Best Memory Cards | 2024

Most people’s choice of the best memory card is going to be dictated by the camera that they choose to use. For others, the type of memory card they want to use may well influence their choice of camera. It’s easy to take memory cards for granted but they vary widely in capacity, speed, robustness and physical size, as well as compatibility and versatility. 

Memory cards vary wildly, even within the same standard, and figuring out which one is right for you can be a confusing process. It doesn’t help that there are many confusing numbers and acronyms associated with memory cards, much of which essentially consists of different ways of saying basically the same thing.

Our guide to the best memory cards cuts through the jargon and looks at all the key features, running through the different formats available to help you find the right memory card for your specific needs.

Best SD Cards

The most successful card standard — by some margin — is the Secure Digital, or SD, card family. Launched in 1999 by Toshiba, Panasonic and SanDisk, at a time when 32MB cards were considered generously large in capacity, the SD card was an updated version of the MMC (MultiMedia Card) standard, and was backwards-compatible with MMC devices to a degree. 

With 64MP and 128MB SD cards promised at the time, the SD Card roadmap also predicted 2GB (a gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes) cards “within five years” — a claim many at the time scoffed at. After all, why would you need 2GB of data storage for your camera or media player? Could 2GB of flash memory even be physically squeezed into such a tiny postage stamp-sized package? Of course, as we now know, the promise was kept and 2GB SD cards arrived as predicted. 

The vast majority of modern cameras will have at least one SD card slot. If you’re not sure what kind of card to buy for your mirrorless, compact or DSLR camera, it is almost certainly an SD card that you need. 

SD, SDHC and SDXC

SD cards are split into three capacity tiers, though practically these days you’re only likely to encounter two. Standard SD cards have a maximum capacity of 2GB. SDHC cards (Secure Digital High Capacity) have capacities ranging from 4GB to 32GB. Finally, SDXC cards (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) run from 64GB to a whopping 1TB, and theoretically beyond that. 

Practically, you’re almost certainly going to be using an SDXC or SDHC card these days. All three cards are the same size and will fit in the same slots. 

Speed classes

As the use of cards changed and performance started to be critical (especially for video recording), the SD card industry introduced a numerical classification to help users match up the most suitable card for their devices. Initially it looked like this:

• Class 2 - 2MB/sec (basic stills camera performance)
• Class 4 - 4MB/sec (capable of recording standard definition (SD) video)
• Class 6 - 6MB/sec (suitable for recording 720p HD resolution video)
• Class 10 - 10MB/sec (suitable for recording 1080p full HD resolution video)

These days however, you’re more likely to see cards with UHS speed classes, often visualised as a number written inside a letter “U”. These are as follows:

• U1 - 10MB/sec minimum write speed (equivalent to Class 10)
• U3 - 30MB/sec minimum write speed

The speed is affected by the bus interface the card uses — UHS-I or UHS-II, the latter of which is faster thanks to its additional row of pins. It’s worth noting that a camera’s card slot needs to be UHS-II compatible in order to see any benefit in terms of speed — if yours isn’t (google it and check) then save the money and stick with UHS-I.

• UHS-I - transfer speeds up to 104MB/sec
• UHS-II - transfer speeds up to 312MB/sec

Then there’s also (stay with us, it’s nearly over) Video Speed Class. This is a newer rating system designed to classify cards that are capable of recording high-resolution video footage such as 4K 6K and 8K, or 360-degree content. These are denoted with a “V” and a number, as follows:

• V6 (Video Speed Class 6) - minimum write speed of 6MB/sec
• V10 (Video Speed Class 10) - minimum write speed of 10MB/sec
• V30 (Video Speed Class 30) - minimum write speed of 30MB/sec
• V60 (Video Speed Class 60) - minimum write speed of 60MB/sec
• V90 (Video Speed Class 90) - minimum write speed of 90MB/sec

It can all get a bit confusing and destroy your will to live if you think about it for too long. Just keep in mind that higher numbers mean faster speeds and you won’t go too far wrong.

Here are our recommendations for SD cards: 

Named “TOUGH” for a reason, these SDXC cards from Sony are designed for professionals and adventurous enthusiasts who are going to be taking their gear into challenging environments. Waterproof with an IPX8 rating and dustproof with an IP6X rating, these cards use a one-piece moulding to ensure superior strength and bend-resistance.

Best Micro SD Cards

MicroSD cards are less than a quarter of the area of a standard SD card and also much thinner. They are very fiddly to use but are actually designed to remain in the host device most of the time. Nevertheless, standard-size SD card adapters are often supplied with MicroSD cards for compatibility when required. MicroSD is a physical form factor for SD, SDHC and SDXC card formats. 

You’ll most commonly find MicroSD cards in smartphones and smaller camera formats such as action cameras. Many consumer drones also use MicroSD cards. Here are our recommendations:

For shooting high-res video, Delkin’s POWER UHS-II card has the kinds of speeds you’ll need to keep up, with a V90 class rating that puts it in the big leagues. This high rating means it’s also well-suited for use with 360° cameras, many of which use a MicroSD slot.

Best Micro SD Cards

CFexpress cards are the dominant format for professional photographers and videographers who need the best standards possible in speed and capacity. They’re the successor to Compact Flash, which years ago was the standard card format for professional cameras. Inheriting technology from solid-state drives, CFexpress cards offer absolutely blistering transfer speeds that completely outpace SD cards, enabling them to keep up with the ever-spiralling data demands of high-resolution sensors, faster-than-ever burst rates and massive video formats. 

