Memory cards play an important role in the world of photography and videography, yet they often baffle users with their complex labels and specifications. In this blog post, we’re here to give a well-deserved shout-out to the memory card industry for keeping pace with the rapidly evolving camera industry.
I’ll break down the essential aspects of memory cards: Form factor, capacity, and speed.
By understanding these basics, you’ll be better equipped to choose the right memory card for your camera and ensure seamless photo and video capture.
Memory Card Form Factor
The physical size and shape of memory cards vary, and it’s crucial to know which one suits your camera. Here are some common form factors:
- SD (Secure Digital) Cards: Found in many DSLR and mirrorless cameras, SD cards come in various sizes, including SDHC and SDXC. These designations refer to those cards having a higher storage capacity, but the form factor is the same.
- MicroSD Cards: Typically used in action cameras, phones, and gaming consoles. They often come with adapter sleeves, but avoid using these in cameras requiring standard SD cards because they can affect the card’s write speed.
- Compact Flash (CF): An older technology being phased out but still used in some cameras. CF cards are larger and thicker than SD cards.
- XQD and CFExpress: These cards are similar in form factor. They’re high-performance memory card formats primarily used in professional cameras and devices for storing high-quality photos and videos.
To determine which form factor your camera supports, check the manufacturer’s specifications. For example, when you go to the “Specs” area on the listing for the Nikon Z6ii camera on the B&H Website you’ll see that next to “Media / Memory Card Slot” it lists it’s compatible with CFExpress, XQD and SD cards.
Capacity: How Much Can Your Memory Card Hold?
Memory cards list their storage capacity, usually in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB). However, the number of photos or videos a card can hold depends on the file sizes. Here are some general guidelines to help you gauge the size of card you will need:
- 64 GB card will hold 320 minutes of 1080p recording or 2200 30MB RAW Files
- 128 GB will hold 640 minutes of 1080p recording or 4300 30 MB RAW Files
Personally, for stills work I find a 64GB card is plenty and for video I like a 128GB card.
You might think bigger is better in terms of capacity, but I’ll warn you to rethink that. Memory cards are not intended to be used as long-term storage devices. The purpose of a memory card is to store the photos from the shoot but then you need to transfer them to a more stable, longer-term storage solution like a hard drive. If you want to learn more about that, check out my previous post about Photo Storage for Photographers