The Best Memory Cards for Cameras in 2024
Getting the best memory card for camera doesn’t have to be that hard. All you need is a detailed guide on how to choose the best and a wide selection of memory cards. And we have both.
First, we will show you memory cards available on the market that include the best SD card, CF cards, CFast card, and XQD card choices. Next, we prepared a detailed guide on how to choose a perfect memory card for your camera. Let’s begin.
Best Memory Cards
SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Card
The Best SD Card For 4K Video
- Capacity Range: 32GB – 1TB
- Minimum Write Speed: 30MB/s
- Maximum Read Speed: 170MB/s
The SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC is the best SD card for recording 4K UHD videos. It has a guaranteed minimum write speed of 30MB/s, enough for recording 4K videos. Write speed can go up to 90MB/s and transfer speed can reach 170MB/s.
Just remember that to achieve the maximum transfer speed you have to use SanDisk USB 3.0 card reader or another compatible card reader.
- Sold In A Variety Of Sizes
- Excellent Write Speeds
- Fast Transfer Speed
- Lifetime Warranty
- A Bit Expensive
- Specific Card Readers Needed For Achieving Max Transfer Speed
Samsung Evo Plus SDXC
Premium Samsung Quality Product
- 64GB to 256GB storage options
- Up to 130 MB/s transfer speeds
- Highly durable 7-proof device
When it comes to storage devices Samsung is known for making the best of the best simply by including the best specs and unmatched build quality. The Samsung Evo Plus is not an exception and is an excellent SDXC card with all of those credentials.
The Evo Plus comes in storage configurations from 32GB up to 256GB and can have transfer speeds of up to 130 MB/s. The fast transfer speeds fall in the UHS (U3) category meaning you can do pretty much anything with this SD card (4K & 1080 photos and videos).
The Evo Plus has been made to be waterproof, X-ray proof, magnet-proof, and has many other resistances that qualify it as a top-of-the-line product regarding storage devices for your DSLR camera. Samsung is a leader in flash memory devices and the Evo Plus is yet another great product from them.
- Fast transfer speeds that can easily handle 4K footage
- 7-proof protection means this SD card will not die on you
- Samsung is the leader in flash memory for a reason
- Great pricing
- Limited to only 256GB maximum storage which for 4K footage is not much
PNY Elite-X Class 10 U3 V30 SDXC Card
Solid Budget SD Card
- Capacity Range: 64GB – 128GB
- Minimum Write Speed: 30MB/s
- Maximum Read Speed: 100 MB/s
The PNY Elite-X is a solid budget SD card that can be used for 4K video recording. The card features minimum write speed of 30MB/s and read speed that can reach up to 100 MB/s. While the specs are more than decent and suitable for mid-range DSLR cameras and camcorders, the downside is that this card is available in capacities of only 64GB and 128GB.
- Affordable
- Solid Specs
- Lifetime Warranty
- Not Suitable For High-end Cameras
- Available Only In 64GB and 128GB Sizes
SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Card
The Best CF Card
- Capacity Range: 32GB – 256GB
- Minimum Write Speed: 65MB/s
- Maximum Read Speed: 170MB/s
If you need a quality compact flash card for your high-end camera, check out the SanDisk Extreme PRO. The card features the minimum write speed of 65MB/s, which should enable continuous recording of high-quality 4K videos.
Read speeds can go up to 160MB/s, which is the maximum UDMA 7 standard supported on this card offers. Finally, the card comes with a lifetime warranty, which is always a plus.
- Lifetime Warranty
- VGP65 Support
- None
Lexar Professional 1066x CompactFlash Card
Excellent CF Card For High-End Cameras
- Capacity Range: 32GB – 256GB
- Minimum Write Speed: 65MB/s
- Maximum Read Speed: 160MB/s
The Lexar Professional 1066x CompactFlash Card is an excellent compact flash card for high-end cameras. It comes with VPG65 support and has a maximum read speed of 160MB/s. These cards are also a bit cheaper than their SanDisk Extreme PRO counterparts.
On paper, everything’s great. But some user reviews report corrupted cards and cards that come with build defects. While this is an excellent CF card that comes with a lifetime warranty, getting a defected product can be a major pain.