CFExpress Types A, B and C

CFexpress cards come in different types, and unlike SD card formats, the different CFexpress types are actually different physical sizes — so are not cross-compatible. This is because they have different numbers of PCIe data transfer lanes, which are what allow the cards to reach their fast transfer speeds

Here are the key differences between the types:

• CFexpress Type A - 20mm x 28mm x 2.8mm, one PCIe transfer lane, theoretical maximum transfer speed of 1,000MB/sec
• CFexpress Type B - 38.5mm x 29.6mm x 3.8mm, two PCIe transfer lanes theoretical maximum transfer speed of 2,000MB/sec
• CFexpress Type C (not used in cameras) - 54mm x 74mm x 4.8mm, four PCIe transfer lanes, theoretical maximum transfer speed of 4,000MB/sec

CFexpress Type A cards may be the slowest, but they have one key advantage — they’re the same physical size as SD cards, meaning a camera’s card slot can be easily configured to take both. Faster CFexpress Type B slots are the same size and shape as XQD (more on which shortly), meaning XQD slots can easily be updated via firmware to take CFexpress. It’s best to check your camera manual to ascertain which kind of card your camera accepts. 

Here are our CFexpress card recommendations:

If you need plenty of room on your card, the Lexar 1TB Professional is the ideal option. Its fast write speeds of up to 1,700MB/sec (read speeds 1,900MB/sec) make it easier to handle all those vast volumes of data, and it’s also built tough, with shock and vibration resistance.

Best Compact Flash Cards

Also known as CF, Compact Flash was once the only game in town for professional photographers and videographers, with every high-end DSLR sporting a CF slot. Times change of course, and these days the format has been entirely replaced by CFexpress as far as new cameras go. However, if you buy an older DSLR on the second-hand market, you may well get plenty of use out of an affordable Compact Flash card.

Here are our recommendations:

For a cheaper option, the SanDisk Extreme 32GB 120MB/Sec Compact Flash Card will still deliver decent speeds and capacity. It’s not quite rated high enough to guarantee 4K video without skipped frames, but for Full HD it’ll get the job done, and for stills it should be more than adequate.

Best XQD Cards

The XQD format was originally one of two viable successors to Compact Flash, vying with CFexpress for dominance. Like CFexpress, it also uses PCIe transfer lanes to deliver ultra-fast speeds. However, ultimately the Compact Flash Association opted for CFexpress as the official successor going forward due to its superior speed and capacity capabilities, and since then, XQD has fallen from favour. 

The XQD standard was only really adopted by Nikon (also appearing on a few high-end Sony camcorders), and as such, XQD slots can be found on a few Nikon cameras, notably the D4, D4s, D5, D6, D850, D500 and Z6 and Z7. In most cases, these have been updated via firmware to accept CFexpress Type B cards instead, so there’s really no reason to buy an XQD card over a much more versatile and future-proof CFexpress card.

The exceptions are the D4 and D4s, which have not been updated for CFexpress. If you’re using these cameras, you may find some use for the Sony XQD Flash Memory Card - G Series, which is available in 240GB and 120GB capacities. Though given that these cameras also have Compact Flash slots, you may find you get better value for money and a card that still does the job if you stick with the older format. 

Best CFast Cards

Another successor to Compact Flash, CFast cards (short for CompactFast) enjoyed a brief heyday before the advent of CFexpress and XQD. Resembling Compact Flash in form factor, the cards offer significantly greater transfer speeds, and as such the standard was adopted for a few cinema cameras made by Canon, Blackmagic, Arri and Atomos, also appearing on the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR.

Should you need a CFast card, here are our recommendations:

If you’re working on professional productions and need a video-friendly card with speeds and capacity to match, Exascend’s powerful card is the ideal choice. It’s got 550MB/sec and 530 MB/sec read and write speeds, and is designed for long-term use — it’s rated to two million hours of reliable meantime between failures.

FAQs

What type of memory card is best for 4K video recording?

For 4K video recording, you'll want a high-speed memory card such as an SDXC or UHS-II card with a fast write speed. Look for cards with a V30, V60, or V90 rating, as these provide the necessary data transfer speed to handle large, high-quality video files without interruptions or dropped frames.

How do I choose the right memory card for my camera?

First up, check your camera’s manual for compatible card types (SD, CF, or microSD) and pay attention to speed requirements. If you shoot in high-resolution or record video, go for a card with fast read and write speeds (UHS-I or UHS-II) and ample storage capacity, such as 64GB or higher.

How do I prevent memory card corruption?

To prevent memory card corruption, it’s vital that you always properly eject the card from your device before removing it, avoid using the same card across multiple devices without formatting, and regularly back up your data. It's also a good idea to format the card in your camera rather than on your computer to reduce compatibility issues.

How long do memory cards last?

Memory cards can last for several years with proper care, but they have a limited number of write cycles. With frequent use, you may notice performance issues after 5 to 10 years. While you’ll probably not notice the dip, you can prolong the lifespan by storing cards in a protective case and avoiding exposing them to extreme temperatures.

Why is my memory card not showing up on my computer?

If your memory card isn't showing up, check the connections and try using a different port. It could also be a driver issue, so make sure your computer has the latest updates. If it's still not recognised, the card may need to be formatted, or there could be a hardware problem.