Our customers often ask why they should use AXIS SD surveillance cards with IP cameras, while standard SD memory cards can be a third of the price.
The answer is 'standard' or 'endurance' memory SD cards do not have the same level of endurance when compared to the AXIS SD surveillance cards. Axis has worked closely with SanDisk over many years to make sure their surveillance SD cards typically perform for the full lifetime of a camera.
Let's not forget that most SD memory cards are used for storing data for a period of time. They are not designed for constant writing and reading of video data, as is the case in a CCTV system, but AXIS SD surveillance cards are.
The level of endurance of an Axis SD surveillance card is up to six time more than that of other cards. Absolutely, both AXIS and other manufacturers' cards will work in a CCTV camera, but the Axis SD card will long outlive the alternative card. With a continuing trend towards higher resolution recording, and the increased use of multi-sensor cameras, writing to on-camera SD cards is becoming more and more intensive, causing the need for higher endurance of the card.
In terms of total costs, with Axis SD surveillance cards you will have significantly less (and probably none at all) maintenance requirement to replace the card during a camera's life. Using standard cards will almost certainly lead to more maintenance and replacement needs over time.
If you rely on the SD card as your primary recording medium, then the risk of not having any recordings due to a failed card should be a consideration too. Let's not forget, AXIS is in the business of providing robust video surveillance solutions, and so the reliability and uptime of their SD cards is critical to them. That's what the cards are designed for. Standard SD cards are made for a different purpose, targeted at a mass market and lower costs, and that makes these cards less suitable for video security applications.
And, there's the AXIS 5-year warranty on their SD surveillance cards, backing up their belief that their cards will last at least this long, even under intense use.