Calculating how many pictures can 256Gb hold may get a bit tricky!
That’s precisely why I’ve come up with this post.
Here you’ll discover how many photos (RAW or JPEG) you can store on your 256GB SD card.
Please note that there are various factors that affect the photo size, which in turn affects how many photos your SD card can hold.
How Many Pictures Can 256GB Card Hold
In this section, you’ll learn how many photos (JPEG) you can store on your 256GB microSD card. Please note that the number of pictures mentioned below is based on approximate measures. The actual number of photos that you’re able to store using different resolutions may vary a little bit. Also, we assume that the SD card has been formatted beforehand and does not have any other file before capturing pictures.
GoPro Hero 12 Black
The GoPro Hero 11 Black, featuring a 27MP image resolution, generates image files with an estimated size of 6.7MB each. Consequently, you can save roughly 38208 images on a 256GB SD card.
GoPro Hero 11 Black
The GoPro Hero 11 Black, featuring a 27MP image resolution, generates image files with an estimated size of 6.7MB each. Consequently, you can save roughly 38208 images on a 256GB SD card.
GoPro Hero 10 Black
With 23.6MP image resolution, the image size on GoPro Hero 10 Black is around 6.5MB. So, you’ll be able to store about 39384 images on a 256GB SD card.
GoPro Hero 9 Black
The GoPro Hero 9 Black has a 20MP lens and captures approximately 5.6MB images. It means that you can store 45714 images on your 256GB SD card.
GoPro Max
With 16.6MP image resolution, the image size on GoPro Max is around 5MB. Therefore, you’ll be able to store about 51200 GoPro Max image captures on your 256SD SD card.
GoPro Hero 8 Black, Hero 7 Black & Hero 6 Black
The above-mentioned cameras use the most common image resolution for GoPros – 12MP. The image size of these cameras is 3.6MB. This translates into roughly 71112 images that you can store on a 256GB SD card.
JPEG & RAW Images
Most GoPro cameras shoot pictures in two formats – JPEG & RAW. Whether the picture format is RAW or JPEG greatly affects its size. Have a look below to know how these formats differ from each other.
JPEG
JPEG is a hugely popular image format. You can easily open JPEG images on any device. The approximate size of such images when you’re shooting with a 12-MP camera is 3.6MB. So, a 256GB SD card can hold about 71000 JPEG pictures. However, this number can vary depending on the picture quality. For example, if your camera has more megapixels (say 24-MP), it would translate into more space for each picture(6.4MB). Therefore, in such a case, you will only be able to fit 35500 photos on your 256GB SD card.
Have a look at the below table to learn how the camera resolution affects the number of JPEG pictures you can store per GB:
Megapixels | File Size (MB) | Images per GB |
---|---|---|
5.5MP | 1.7 | 588 |
8MP | 2.4 | 417 |
10MP | 3 | 333 |
12MP | 3.6 | 277 |
16.6MP | 5 | 200 |
18MP | 5.2 | 192 |
20MP | 5.6 | 178 |
23.6MP | 6.5 | 153 |
RAW
As opposed to JPEF files which are easily openable on any device, RAW image files are brand-specific. You can view such files only on your camera but not on a different device. Typically, RAW images are much larger than JPEG ones. That’s why you won’t be able to store as many pictures in a 256GB SD card. On average, a RAW file captured on a GoPro camera is about 30 MB in size. Therefore, a 256GB SD card can store about 8600 RAW pictures.
Factors Affecting the Number of Pictures
The following three factors affect the number of images that you can store on your 256GB SD card:
Resolution
This is the most significant factor that affects photo size. The higher the image resolution of your camera, the greater your photo size will be. So, you’ll be able to store more images on your SD card if you have a 12-MP camera rather than a 20-MP one, for example.
Format
As described in the previous section, the image format also affects its size. JPEG is a compressed format and results in reduced image size when compared to uncompressed image formats like RAW. So, you’ll be able to store more pictures on your SD card if you use the JPEG format.
Video & Other files
Most people use GoPro cameras for shooting some amazing videos. Also, additional files, like LRV and THM files that are created by GoPro cameras, also use space on your SD card. So, while calculating the number of images your SD card can hold, you must take into account the space used by videos and other files.
Therefore, coming up with the exact number of photos that your SD card can hold is a bit complex. The above-mentioned factors can hugely affect the image size and the availability of space on your SD card.
Recommended 256GB microSD Cards
So, that’s how you calculate the number of pictures you can possibly store on your 256GB SD card. Now, let’s discuss some of the best SD cards that you can buy now.
Here are some of my top recommendations for 256GB microSD cards:
SanDisk Extreme UHS-I 256GB microSD Card
- Up to 160MB/s read speeds to save time transferring high res images and 4K UHD...
- Up to 90MB/s write speeds for fast shooting; Requires compatible devices capable of...
- 4K UHD and Full HD Ready with UHS speed class 3 (U3) and video speed class 30 (V30)
Samsung EVO Select 256GB UHS-I microSD Card
- Ideal for recording 4K UHD video: Samsung MicroSD Evo is perfect for high res photos,...
- Enhanced read write speeds: Sequential read and write performance levels of up to...
- Built to last reliability: Shock proof memory card is also water proof, temperature...
Lexar Professional 633x 256GB UHS-I microSD Card
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Delkin Select V30 256GB UHS-I microSD Card
- Supports Full HD 1080p Video Recording
- Time-Lapse, Photo-Burst, Protune & HDR Ready
- Read/Write Speeds: 100/80 MB/s
PNY Elite-X V30 256GB UHS-I microSD Card
- Up to 100MB/s read speed
- Class 10, U3, V30 performance for recording of 4k ultra HD videos at 4096x3072 pix as...
- A1 (app 1) performance allows for apps to run faster from MicroSD card, saving space...
Thanks for reading!
I hope this post answered your question – how many pictures can 256gb hold (RAW + JPEG) 🙂
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