What are the best SD cards for Panasonic Lumix S5II video?

Question

honestly so over this right now. i just switched to the lumix s5ii because of all the hype around the autofocus and 6k open gate but i've had two recording failures in the last week and i'm losing my mind. i was filming a wedding ceremony here in seattle last saturday and the stupid thing just stopped mid-vow because of a card speed error. i'm using these sandisk extreme pro cards that worked fine on my old gh5 but they just cant keep up with the 10-bit 4:2:2 files on this new body i guess. its so stressful seeing that red recording icon turn into a warning message when you're in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime shot. i dont want to spend a fortune but i have another big client project in two weeks and i need something that actually works. my budget is around 150 bucks for a couple cards if possible. do i really need to spend the extra for v90s or are there v60 cards that wont fail me? i've heard some people say the kingston canvas react plus is good but others say they overheat. what are you guys actually using for long high bitrate video takes on the s5ii that doesnt crash? im literally scared to hit the record button at this point...

HyperHarbor · Accepted Answer

> do i really need to spend the extra for v90s or are there v60 cards that wont fail me? Quick question... are you shooting All-I or LongGOP? If youre on LongGOP, I'm satisfied with these options:

ProGrade Digital SDXC UHS-II V60 Gold: cheap and reliable

Sony SF-M Series Tough V60: durable but pricey

Kingston Canvas React Plus V90: fast but runs hot I have no complaints with the ProGrades tho, they just work.

MatrixMarauder · Answer

@Reply #1 - good point! honestly i'd be careful about relying purely on any random v60 cards for 6k open gate. i actually have to politely disagree with the suggestion for the gold series cards mentioned above... i've seen those throttle a bit too much during long wedding takes when the camera gets warm. since you're in seattle it might be less of an issue, but i still might want to suggest the Angelbird AV PRO SD MK2 V60 128GB instead. they're specifically built for sustained write stability, which is exactly where those sandisks tend to fail. quick tip: check if you're shooting All-I. switching to LongGOP for your 10-bit 4:2:2 files significantly lowers the data rate without a massive hit to image quality. it gives your cards way more overhead and keeps them cooler. just make sure to format in-camera before every single gig to keep the file structure clean. you'll get through that next shoot just fine, hang in there...

MidnightKernel · Answer

I had a similar nightmare during a corporate gig last year where the camera just quit halfway through. The reliable old cards I used to trust just werent cutting it for the newer high-bitrate codecs anymore. Sustained write speed matters way more than the marketing fluff on the box. Moving up to v60 cards is a decent option because it works without the crazy price tag of v90s, and honestly, those errors stopped happening entirely for me.