- Affordable
- VPG65 Support
- Lifetime Warranty
- User Reviews Mention Corrupted Cards and Cards With Build Defects
Silicon Power CFast2.0 CinemaPro CFX310 Card
The Best CFast Memory Card For Most Users
- Capacity Range: 128GB – 512GB
- Minimum Write Speed: About 190MB/s
- Maximum Read Speed: 530MB/s
If you require a fast CFast memory card for your high-end DSLR or camcorder, check out the Silicon Power CFast2.0 CinemaPro CFX310. The card has superb specs. CFast 2.0 support allows for up to 330MB/s write speed. This means continuous recording of cinema-quality 4K videos. Just not expect to be able to shoot at 4K lossless in every codec.
Read speed is also impressive. At 530MB/s it can match SATA SSDs. Last but not least, the card is available in up to 512BG capacity. The only slight downside is the 3-year warranty period. Most competitors offer a lifetime warranty.
- Relatively Affordable
- Great Specs For The Price
- 3-Year Warranty
- Cannot Be Used For 4K Lossless Recordings In All Codecs
Sony Professional XQD G series
The Best XQD Card
- Capacity Range: 32GB – 240GB
- Minimum Write Speed: About 237MB/s
- Maximum Read Speed: About 315MB/s
If you need an XQD card for your Sony or Nikon DSLR, look no further than the Sony Professional XQD G series memory cards. This is a robust memory card made for recording high-quality 4K video and continuous RAW burst shooting. Write speed can reach 350MB/s but real-life tests show a minimum write speed of about 237MB/s when used for recording. Impressive even though lower than advertised.
Read speed can reach 440MB/s and in real-life tests, the card reached about 315MB/s read speed. Not as impressive as write speed but still pretty good. The only major downside of this card is the price, which is fairly high for any memory card.
- Ultra-Fast Write Speed
- Rugged Design
- Expensive
Teamgroup Elite SDXC Memory Card
The Best Budget SD Card
- 64GB to 256GB storage options
- 90 MB/s read and 45MB/s write
- UHS-I U3 and V30 compatible
Recording footage in 4K UHD requires quite a bit of space which usually means you would have to invest in a spacious SD card. Fortunately, with the development of better storage devices like the Teamgroup Elite SD card this investment can be significantly cut down while retaining great specs and performance.
The Elite SDXC card comes in capacities from 64GB up to 256 GB and has a read/write speed of 90/45 MB/s. The speeds or the capacities are not exactly meant to impress here but the device can record and store 4K footage which is plenty good for most users.
This is all while being a durable and reliable device with UHS-I U3 and V30 specs that costs only 15$. Considering the budget and the specs it makes sense why if you are on a budget the Teamgroup Elite makes sense as a purchase.
- A great budget option
- Is adequate for 4K recordings
- A durable storage device that will survive in a DSLR camera
- The capacity and speeds are not top-notch
Samsung Evo Select 2021
The Best Micro SD Card For GoPro
- 130 MB/s transfer speeds
- 64/128/256/512 GB storage options
- Samsung-grade quality build
Samsung makes a lot of chipsets in-house therefore it is not surprising that they also produce MicroSD cards. These come in handy with the purchase of their own Samsung phones, cameras, and any other devices in need of extra storage.
The Samsung Evo Select SD card bears the same traits as most Samsung products, being very capable. The Evo Select can do up to 130MB/s transfer speeds which is above most other SD cards on the market.
This is because the Evo Select comes with superfast U3 Class 10 and with a UHS-I interface. These technologies make the 130MB/s possible making sure you can playback any footage from your SD card with no delays or stutters.
Samsung also offers a great selection of capacities starting from 64GB all the way up to 512GB. These Samsung SD cards are made to last with waterproof, dust-proof, magnet-proof, and other resistances included.
- Fast transfer speeds with the 130MB/s
- Great selection of capacities for individual needs
- Will not die easily with all the proofing Samsung has done
- Excellence has a price
How To Choose A Memory Card For Camera
The best SD card for DSLR doesn’t have to be the best for GoPro. The reason is that different devices support different memory card types and can benefit from different read and write speeds.
Luckily, picking the best memory card for the camera boils down to just a couple of steps. Let’s cover each of them.
Which Memory Card Type You Need
First of all, check which memory card type your device supports. The easiest way to get the answer to this question is by reading your device manual. You can also check memory card slots on your device, each slot has a specific label informing which memory cards can fit inside it.
Reading your device manual can also provide info on max memory card write speeds supported by your device. Buying a memory card with a higher than supported write speed is a waste of money. It’s like buying a 1TB flash drive to backup your Steam saves.
