You can view straight from the cam or have a second sd card to swap out . Might as well leave the cam working for you in the bush and view from a digital camera or card reader. Cam will accept up to a 2 gb card and will not run without an SD card installed. Not sure how they are sold with or without an SD card. What I like about the cam is when yoiu go home leave it to guard the camp to intruders. It is so small and easy to conseal.