which card (write speed) do I need for recording 4K 60p?

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?


But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that and that I would need the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 Card which can write at 300MB/s. That card is over $300!!! as compared to the UHS-1 version that is around $60-80


I also noticed a lexar card that writes at 150MB/s. Still super expensive but less than half.


I just need second opinions from experienced people.

Thank you very much.

Hi,

I don't think you need that much speed. The 95 mb/s should be fine. If you need some peace of mind at a lower cost you can try one of the new Sandisk cards. They write at 170mb/s. They cost less than $50.00 for a 128GB card. B&H LINK HERE

bananasushi said:

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extre...TF8&qid=1547181300&sr=8-8&keywords=sdxc+128gb

But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that and that I would need the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 Card which can write at 300MB/s. That card is over $300!!! as compared to the UHS-1 version that is around $60-80

https://www.amazon.ca/Sandisk-Extre...=1547181824&sr=8-3&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I also noticed a lexar card that writes at 150MB/s. Still super expensive but less than half.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lexar-Profess...=1547182067&sr=8-2&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I just need second opinions from experienced people.

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

I have shot video using the 400Mbps setting. This is the card I used; it has the correct specs and it is not costly. It works well, as has been reported by other *users.* The advice given by Fotocrack is just wrong.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...Ch0_vQsaEAQYAiABEgIvtfD_BwE&lsft=BI:514&smp=Y

bananasushi said:

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extre...TF8&qid=1547181300&sr=8-8&keywords=sdxc+128gb

But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that and that I would need the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 Card which can write at 300MB/s. That card is over $300!!! as compared to the UHS-1 version that is around $60-80

https://www.amazon.ca/Sandisk-Extre...=1547181824&sr=8-3&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I also noticed a lexar card that writes at 150MB/s. Still super expensive but less than half.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lexar-Profess...=1547182067&sr=8-2&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I just need second opinions from experienced people.

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

I noticed on another thread you were asking about 10 bit recording. If you went into this shop and talked about needing a card for 10 bit 60fps 4k then the advice they gave was probably OK. If not, and you are going the more normal 8 bit then your 95MB/s card should suffice. On another note, how will you process these files? I hope you have a super fast computer with matching monitors, and a whacking great CPU cooler to do this on or you will have trouble.

bananasushi said:

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?

Click to expand...

Not even close.

Why spend all the money on a GH5s if you don't want to take advantage of the high bitrates available to you; recording on a slow card doesn't make sense to me if you are so much into video that you own a GH5s.

You need a U3, V90 card; you'll find these are way cheaper than what the camera store is trying to (up)sell you.

Run away and buy online; I like supporting bricks and mortar but you have to draw the line somewhere

And the bad news? If you are serious about video you'll need large cards (256GB probably).

And the worse news? Best to get 2 of them, one for each card slot.

bananasushi said:

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extre...TF8&qid=1547181300&sr=8-8&keywords=sdxc+128gb

But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that

Click to expand...

You can; it will work at up to about 150/200Mb/s; I use the Samsung equivalent for 6K video on the GH5. 4K/60p will be fine at low bitrates.

But, what's the point?

CubeAce said:

bananasushi said:

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extre...TF8&qid=1547181300&sr=8-8&keywords=sdxc+128gb

But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that and that I would need the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 Card which can write at 300MB/s. That card is over $300!!! as compared to the UHS-1 version that is around $60-80

https://www.amazon.ca/Sandisk-Extre...=1547181824&sr=8-3&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I also noticed a lexar card that writes at 150MB/s. Still super expensive but less than half.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lexar-Profess...=1547182067&sr=8-2&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I just need second opinions from experienced people.

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

I noticed on another thread you were asking about 10 bit recording. If you went into this shop and talked about needing a card for 10 bit 60fps 4k then the advice they gave was probably OK. If not, and you are going the more normal 8 bit then your 95MB/s card should suffice. On another note, how will you process these files? I hope you have a super fast computer with matching monitors, and a whacking great CPU cooler to do this on or you will have trouble.

Click to expand...

Or could, you know, learn about proxies.

Not a biggie. Don't scare people.

I have that Lexar card and it can only record 5-10 seconds at 400 Mb/s.

I have understood that image quality is more or less same with 150 vs. 400.

Markr041 said:

bananasushi said:

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extre...TF8&qid=1547181300&sr=8-8&keywords=sdxc+128gb

But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that and that I would need the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 Card which can write at 300MB/s. That card is over $300!!! as compared to the UHS-1 version that is around $60-80

https://www.amazon.ca/Sandisk-Extre...=1547181824&sr=8-3&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I also noticed a lexar card that writes at 150MB/s. Still super expensive but less than half.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lexar-Profess...=1547182067&sr=8-2&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I just need second opinions from experienced people.