Different Memory Card Types
SD cards can be complicated – The good old SD card is more complicated than it looks on the surface. Different SD cards feature different capacities and read speeds. Depending on their capacity, they are labeled as SD, SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC.
Regular SD cards have a capacity of up to 4GB. SDHC cards can store between 4 and 32GB of data. SDXC cards are made in sizes from 64GB and 2TB. Finally, SDUC cards can hold more than 2TB of data. Now, most modern cameras can use SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards. If you want to get an SDUC card, double-check if your camera supports it.
Older camera models may come without support for SDXC (models released before 2010) or even SDHC (models that were released before 2008). If you have an older camera, read the manual before getting a large capacity SD card. Do mind that all the above works for microSD cards.
Further, microSD cards usually come with an adapter that allows them to be used in regular SD card slots. But regular SD cards cannot be used in microSD card slots.
Action cameras and cameras used on drones usually come with a microSD card slot. DSLRs and professional cameras usually come with a regular SD card slot.
Compact Flash cards – These memory cards are way older than SD cards but they are still used in many camera models. They offer high write speeds and have a similar range of capacities as SD cards. On the other hand, they are much larger than SD cards.
Despite their chunkier dimensions, CF cards are still in use because they offer better durability than SD cards and come with the same read and write speeds, allowing them to be used for UHD video recordings. Most professional cameras have both SD and CF card slots.
Difference Between Compact Flash and CFast Cards – CFast Cards are the next generation of Compact Flash card technology. While regular CF cards use the outdated IDE – or PATA – interface used in older hard drives and CD-ROM devices, CFast cards use the currently popular Serial ATA (SATA) Interface that enables much higher read and writes speeds. For the best read and write speeds get a CFast card with the CFast 2.0 logo.
XQD Cards – XQD is the latest memory card technology. These cards are currently used in just a handful of Nikon and Sony cameras with more XQD-compatible models coming in the future.
SD and Compact Flash Speed Classes
Aside from different capacity labels, SD and compact flash memory cards have various speed classes. Faster cards are used for recording higher resolution videos. Higher the resolution higher the write speed must be in order to capture that video.
Classic SD cards speed classes have four classes:
- Class 2 – minimum write speed of 2MB/s
- Class 4 – minimum write speed of 4MB/s
- Class 6 – minimum write speed of 6MB/s
- Class 10 – minimum write speed of 10MB/s
If you need a memory card for recording 1080p video, look for class 6 SD cards or higher. Class 10 is suitable for the 4K video. When it comes to photos, even the class 4 SD card can fit the bill.
UHS (ultra-high speed) SD cards, made to support 4K video recordings, are divided into two groups:
- U1 – minimum write speed of 10MB/s
- U3 – minimum write speed of 30MB/s
UHS-II cards come with a new data bus and if inserted into a slot of a device that doesn’t support the UHS data bus, the card will default to slower read speed.
Finally, the latest speed class labeling includes a wide range of write speeds:
- V6 – minimum write speed of 6MB/s
- V10 – minimum write speed of 10MB/s
- V30 – minimum write speed of 30MB/s
- V60 – minimum write speed of 60MB/s
- V90 – minimum write speed of 90MB/s
If you need the best SD card for 4K video, get anything between the V30 and V60. For the 1080p video, any V speed class will be enough. The same goes for photos.
Compact Flash cards come with different speed classes. Ultra DMA 7 (UDMA 7) CF cards are the ones you should be looking for. They offer the best read and write speeds and are suited for 4K video recording. UDMA 7 standard allows for up to 167MB/s read speed.
Next, some CF cards show read speed as a number followed by x (for instance 1000x). This can be confusing, but there’s a simple formula for calculating read speeds labeled that way. Just divide the number with 6.666 and that’s it. for instance, read speed of 1000x translates to 1000 divided by 6.666, which equals 150MB/s. Easy.
Finally, there’s another label that guarantees minimum write speed that is used on CF cards. The VPG or video performance guarantee logo is a clapboard with a number inside it. There are three VPG classes – VPG 20, VPG 65, and VPG 130. These stand for 20MB/s, 65MB/s, and 130MB/s, respectively. If you’re looking for a CF card that’s guaranteed to offer continuous write speed for UHD video, look for one that has the VPG logo on it.
The best compact flash card should come with UDMA 7 support, with 1066x read speed and with at least VPG 65 logo on it.