SD cards, also known as Secure Digital cards, have become an essential storage medium for a variety of devices. From digital cameras to mobile phones, SD cards allow you to expand storage and transfer files easily between devices. But what exactly can these handy little memory cards be used for? Here we’ll explore the many uses and benefits of SD cards.
Digital Cameras
One of the most common uses for SD cards is in digital cameras. Most digital cameras, from simple point-and-shoot models to advanced DSLRs, use SD cards as the primary storage medium for photos and videos. The cards allow you to store hundreds or even thousands of high resolution photos and high definition videos right on the card. When the card becomes full, you can simply transfer the files to a computer or external hard drive and then erase and reuse the card. SD cards are inexpensive, small, portable and durable, making them ideal for capturing photos and videos on a digital camera. The speed rating of the SD card (e.g. Class 10) determines how fast data can be written to the card, which is important when shooting in continuous burst mode or recording HD video.
Camcorders
Along with digital cameras, most camcorders on the market also use SD cards as the storage medium for videos. When recording video at high resolutions like 1080p or 4K, large file sizes build up quickly. SD cards provide ample storage space for long recordings without taking up a huge amount of physical space in the camcorder body. The cards can be removed to transfer footage to a computer for editing and sharing. Security camera systems also frequently rely on SD cards for storing continuous surveillance footage. The overwrite capability of SD cards makes them practical for these applications.
Smartphones and Tablets
With smartphone cameras continuously improving and shooting photos and videos at 12MP, 48MP or even 108MP resolutions, built-in storage can fill up fast. Most Android smartphones support the use of microSD cards to expand the storage capacity for photos, videos, apps and other files. A high capacity SD card up to 1TB can provide ample additional storage space for media files. SD cards are also commonly used as storage on tablets and handheld gaming devices like the Nintendo Switch. The ability to swap SD cards makes managing and transporting files between devices easy.
Drones
Most consumer and prosumer camera drones rely on SD cards to store photos and video footage captured during flights. Drones capable of shooting in high resolutions like 4K require storage with fast write speeds and high capacity, making SD cards the perfect solution. The small size and weight of SD cards is also ideal for drones where weight must be kept to a minimum. Being able to quickly remove and replace SD cards allows drone pilots to continuously fly missions and collect aerial imagery or video. The SD card can then be removed for backup and analysis once the drone lands.
Dash Cams and Security Cameras
In-car dash cams and home or business security camera systems also find SD cards invaluable for recording continuous footage while keeping costs down. A high endurance SD card can be set up to loop recording, overwriting the oldest footage first when capacity is full. The SD cards are compact and modular, making them ideal for securely storing days or weeks worth of driving or security footage that can be easily removed if an incident occurs that requires evidence review. High capacity cards up to 512GB allow longer recording times before looping is required.
Handheld Media Players
Before smartphones became ubiquitous, handheld MP3 players were widely used for listening to music on the go. Devices like the iPod relied on small SD cards to expand storage capacity so more songs could be loaded onto the player. Today, compact handheld media players continue to use SD cards to store several hours worth of music at high bitrates for audiophile-quality sound. The players only have built-in memory sufficient for the operating system, relying fully on SD cards for media storage.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch gaming console uses proprietary game cards for game distribution, but also supports standard microSD cards for expanding the internal storage. This allows gamers to purchase cards up to 2TB to store additional digital games, downloadable content, screenshots and gameplay video captures. The ability to remove and replace SD cards makes it easy to upgrade for more storage as game file sizes increase. It also allows switching between cards containing different games and content.
Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi single board computers run Linux-based operating systems and rely on SD cards as the primary storage medium. The operating system boots from the SD card and it also provides storage space for software, applications, settings and documents. Fast Class 10 SD cards provide responsive performance, while high capacity cards up to 512GB allow ample storage space. The cards make it easy to distribute configured software SD card images and to replace cards between different Pi units.
Printers
Many photo printers aimed at consumers and professionals support printing directly from SD cards inserted into a slot on the printer. This provides a quick and easy way to print photos at home straight from your camera’s SD card without having to connect the camera or card to a computer first. Wireless SD cards can also allow printing from mobile devices to compatible printers. Some high end 3D printers also allow model files to be transferred via SD card for direct printing without requiring a PC connection.
Microcontrollers
Microcontroller development boards designed for students and hobbyists like Arduino often use SD cards to load programs and transfer other data like sensor logs. The cards offer inexpensive removable storage compared to on-board flash memory. SD cards are also commonly used for OS disks in small form factor and embedded computing systems. Their small size makes them handy for transferring data to and from these systems that often lack conventional storage media.
Satellite Navigation
While maps and navigation software for personal navigation devices (PNDs) and automotive media systems are stored on internal flash storage, SD cards give you the ability to augment onboard navigation with additional features. GPS map data can be loaded from SD cards to supplement the internal maps. Speed camera locations, custom points of interest and other geographic data can also be added via SD cards. Updating obsolete navigation maps is also possible using SD cards on some systems.
Audio Recording
High capacity SD cards are a low cost solution for expanding the recording time of handheld audio recorders used by musicians, journalists and audio professionals. For live concert bootlegs, interviews and other scenarios with long continuous recording times, SD cards provide reliable storage without the bulk of tapes. Cards ranging from 32GB to 1TB give hours to days of uncompressed audio recording. The cards can be quickly transferred to a computer for editing, archiving and distribution. SD recording provides reliable portable media without the moving parts of hard drives.
