This is my typical non-technical approach to subjects. No math, no graphs just the bottom line on my take on what memory cards work best with the Nikon D810. Keep reading.
The Nikon D810 is a full-frame DSLR with 36 Megapixels. Announced in June 2014, it jointly replaces the almost two and a half year old D800 and D800e, slotting between the D610 and the flagship D4s. Like the models it replaces, the D810 is aimed at pros and high-end enthusiasts who demand the best image quality. Searching for affordable Nikon D810 Replacement Parts in Consumer Electronics? Buy high quality and affordable Nikon D810 Replacement Parts via sales. Enjoy exclusive discounts and free global delivery on Nikon D810 Replacement Parts at AliExpress. The new released Nikon D850 DSLR camera has two memory card slots, one is CFexpress & XQD card slot, and the other is SD card slot support UHS-II. If you are going to shoot 4K video with D850, a fast card is a must. Otherwise, you'll miss most of your shots waiting for the buffer to clear.
I always try to buy the best memory cards I can afford for my Nikon D810. I have been a fan of Lexar memory cards in particular. This goes all the way back to my Nikon D800 when I had a run of bad luck with data corruption on Sandisk cards. I have never had a single issue with Lexar. Of course I understand that there are folks with the exact opposite experience. That's just how this stuff works sometimes. Unfortunately in 2017 Lexar announced that it's exiting the highly competitive memory card business with the exception of the CF Express and XQD memory cards. This leaves Sandisk as realistically the only game in town though Lexar cards are still widely available.
I have also learned a few thing along the way with memory cards because I have been doing this a long time. i figure I will share this before moving on to the 'Best Memory Cards for the Nikon D810'
- Avoid the no name, off brand and inexpensive memory cards. You get what you pay for. Also keep in mind that excellent marketing of the no name and cheap memory cards does not make them good memory cards. Pictures are memories, don't miss a single one because you have a really expensive camera and lens and bought cheap memory cards.
- Be wary of the transfer rates listed for memory cards even on manufacturers websites. Think of the listed speeds as levels of performance versus other memory cards in the manufacturers line-up as well as compared to their competitors.
- Good memory cards are expensive.
- The fastest Compact Flash Cards (CF) are still faster than any Secure Digital (SD) cards that can be used in most DSLR's and the Nikon D810.
- CF cards are more durable than SD cards. I have countless failures with SD cards where the fingers in the contact area wear out and/or break
- If you need faster read/write speeds you need a camera like the Nikon D850 that uses the XQD memory card available from Sony and Lexar. The XQD is the successor to the CF card. It's exponentially faster ans more durable
- Only buy memory cards from reputable sources. There is a tremendous amount of counterfeiting going on in the memory card area. If you buy from Amazon make certain Amazon is the actual seller or the marketplace seller is a real camera store like Adorama or B&H. Big name retailers are also a safe bet if your buying retail packaging off the shelf. Avoid ebay memory cards like the plague. It's too risky.
What's Best Memory Cards for the Nikon D810?
The best memory card is actually a misleading question. The best memory card for one photographer may not be the same for another. If best was based on quality of course it would be a tossup between the brand mentioned above Sandisk and Lexar. Recently I learned a valuable lesson. I ran out the door quickly with just my Nikon D810 to photograph my beautiful niece at a local park before she headed home. When I got to the park I realized my memory cards were still in the card reader. Fortunately my Black Rapid strap carries spare cards. They are older and lower capacity but saved my butt none the less. This shoot was basically my niece and her hyper dog and a hyper dog means a lot of pictures and fast frame rates. That's when things got ugly. Quite simply the D810 buffer would fill and the writing process to the memory cards was painfully slow. The result was a camera that could not take pictures for a few seconds. If that wasn't bad enough I had also switched to making the SD card slot as primary. The CF slot according to reports is the faster slot. This brings us to the heart of this post. The Nikon D810 works best when the performance of the memory cards being used meets or exceeds the performance of the camera. The three cards below are my current choices. It's important to note that I record Large Raw and Fine jpeg which equates to over 100 megabytes of data for each press of the shutter.
