Which Memory Card is Best for your Mirrorless or DSLR Camera in 2021
If you are wondering “What SD card should I get for my camera?” then you have come to the right place. Today I’m going to share with you how memory cards work, how many pictures a memory card can hold, which SD cards are best for your DSLR or Mirrorless camera, and even what is the difference between SD and SDHC memory cards.
How many memory cards do I need for a vacation or a wedding?
Memory cards hold the photos you take so choosing a memory card with a high capacity means it will hold more photos. Common capacities for memory cards are 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. My camera takes 24-megapixel photos. The average photo is about 30 MB.
There is 1000 MB in 1 GB.
A 16GB card can hold 533 photographs.
A 32GB card can hold 1066 pictures.
A 64GB card can hold 2132 pictures.
A 128gb card can hold 4264 pictures.
A 256gb card can hold 8528 pictures.
What Size Memory Card Should You Get For Your DSLR?
For everyday use with the occasional trip or vacation, a 64 GB card is the best in terms of price and useable storage.
How many photos can 64gb hold?
A 64GB card can hold 2132 pictures.
Now depending on how long your trip is or how many photos you think you will take, you can make a pretty good decision on how big of a memory card you need.
At a wedding, I typically take about 3000 photos so I know that I need a memory card with at least 128gb of storage. On a week long vacation I take about 1000 photos so to be safe I bring a 64gb memory card with me so I don’t have to worry about running out of storage space.
*Note this post contains affiliate links to purchase the SD Memory Cards for your DSLR or Mirrorless camera on Amazon. If you find a suitable memory card you decide to purchase I will receive compensation from amazon at no additional cost to you. I assure you as a professional wedding photographer I have used a lot of different memory cards and the cards listed below, I stand behind 100%.
What are the best memory cards for your camera?
#1 SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I
Best memory card for 95% of photographers.
The faster than average read and write speeds mean you can capture that burst of images of the kids laughing or birds in flight
#2 PNY Elite-X Class 10 U3 V30 SDXC Memory Card
Great performance at an unbeatable price
PNY makes great cards suitable for weekend warriors who are still practicing and growing their skills
#3 SAMSUNG PRO Plus SDXC Full-Size SD Card
Great versatility from a trusted name in electronics
This card is waterproof, x-ray proof, and drop-proof. All great attributes if you plan on traveling with your camera and will be using the card with multiple devices.
#4 Lexar Professional 1667X SDXC Uhs-II/U3
Amazing speed for the price
The Lexar Pro 1667x offers the newest USH 2 standard which offers much faster speeds than other memory cards at a similar price point! If you plan on doing a lot of shooting in a short amount of time, this card is for you.
#5 Lexar Professional 2000x SDXC UHS-II Memory Card
Uncompromising speed and performance
This is the top of the line card for working professionals who shoot a lot of images and can't afford to wait on their cameras. This card also offers the UHS-II standard like the previous card but this one has a lot more horsepower you could say with extreme speeds for saving all of your RAW images fast.
#6 Sony TOUGH-G series SDXC UHS-II Card
When speed and durability are your top priority
Like the Lexar cards, the Sony Tough G series pro-grade card is also the ultrafast UHS-II standard which offers extreme read and write speeds AND is made of an all-metal type construction for maximum image protection against the elements.
Which memory card is best for DSLR
There are several options you need to look for in a memory card to ensure its the best fit for your needs and your budget. All of these SD memory cards listed are compatible with any camera that uses SD memory cards including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, or any other camera that takes SD memory cards.
DON’T SKIMP ON YOUR MEMORY CARDS!
You spend a lot of time and money picking out the right camera and lens don’t risk losing a photo because you thought you could save $4 on a cheaper memory card.
What's the difference between an SD card and a memory card?
A Memory Card is a generic term for a card that you put into your camera or computer that has memory to hold digital media files like photos, music, or documents. An SD Card is a type of memory card popular with the majority of consumer camera manufacturers used to store the photos captured with the camera.
What is an SD Memory Card
In digital photography, your memory card is what the photos you take are recorded on to so you can transfer the photos to a computer. There are different types of memory cards but the most common type is the SD Memory card. SD stands for secure digital.
Can Micro SD card be used in a DSLR
Yes a micro SD card will work in a DSLR or Mirrorless camera with a micro SD to SD card adapter, but its not recommended because the adapter is an additional point of possible failure when saving images from the camera to the card.
How Memory Cards work
When you take a photo, you camera records all of the light and color data that landed on the digital sensor. The camera then takes that info, packages it into a single file and then transfers the file to the memory card to be stored. There are different options to look for in a memory card to ensure its the best choice for you. Let's get into them now.
What is the difference between SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards
Simply put when first created SD card capacity maxed out at 2GB. Once technology advanced we needed higher capacity cards. From there was born the SDHC (High Capacity) card which had a capacity of up to 32GB. Once again technology has advanced and today we need even more storage, and so was born the SDXC memory card with a capacity of up to 2TB (2000GB) If you’re buying a memory card after 2017 there is a great chance it will be an SDXC card, even if it is just called an SD card.
How often do you need to replace your memory card?
I wish I could say that when you purchase an SD card it will last you a lifetime but unfortunately, that's not the case. Every year, as camera technology gets better, do does data protection and performance for memory cards. As a professional wedding photographer, my images are everything and therefore I want to minimize the potential for corruption by replacing my SD cards every year. If you shoot just a limited number of sessions per year then you should feel safe replacing your memory cards every 2 years. Many SD card makers also include a warranty on their cards. But note if your card fails at a wedding, the warranty may not pay for any damages you must pay back to your client. Just a replacement card.
How to Keep Memory Cards Safe and Organized
As a wedding photographer, I have to carry a range of multiple memory cards on a wedding day. To keep them organized and save me from potentially losing a card full of wedding stills I use an impressive little SD card wallet. It is smaller than a credit card that clips onto my camera bag for rapid card changes and it has eliminated so much stress from my life! And for under $20 I consider it a must-have especially if you shoot video.
How to Upload Photos from your Camera to the Computer
There is a good chance you either plug your camera into your computer or take out the memory card and plug the card into the side of your computer. Both of these ways are painfully slow and in the case of plugging your card into your computer can cause it to break off inside your computer and lose the images.
That is why I use a dedicated SD card reader. It’s portable, accepts multiple format types of memory cards like CompactFlash, cfast, and MicroSD, takes advantage of newer technology, has ultra fast transfer speeds for RAW files, and again, under $20 for this 5 star rated device. For these reasons it too is a must-have.