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

I have shot video using the 400Mbps setting. This is the card I used; it has the correct specs and it is not costly. It works well, as has been reported by other *users.* The advice given by Fotocrack is just wrong.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...Ch0_vQsaEAQYAiABEgIvtfD_BwE&lsft=BI:514&smp=Y

Click to expand...

Cool, thanks. I don't think they make this in a format bigger than 64gb

How many minutes of recording can you get out of it at the camera's highest settings. Well I guess if you are recording at 400Mb/s then just divide that by the size of the card, am I right? If 400Mb/s is equal to 50MB/s then 64GB is 64000MB divided by 50 is 1280 seconds which is 35 min... Ouch... I'd wish to have at least an hour of recording per card. I know you can put 2 cards in but still. Anyways, i'll keep it in mind.

CubeAce said:

bananasushi said:

I just bought a Panasonic GH5s

I've been googling but I can't find an exact answer to this specific question. Most of this sites only talk about 30p, not 60p. I read an article that said if the card's write speed is faster than the camera's bitrate in that recording format, then that is good enough. The bitrate at 4K 60p is 150 Mb/s but with a firmware update that goes up to 400Mb/s which is 50MB/s. So I need a card that can write at around 50MB/s or more. The Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 Card writes at 95 MB/s so that should be sufficient right?

https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extre...TF8&qid=1547181300&sr=8-8&keywords=sdxc+128gb

But I was told at the camera store that I wouldn't be able to record 4K60p with that and that I would need the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-2 Card which can write at 300MB/s. That card is over $300!!! as compared to the UHS-1 version that is around $60-80

https://www.amazon.ca/Sandisk-Extre...=1547181824&sr=8-3&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I also noticed a lexar card that writes at 150MB/s. Still super expensive but less than half.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lexar-Profess...=1547182067&sr=8-2&keywords=sdxc+128gb+uhs+ii

I just need second opinions from experienced people.

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

I noticed on another thread you were asking about 10 bit recording. If you went into this shop and talked about needing a card for 10 bit 60fps 4k then the advice they gave was probably OK. If not, and you are going the more normal 8 bit then your 95MB/s card should suffice. On another note, how will you process these files? I hope you have a super fast computer with matching monitors, and a whacking great CPU cooler to do this on or you will have trouble.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply. I just bought the parts to build a 4K video editing computer based on Max Yuryev's video on youtube


I chose to use an AMD Ryzen 2700X instead of i7 8700K though and get a dedicated video card. And now the 2070 and 2080 video cards are out rather than his 1070 that he used. I have an older gt 970 but I'm gonna buy an rtx 2070 video card. I don't have liquid cooling though. I told my computer store what I was building my computer for and they just put a regular fan on it.

Over a year ago I was just curious and asked in this forum what specs I'd need on a 4K workstation. I was given similar specs and my computer I have now is even more powerful than what all those others recommended. Here is the old link in case you are curious.


So may I ask why I need 2 monitors? Is it absolutely necessary? I have 2 but they don't match because i just bought a new 4k monitor.

Anyways, my computer rig is

Ryzen 2700x

16gb ram (will probably get more)

512 gb m.2 ssd

1tb hdd + many other external hdd drives

750 watt power supply

nvidia 2070 gpu

Cheers

CubeAce said:

On another note, how will you process these files?

Click to expand...

Just curious what you mean by processing? I know there is video post processing such as color grading (from log?) or just enriching the color, compressing to a different file format and many other things and effects. I don't know all the things one can do though.

I'm not gonna be making "movies". I just want to record my trip in Japan as nicely as I can in gorgeous color, high resolution and high frame rate as much as possible. I'm not planning on doing much to the footage. Maybe join some files together. Eg, record before entering the building, then change the camera setting for recording inside the building, and then splice it together. I 'might' try to do some color grading... not sure. I will be taking a video editing program course, so I'll learn more there and will probably see what else I might want to do.

As far as I know, I don't have to do anything to the footage. Like can't I just record, and then put those files on my computer as is and be able to watch them? (raw even)? I'm probably the only person that will ever enjoy them lol. (well, I will probably end up putting them on youtube... lol) I know the camera can directly record at mp4 right?

Thanks for your input

bananasushi said:

bananasushi said:

On another note, how will you process these files?

Click to expand...

Just curious what you mean by processing? I know there is video post processing such as color grading (from log?) or just enriching the color, compressing to a different file format and many other things and effects. I don't know all the things one can do though.

I'm not gonna be making "movies". I just want to record my trip in Japan as nicely as I can in gorgeous color, high resolution and high frame rate as much as possible. I'm not planning on doing much to the footage. Maybe join some files together. Eg, record before entering the building, then change the camera setting for recording inside the building, and then splice it together. I 'might' try to do some color grading... not sure. I will be taking a video editing program course, so I'll learn more there and will probably see what else I might want to do.

