Memory cards are the most boring piece of gear you’ll ever buy, and also one of the most important. A bad card can ruin a shoot. A good card just works — and that’s exactly what you want.

Understanding Speed Ratings

Card manufacturers love plastering numbers on packaging. Here’s what actually matters.

Write speed determines how fast your camera can save images to the card. This matters for burst shooting and video. If your write speed is too slow, your buffer fills up and your camera stutters.

Read speed determines how fast you can transfer files to your computer. Nice to have, but it won’t affect your shooting.

UHS-I vs UHS-II is the bus interface. UHS-I maxes out around 104 MB/s. UHS-II goes to 312 MB/s. If your camera supports UHS-II, buy UHS-II cards. The speed difference during burst shooting is real.

V30, V60, V90 are video speed classes guaranteeing minimum sustained write speeds of 30, 60, and 90 MB/s respectively. If you shoot 4K video, V30 is the minimum. 4K 60p needs V60 or higher.

SD Cards: Best Picks

Best Overall: SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II (128GB) — ~$40

Read speeds up to 300 MB/s, write speeds up to 260 MB/s. V90 rated. This card handles everything — RAW burst shooting, 4K 60p video, quick transfers. It’s the card I use in every shoot.

Best Value: Samsung EVO Select (128GB) — ~$15

UHS-I, V30 rated. Read speeds around 130 MB/s. For casual shooting, travel, and anyone not pushing their camera’s burst mode to the limit, this card does the job at a fraction of the price. Reliable and widely available.

Best for Video: Sony TOUGH SF-G (128GB) — ~$55

V90, UHS-II, and built like a tank. Sony claims it’s waterproof, dustproof, and can survive a 16-foot drop. If you shoot video professionally and can’t afford a corrupted card, this is insurance.

CFexpress Type A

If you shoot Sony with a camera that supports CFexpress Type A, these cards are significantly faster but pricier.

Sony CEA-G (80GB) — ~$110

Read speeds up to 800 MB/s, write up to 700 MB/s. Expensive per gigabyte, but the speed difference is enormous. Buffer clears almost instantly. Worth it for sports and wildlife photographers who shoot long bursts.

CFexpress Type B

Canon R5 and Nikon Z8/Z9 shooters need these.

ProGrade Digital Cobalt (256GB) — ~$200

Sustained writes above 1,400 MB/s. This card doesn’t blink at 8K RAW video. It’s expensive, but if your camera demands Type B, this is the one to get.

How Many Cards Should You Own?

At least two of your primary format. Card failure is rare but catastrophic. Never shoot a paid job with a single card. If your camera has dual slots, use both — either in backup mode or overflow.

I personally carry four 128GB cards for a full day of shooting. I’d rather swap cards than risk everything on one.

Cards to Avoid

  • Any brand you’ve never heard of on Amazon with suspiciously good specs
  • Used memory cards from anyone you don’t trust
  • Cards without the specific UHS or V rating printed on them (not just in the listing)
  • The cheapest option when buying CFexpress — quality control matters at these speeds

One Last Tip

Format your cards in-camera before every shoot. Not on your computer — in the camera. This rebuilds the file structure the way your specific camera expects it and prevents random write errors. It takes three seconds and prevents heartbreak.

Your images are worth more than the $20 you save buying a sketchy card.