manufacturers fulfill the SM5's performance requirements.
- SDUC (4 TB to 128 TB)
- Incompatible with the SM5.
Recommended Capacity for Default Settings
The amount of SD card space you will require depends on many factors, including your settings and deployment length. As a starting point, you may want to have enough SD card space to hold as much data as you are likely to collect over the recorder's full battery life. You may also wish to have twice the required space, across two cards, in order to allow a deployment to complete in the event of an SD card failure.
Assuming default settings for two-channel recording, an SM5 can record 591 GB (1,710 hours) of data over the life of eleven 18650 batteries.
Manufacturer Choice and Avoiding Counterfeits
We recommend SanDisk cards from a reputable electronics retailer. We have found SanDisk cards to behave consistently, though other major manufacturers (e.g. Kingston and PNY) generally also work well.
Counterfeit SD cards are often sold on large e-commerce platforms that aggregate many sellers. Counterfeit cards may cause errors or misrepresent their actual capacity or performance characteristics. We recommend buying SD cards directly from Wildlife Acoustics resellers or reliable electronics and camera retailers.