Click to expand...

From your description, this really sounds like you have the wrong camera - the GH5 would be a better fit because it has similar capabilities and will work far better handheld, since it has stabilisation. To most the IQ will be about the same, certainly if you are not doing any PP.

bananasushi said:

As far as I know, I don't have to do anything to the footage. Like can't I just record, and then put those files on my computer as is and be able to watch them? (raw even)? I'm probably the only person that will ever enjoy them lol. (well, I will probably end up putting them on youtube... lol) I know the camera can directly record at mp4 right?

Click to expand...

Viewing the out of camera video files is like viewing RAW files. You are wasting an opportunity if you don't edit them; even you will appreciate them more after editing (unless you have OK Go's level of camera skills).

Still, once you have the files you can deal with that later, but to get the most you need to process as you go, to correct mistakes and improve skills and quality.

bananasushi said:

Thanks for your input

Click to expand...

hindesite said:

From your description, this really sounds like you have the wrong camera - the GH5 would be a better fit because it has similar capabilities and will work far better handheld, since it has stabilisation. To most the IQ will be about the same, certainly if you are not doing any PP.

Click to expand...

I also bought a zhiyun crane plus to deal with the stabilization. The GH5s has better ISO which is important to me since some stuff I will record in Japan will be dark. There are many old buildings in Japan and they don't have lights except for windows and they are sorta dimmer inside (compared to outside). Not dark like you can't see anything.


for example, in this video, if you go to 45 min or later.

hindesite said:

Viewing the out of camera video files is like viewing RAW files. You are wasting an opportunity if you don't edit them; even you will appreciate them more after editing (unless you have OK Go's level of camera skills).

Still, once you have the files you can deal with that later, but to get the most you need to process as you go, to correct mistakes and improve skills and quality.

Click to expand...

I will take some PP courses and that will teach me what I can do with video and I will probably end up doing something after all. I would have probably gone with the GH5 but it was the improved ISO that made me go with the GH5s. There was sale a few weeks ago. The GH5s was $500 reduced in price, so that was nice... mind you the GH5 was also on sale... In that video I sent, i believe the person is using a sony a7sii. It's a bit more expensive and I heard the menu is terrible on that but panasonic has a much friendlier menu. I was trying to hold out for the a7siii but I'm sure that will be way too much money and I'm going to Japan in a couple months. I'm sure I'll get great footage on my camera. Especially compared to my first attempt 10 years ago when I used my handheld panasonic miniDV cam and the footage was terrible. Still, I'm happy to rewatch my trip. It's all I have and better than nothing, but this will be a huge improvement. I've watched a lot of people doing Japan travel videos with a 4K camera and a gimbal. It looks so good and I can't wait to do it too.

maybe i should have bought the black magic pocket cinema camera... cheaper and can record to external ssd and can get 4k 60p 4:2:2 10 bit

I am using 32 GB U1 microSD cards for € 3 each (from China) for

my THREE cameras with 4K/60fps.

Nooooo problems, they work well!

I can't understand why all cry for faaaast cards. They have toooo much money?

You need a matched pair of Angelbird 128 GB to be able to use all the GH5 features including back up to the SD cards.

Clarkefilmandmedia said:

You need a matched pair of Angelbird 128 GB to be able to use all the GH5 features including back up to the SD cards.

Click to expand...

Get a pair of Transcend UHS-II V90 SDXC cards for the GH5/GH5s.





I have been using Lexar 2000x UHS-II SDXC cards in my GH5 since I got it in early 2017 but the Transcend V90 cards are lower cost today.







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Nikon Coolpix P1000 4K 125x Superzoom

Thanks, looks good. However, I have been happy with 150 Mb/s and haven’t seen significants benefits for better bit rates (not saying that there are not, just don’t know about them).

apekkpul said:

Thanks, looks good. However, I have been happy with 150 Mb/s and haven’t seen significants benefits for better bit rates (not saying that there are not, just don’t know about them).

Click to expand...

Panasonic shows V60 / V90 cards are recommended for the highest data rate modes.







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Nikon Coolpix P1000 4K 125x Superzoom

When Blackmagic introduced their Pocket Cinema camera (around 2014 or so?), they said that Sandisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s is enough to record RAW video because it can do continuous writing (important) which means about at least 75MB/s or so. This means that it is at least V75 card. No one heard about these V speed standards at that time. Now there is overpriced V90 cards which claim to do something similar than what a lot cheaper cards did years ago. Sandisk probably slowed down their next Extreme Pro series to rip-off customers with their "new" V90 cards? 400 Mbit/s is 50MB/s anyway so V60 is max you need.