Best SD Cards for DJI Osmo Action 4, 5 Pro & 6

Quick recommendations

If you just want to cut to the chase, here are some quick recommendations for the best SD cards for the DJI Osmo Action 4, 5 Pro, and 6.

I have included much more detail on these further down this page. 

These cards have a proven track record of reliability and performance, are readily available at major retailers, and are cost-effective. Most importantly, they are all fast enough to let you use the high-bitrate 4K video modes on any of these Osmo Action cameras without stuttering or write errors.

My aim with these recommendations is to make it easier to find a memory card that won’t limit the camera’s features, so you can have confidence that you’re getting a card that works well specifically for DJI action cameras.

Any of these memory cards makes for a good choice. 

• SanDisk Extreme V30 UHS-I
• Lexar Blue V30 UHS-I
• Kingston Canvas Go! Plus V30 UHS-I

There’s no particular benefit to choosing one over another — it comes down to price, availability, and personal preference between brands. These are fast enough for the 120-130 Mbps top-end video modes found on the Action 4, 5, and 6 series. Choosing a card that is faster than the camera needs (like expensive V90 cards) doesn’t provide any benefit inside the camera.¹

Some other brands and cards will also work well, and if you’re interested in some of those, you can find more details further down the page.

What size SD card to get?

In general, all three models use the same spec microSD cards. But this is the one area where there’s some nuance.

Osmo Action 5 Pro & Action 6: These newer models are officially rated to support microSD cards up to 1TB.

Osmo Action 4: Officially, DJI states that the Osmo Action 4 supports microSD cards up to 512GB. However, in practice, many users have successfully used 1TB cards with no issues. Because the camera uses the exFAT file system, there is no technical reason why a 1TB card shouldn’t work. But since 1TB cards are not officially on DJI’s supported list for the Action 4, you use them at your own (very slight) risk.

The Takeaway: If you want to play it 100% safe across all models, stick to 512GB. If you have an Action 5 or 6 and need maximum capacity, go for 1TB.

Compatibility & requirements

An SD card is an essential accessory, but DJI action cameras do not come with one as standard.

Some retailers might include one as part of an accessory bundle. But unless you buy a bundle like that, you’ll need to pick up the SD card separately.

But which one?

If the SD card isn’t fast enough to keep up, you can run into problems like the recording stopping unexpectedly, dropping frames, or even having the camera overheating or locking up.

DJI’s action cameras use a smaller variant of SD cards known as microSD cards. They’re available in a range of storage capacities, typically ranging from 64GB up to 1TB.

So not all SD cards work well in these cameras. You don’t necessarily need the fastest microSD card on the market. But you will need one that’s fast enough. Assuming you want to use all of the camera’s features and reduce the chance of problems and interruptions in your shooting, that is.

The main issue is that the card needs to be fast enough to keep up with the camera’s data stream. While it’s not hard to find cards that will work well, it’s also quite possible to get the wrong card.

A faster SD card won’t give you better video quality or help you take better pictures. But a card that’s fast enough will allow you to use all of the camera’s features without running into problems.

This issue comes down to the video bitrate. The Action 4, 5 Pro, and 6 all shoot high-quality video with bitrates ranging between 100 Mbps and 130 Mbps. 

While that’s not the bleeding edge of cinema cameras, it is high enough to choke older or cheaper memory cards.

When using the higher-end video modes — specifically the 4K and slow-motion modes — the camera needs to be able to write a large amount of data to the card continuously. If the SD card isn’t fast enough to keep up, the camera’s internal buffer fills up, and you can run into problems like the recording stopping unexpectedly or the camera freezing.

Recommendations in detail

So here is some more detail on my recommendations for which memory cards to use with the DJI Osmo Action 4, 5 Pro, and 6.

I make a point of buying and testing as many SD and microSD cards for cameras as I can — you can see those test results separately. So I’m lucky enough to have on hand many of the major current memory cards available.

Things worth knowing

Why do you need a fast SD card, anyway?

A faster SD card won’t give you better video quality or help you take better pictures, but a card that’s fast enough will allow you to use all of the camera’s features without running into problems.

You won’t break your camera if you put an SD card that’s too slow in your Osmo Action, but you can end up with some pretty unfortunate side effects. You might have already found this out the hard way if your recordings have stopped unexpectedly or you’ve been getting SD card errors.

