I'm planning to go on vacation next month and shoot 4K video with my GoPro. My current SD card only has 128 GB and I'm not sure if that's enough for a week of filming or if I need to buy multiple cards.
With 4K on a GoPro, you're looking at roughly 400-600 MB per minute, depending on which resolution and bitrate you're using. That means an hour of filming eats up between 24-36 GB. So theoretically, with 128 GB you can film for 3-5 hours straight before the card fills up. For a whole week of vacation, that's obviously not enough if you're out shooting several hours every day.
I'd recommend getting at least one or two extra cards. A second 128GB or better yet a 256GB or 512GB card makes sense. They're not expensive anymore, and then you won't constantly have the problem of the card filling up during your trip. Don't forget to format the cards beforehand and test them briefly to make sure they work fine - sometimes you get weird compatibility issues.
Here's a practical tip: If you have access to a laptop or external hard drive during your vacation, you can back up your footage occasionally and then delete and reuse the cards. That saves you from having to haul around tons of storage. Just make sure when you're formatting that you're using an SD card that's specifically approved for 4K recording - not all cards can handle that high write speed.
The math is basically correct, but it also depends on how intensively you want to film - if you're not running the camera all day long continuously, but rather capturing individual moments, one card will probably be enough. That said, I'd still recommend taking at least a second smaller card with you (64 GB is fine), just to be on the safe side - if the first card acts up or you end up filming more than you thought, you've got a backup and won't panic. When buying: make sure the card is at least U3-certified, otherwise you can get frame drops during 4K recording and your footage becomes unusable.
Log into answer.