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo’s 3DS line of portable game consoles uses SD cards as storage for game downloads from the eShop, digital photos, downloaded software and game data. The built-in storage on the consoles themselves are quite small, with some models shipping with only a 2GB card. Expanding with SD cards up to 32GB allows room for game downloads, DLC, photos taken with the camera and homebrew software. The ability to swap SD cards makes it easy to upgrade for more space over time as needed.
Arcade Game Emulators
Compact arcade game emulator cabinets aimed at home users often use SD cards as the storage medium. A multi-gigabyte card can hold the emulated ROM images for hundreds or thousands of classic arcade game titles. The card can hold different game collections, with the user swapping between multiple SD cards to change which titles are available on the cabinet. New titles can easily be added by transferring ROM files to the card via a PC. The small size and low cost of SD cards makes them practical for these hobbyist arcade cabinets.
Broadcast Automation Systems
SD cards excel in broadcast television automation systems as a reliable medium for storing hours of scheduled programming and advertisements ready for broadcast. A high capacity SD card can hold an entire day’s worth of mixed media scheduled in time slots for playout. Redundant SD card slots allow fail-safe playback to air in case of errors. The media files and schedule text files on SD cards can easily be updated by automation control software each day with new content and scheduling.
Industrial Automation
In industrial settings like factories, SD cards are utilized within various automation systems for holding configuration files, machine software and operating parameters. Small programmable logic controllers (PLCs) often rely on SD cards for program and data storage. Like microcontrollers, SD cards serve as an inexpensive storage medium for transferring data. Their durability and reliability make them well suited to harsh industrial environments. Swapping SD cards allows different product manufacturing programs and configs to be quickly changed.
Servers
While SD cards are unsuitable for primary storage on servers due to their limited lifespan with extensive writes, they can serve well as boot media containing the operating system and as removable media for transferring software and data. For example, installing Linux server OS images onto SD cards makes it easy to replicate the same server environment. Admins can also utilize SD cards to quickly migrate data like database files between servers or do routine backups to SD cards that can be stored off-site. The compact size makes them handy for server techs to carry in their toolkit for emergency system boots or data recovery.
Car Entertainment Systems
Today’s cars now come equipped with SD card slots as standard features on infotainment systems and GPS navigation units. Owners can load music, audiobooks and maps onto an SD card for use in the vehicle. Music from SD cards can be played on the car’s sound system from a built-in media player. SD GPS map data provides turn-by-turn navigation and POI information. Updating outdated infotainment systems is also possible by installing software patches via SD card to add new features and apps. Drivers can easily swap SD cards to change their car’s entertainment and navigation content.
Card Readers
One of the conveniences of the SD standard is that the cards can be accessed by using cheap and commonly available USB-based card readers. This eliminates the need to have SD card slots built into PCs and other devices. A multi-format USB card reader that handles SD, microSD and other popular card types allows easy transfer of data between devices like cameras, phones, drones and computers. Portable pocket-sized USB readers make it easy for photographers to offload photos and videos while traveling. SD cards excel due to their broad compatibility across many types of readers.
Table Recapping Main Uses
| Device or Use Case | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Digital cameras | Storage for photos and videos; inexpensive, portable, reusable |
| Camcorders | Storage for high resolution video; removable for transferring footage |
| Smartphones | Expandable storage for photos, videos, apps |
| Drones | Lightweight storage for aerial photos and video; Allows for quick card swapping to continue flying missions |
| Dash cams / Security cameras | Reliable storage for continuous looped footage that can easily be removed if needed as evidence |
| Handheld media players | Inexpensive storage expansion for additional music capacity |
| Nintendo Switch | Memory expansion for game downloads, DLC, screenshots, gameplay videos |
| Raspberry Pi | Primary storage medium for operating system and data files |
| Printers | Direct photo printing from SD cards inserted into the printer without PC required |
| Microcontrollers | Adds removable storage for transferring data and programs |
| Satellite navigation devices | Allows adding additional map data, speed camera locations and custom POIs |
| Audio recorders | Inexpensive storage expansion for long continuous recordings |
| Nintendo 3DS | Storage expansion for game downloads, digital photos, software |
| Arcade game cabinets | Holds game ROMs, allows for swapping between game collections |
| Broadcast automation | Reliable medium for playback of scheduled programming and ads |
| Industrial automation | Storage for configs, machine software, operating parameters; Durable and swappable |
| Servers | OS boot medium, transfer of software/data, backups to offsite storage |
| Car entertainment | Music, audiobooks, maps, software upgrades |
| Card readers | Provides portable access to media across devices like cameras, drones, phones, laptops |
Conclusion
While originally designed as a format for digital film cameras, SD cards have proven to be ubiquitous and versatile removable storage modules. Their compact size hides an impressive capacity, making them ideal for expanding storage in portable consumer devices where internal memory quickly fills. Industrial, automotive and IT applications also leverage SD cards as a reliable and practical removable medium. SD cards continue to deliver value across a range of devices and use cases. Their broad compatibility with inexpensive card readers further cements their place as a storage solution that will remain highly relevant into the future.