Those are the most common issues you can run into with a slower SD card, but you can also get the camera to overheat or shut down. You might see an error message, you might lose footage or frames, or the camera might lock up. Or maybe you’ll get all of the above. The upshot is that if your camera is behaving strangely when recording video or shooting photos, one of the first things to check is the microSD card.

The most significant requirement that an SD card needs to meet is that it’s fast enough. But it has to be a specific type of fast, and often the speed ratings you see on SD card packaging refer to characteristics that aren’t directly relevant to the camera’s requirements.

Usually, the speed rating you see in memory card marketing materials refers to a “transfer speed.” That typically means sequential read speed — the speed at which data can be downloaded from the card to your computer.

But when choosing an SD card for an action camera, what we care about is sequential write speed — how fast the camera can save data to the card. Some cards are designed to be fast at a different type of writing: random write speed (often marked as A1 or A2). Those are well-suited for smartphones or gaming devices running apps, but that particular measure is not relevant to shooting video.

Tip: Don’t get a microSD Express or microSDUC card. While they look very much like regular microSDXC cards, they’re emerging standards that aren’t compatible with the current DJI Osmo Action cameras. I have more details on SDUC and microSD Express separately.

How to format SD cards in Osmo Action cameras

It’s always good practice to format the memory card in the camera rather than with a computer. And to do it regularly (once you’ve safely downloaded and backed up your photos and videos, of course). That ensures the card uses the file structure the camera expects, reducing the risk of corruption.

You can find the option under:

Settings (the gear icon) > Format

Formats, speed rating & types of microSD cards explained

For the DJI Osmo Action series, you need a microSD card.

You can use either microSDXC or microSDHC cards. However, since microSDHC cards top out at 32GB, you will almost certainly be buying a microSDXC card (64GB and larger) to handle 4K video files.

You’ll see the current generation of cards marked with either UHS-I or UHS-II (labeled with a Roman numeral I or II). The Osmo Action 4, 5, and 6 all use the UHS-I host specification.

This means you won’t get added speed benefits inside the camera if you pay extra for a UHS-II card. But the UHS-II card will still work because the specification is designed to roll back gracefully to UHS-I speeds.

Speed measures explained

Bits vs. bytes (Mb/s vs. MB/s)

One of the biggest sources of confusion is the capitalization of the letter ‘b’.

• Video Bitrates are measured in Megabits (Mb/s or Mbps).
• Card Speeds are measured in Megabytes (MB/s).

There are 8 bits in 1 byte. So, a video bitrate of 130 Mbps (Megabits) actually only requires a card write speed of roughly 16.25 MB/s (Megabytes).

However, you shouldn’t cut it that close. Manufacturer speed ratings often reflect “peak” speeds rather than the “sustained” speeds required for video recording. Plus, camera overhead consumes bandwidth. It is always safer to use a card with a certified speed class (like V30) rather than relying on raw math.

The “x” rating

Some manufacturers (notably Lexar) still use an archaic “x” rating (e.g., 633x or 1000x). This is a holdover from the CD-ROM era. It is largely obsolete today. You are better off ignoring the “x” and looking for the standardized V30 or MB/s ratings.

microSD speed classes explained

MicroSD cards use a “class” rating system to indicate minimum write speeds. However, this system can be confusing because new ratings (like V30) often overlap with older ones (like U3).

Important Note: These ratings indicate the minimum sustained speed the card is certified for, not its maximum peak speed.

• V90 (90MB/s): Designed for 8K video. Overkill for Osmo Action cameras and usually expensive.
• V60 (60MB/s): Excellent for 4K video, but more than you technically need.
• V30 / U3 (30MB/s): The Sweet Spot. This is the standard requirement for shooting 4K video on the Action 4, 5, and 6. If your card has one of these symbols, it is fast enough.
• U1 / Class 10 (10MB/s): These are generally too slow for modern high-bitrate 4K video. They are fine for 1080p but will likely cause errors on newer Osmo Action models.
• Class 2, 4, 6: Obsolete standards. Avoid these.

What about A1 / A2? You will often see A1 or A2 on card labels. These ratings measure random write speeds for apps on smartphones. They are not relevant for shooting video, which relies on sequential write speeds. You can ignore these ratings for the Osmo Action cameras.

Notes & References:

1. I’m referring here to use in the camera. Depending on your computer and memory card reader setup, you might get faster performance from some cards over others when offloading the images from your memory card to your computer with the right combination of memory card reader and computer USB port and cable. [↩︎]