Best Memory Cards GoPro Hero 8

We tested all the most popular micro SD memory cards, both UHS-II and UHS-I in the GoPro Hero 8 Black to find the best and most reliable cards at the most practical price.

Best Memory Cards GoPro Hero 8

Before buying memory cards for the Hero 8 there are a few important details.

The camera uses a single UHS-I micro SD memory card slot. You don’t need to buy UHS-II card, but you should stick with the U3 speed class to avoid any problems.

The Hero8 has a memory card capacity of up to 256GB. It’s not recommended to use bigger cards in the Hero8.

If for whatever reason you encounter any strange issues with the performance of your GoPro, try swapping out the memory card. This could be anything from long power-on times, lost clips we’ve ever seen strange battery drains when the camera is powered off. All of this is caused by some incompatibility with memory cards. Some memory cards you should completely avoid, like the Nintendo Switch SD cards.

Top 5 Recommended SD Cards For The GoPro Hero 8

These are the top 5 sd cards for the GoPro Hero 8. We tested each card inside a smartphone to get the read and write speeds with likely similar hardware. 

Not only that, each of these cards was tested for long periods of time over the weeks and months to make sure that they work without any issues.

GoPro bundles the Sandisk Extreme card which has the best compatibility across all camera models. Start with the Sandisk Extreme cards as they are the best micro SD card for the GoPro Hero 8. However, there are plenty of other great cards that I have tested and have included on the list.

The GoPro Hero 8 can take memory cards up to 256GB, but 128GB cards work very well for normal usage.

Camera Firmware Issues To Lookout For

GoPro has a history of shaky reliability with various brands of memory cards. While most cards now work great in any of the new GoPro cameras, there are still a few you should avoid and we still like to recommend cards that will work in most GoPro camera models.

A couple of Interesting Notes: The only cards I’m not 100% sure about working in older cameras are the PNY Elite-X and the new Netac Pro. The standard Elite had problems in my Hero 5, but that was before the Elite-X.

Also, some cards just have a lag to them when you stop the camera, the Nintendo Switch card for example. The cards above all work great and have no lag.

I added the Netac Pro because the card was performing well in the new 8, it has a great rating at a very good price. It was actually the first card I put in my new GoPro to shoot with and I shot with it for a solid week.

Only buy the Lexar 1000x UHS-II if you want very fast transfer speeds from your card to your computer. But you will only get this with a UHS-II card reader.

SD Memory Card Speed Tests

There is still a not great way to benchmark memory cards in the new 8, so what we do is test different cards throughout the life of the camera. I’ve been doing this since Hero 5. 

The Hero8 only has a variable bitrate of about 60-78Mbps, any of the modern cards will work fine. Just make sure you don’t buy a card rated less than U3. I really recommend buying a U3 card so it’s a little future-proof and so that your card works well in other devices with higher bitrates. Like if you ever decide to try out a DJI Osmo Action or if GoPro ever upgrades their bitrate in later cameras.

The speed of each card was acquired with the Samsung Galaxy S10, so as to roughly see how each memory card performs in a micro SD device.

*Speed scores are taken from Disk Speed Test using the Samsung Galaxy S10+ SD Card Benchmarks.

SD Card Related Camera Specs

Hero8 Accessories

The GoPro Hero 8 has all-new accessories because of the change in body style. I’ve compiled a massive list of all the coolest stuff.

Must-Have Accessories For GoPro Hero 8

Top Recommended Cards | Info About Each Card

A quick list with a little more detail about why these are the best sd cards for the GoPro Hero 8.

Of all these cards, the Sandisk Extreme and Extreme Plus cards always work the best.

While the Pro cards are great for the Hero 7 Black, they had issues in the past with older cameras. If you’re shooting with a Hero 7 White or Silver, avoid the Sandisk Pro cards for now.

Sandisk Extreme UHS-I V30 A2 This is the best memory card you can buy for the GoPro Hero 8. It works in all GoPros and Sandisk Extreme cards have always been the cards bundled with the cameras and sold by GoPro themselves. If for whatever reason you can’t get this card then there are a few other great options below.

