Sandisk has introduced its Guardian Series, a new line of high-endurance microSD cards for devices that record around the clock: dash cams and home security cameras.

There are two cards, the Sandisk Dash Cam Card and the Sandisk Security Cam Card. Both come in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities, support up to 4K UHD recording, and are rated for read speeds up to 100MB/s and write speeds up to 40MB/s.

The difference is the environment each is built for. The Dash Cam Card is designed to cope with the heat, cold, humidity and vibration inside a car. Sandisk quotes up to 40,000 hours of recording for the 512GB version. The Security Cam Card is aimed at year-round outdoor cameras, and Sandisk says the 512GB model can record continuously for up to four years.

Both are designed for constant overwriting. A dash cam or doorbell camera records on a loop, writing over the oldest footage again and again, and that wears out a standard card much faster than occasional photo or video use. Endurance cards are built to handle that load, so footage is still there when you need it.

This isn’t a launch aimed at photographers’ main cameras, but it’s useful for anyone who has had a dash cam or security camera fail at the worst moment. The same thinking applies to timelapse rigs and wildlife trail cameras that run unattended for weeks, where a dead card means lost footage.

Sandisk hasn’t quoted environmental test standards or operating temperature ranges on its product pages, so we’d check those before relying on one in an extreme setting. Both cards carry a two-year limited warranty.

Sandisk Guardian Series specifications

Sandisk Guardian Series price and availability

Both cards are listed on Sandisk’s UK site. Prices weren’t shown at the time of writing. See the Sandisk Dash Cam Card and Sandisk Security Cam Card product pages for details.