GoPro Hero 8 SD Card Capacity & Sizes

If you’re wondering what sd card size to get for your GoPro, I’ve put together a short guide to help you decide.

The maximum SD card size for the GoPro Hero 8 is 256GB. Using cards larger than this could cause issues.

Personally, I recommend you just go for a 128GB card, but if you’re on the fence or maybe want an even bigger card, here are a few tips.

You’re going to burn through two batteries before you’ll burn through a 64GB memory card in a GoPro when recording at the max bitrate. I don’t usually carry more than two batteries to keep the camera recording long enough to last through 64GB of data.

So why not just get a 64GB card?

Sometimes you will forget to clear off my card from the day before going out again, so having the extra space allows for at least another few hours of recording.

Should you get two 64GB or one 128GB card? 

The memory cards are small, they are easy to lose. The fewer micro SD cards floating around the better. By having a 128GB card, you’ll likely never need to take your card out of your camera unless you use it in another device like a Mavic 2 Pro or want to offload your footage from the card quicker with an external reader.

GoPro Hero 8 Video Bitrate Time Chart

Here is a rough calculation of record times in minutes based on the bitrate for the GoPro Hero8 Black.

The GoPro Hero8 bitrate is typically between 60-78Mbps depending on the video setting and the complexity of the scene.

GoPro Hero 8 Black Issues

There are a few issues or SD card errors that you might experience with the GoPro cameras.

Camera Shuts Off: These GoPro cameras are very small and they need a lot of open airflows to stay cool. If you find that your camera stops recording or just turns off, it might be overheating. Try placing your camera in the open air or in a cooler location to fix this issue.

I struggled to get a 30 minute record time with my Hero7 last year when the camera was just sitting, but it always worked fine on my bike. I was thinking there was something wrong with it so I put it in the refrigerator and all my recording issues went away.

Startup issues, or recording issues: if you experience strange boot issues or inconsistent record issues, this sometimes can be caused by the memory card. Last year we were having these types of issues when using the GoPro in the Karma Grip. The only way we got a reliable performance out of it was to drop down to a 64GB card. The larger cards still worked fine with standard use.

Lag After Recording: If you notice there is a long delay after you stop recording video, this is not a problem with the camera but a problem with the card. Some cards do this.

Long Delay After Shooting Burst: If you experience a very long delay after doing a 10 shot burst, this is because the GoPro has a very slower buffer. It actually feels worst in the Hero 8 then it is in the Hero 7 because the new 8 allows you to shoot burst in RAW+JPG. If you need to be able to burst faster switch to just Standard instead of RAW which produces only JPG files.

When just shooting burst JPG, the 8 is appearing faster than the 7.

Strange Power On And Off Problems: There is another issue that happens sometimes with GoPro cameras, and I especially saw this with the new GoPro Hero 9, where a new camera will behave funny, with issues almost like there is a problem with the battery, then as time goes on these issues subside. I think this maybe has to do with some sort of internal battery not having power. Fujifilm and many other cameras will often reset the user settings if the internal battery loses its charge, and often when you first buy the camera, it takes a day or two before your settings will be saved after a long power down. So for the first day or two, if you have any weird power issues, just let the camera run for a while, keep it on, just use it as much as possible to let that internal battery get charged, if that is in fact what’s happening.

Best SD Card GoPro Hero 8 | Conclusions

While it seems like there is a lot to worry about with memory cards in the GoPro, most of the problems come from using off-brands, or specialty cards like the Sandisk Nintendo Switch cards and high endurance cards.

GoPro cameras have been configured to run very well with Sandisk cards and Samsung micro SD cards. The Sandisk Extreme cards really are the way to go, but I have found Extreme Pro, Ultra, and Plus cards all work great as well.

If you are still having strange issues with camera lockups or sluggish performance, it’s almost certainly your memory card and the firsts thing you should always try is to swap out memory cards to something different than what you were using.