Lexar 1066x is the best CF Card for the Nikon D810 – MFR# LCF64GCRBNA1066
SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Card for the Nikon D810 – MFR# SDSDXPK-064G-ANCIN
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s is the Mimimum Best SD Card for the Nikon D810 – MFR# SDSDXXG-064G-GN4IN
The Lexar $75 160/MBs 1066x 64GB CF is still pretty much the gold standard for D810 CF Cards. Sandisk has improved the performance of the SD cards greatly but the improvement comes with a hefty price tag. The $118 300/MBs SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Card is probably the best SD card for the Nikon D810 available today. The $35 95/MBs SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card was the standard for years.
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The Nikon D810 has dual card slots, each with its own card format. One slot is compatible with SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. The other slot uses Type 1 CF memory cards.
To be able to get the best overall performance from the camera it is essential to use a UHS-I SD card and a CF card that is fast.
You will be able to work with cards as large as 2TB. However, this has not yet been tested as there are no 2TB Compact Flash or SD cards on the market.
In a hurry? Here is my recommendation for the best SD and CF memory cards:
- Best value for the money.
- Transfer speeds up to 170MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
Best CF & SD Cards
SanDisk is the most widely available brand for both CF and SD cards. I have been very happy with all of the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD or CF memory cards I have owned.
Top-quality cards deliver the most value. While only a small amount more expensive than bargain SD and Compact Flash cards, they will be better built-in addition to being faster.
The only problems I've had when using a memory card was when the card was a no-name card. I have never had a card fail or become corrupt when I have used a top tier card.
If you would like to lower the cost, do not spend money on a discount memory card. You'll be better off buying s high-quality SD or CF memory card with a smaller capacity.
Recommended SD Cards for D810
- Best value for the money.
- Transfer speeds up to 170MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
- Class 10, UHS-I.
- Read Speeds up to 95MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
- Magnet proof, shock proof, temperature proof, and waterproof.
- Avoid the no name, off brand and inexpensive memory cards. You get what you pay for. Also keep in mind that excellent marketing of the no name and cheap memory cards does not make them good memory cards. Pictures are memories, don't miss a single one because you have a really expensive camera and lens and bought cheap memory cards.
- Be wary of the transfer rates listed for memory cards even on manufacturers websites. Think of the listed speeds as levels of performance versus other memory cards in the manufacturers line-up as well as compared to their competitors.
- Good memory cards are expensive.
- The fastest Compact Flash Cards (CF) are still faster than any Secure Digital (SD) cards that can be used in most DSLR's and the Nikon D810.
- CF cards are more durable than SD cards. I have countless failures with SD cards where the fingers in the contact area wear out and/or break
- If you need faster read/write speeds you need a camera like the Nikon D850 that uses the XQD memory card available from Sony and Lexar. The XQD is the successor to the CF card. It's exponentially faster ans more durable
- Only buy memory cards from reputable sources. There is a tremendous amount of counterfeiting going on in the memory card area. If you buy from Amazon make certain Amazon is the actual seller or the marketplace seller is a real camera store like Adorama or B&H. Big name retailers are also a safe bet if your buying retail packaging off the shelf. Avoid ebay memory cards like the plague. It's too risky.
What's Best Memory Cards for the Nikon D810?
The best memory card is actually a misleading question. The best memory card for one photographer may not be the same for another. If best was based on quality of course it would be a tossup between the brand mentioned above Sandisk and Lexar. Recently I learned a valuable lesson. I ran out the door quickly with just my Nikon D810 to photograph my beautiful niece at a local park before she headed home. When I got to the park I realized my memory cards were still in the card reader. Fortunately my Black Rapid strap carries spare cards. They are older and lower capacity but saved my butt none the less. This shoot was basically my niece and her hyper dog and a hyper dog means a lot of pictures and fast frame rates. That's when things got ugly. Quite simply the D810 buffer would fill and the writing process to the memory cards was painfully slow. The result was a camera that could not take pictures for a few seconds. If that wasn't bad enough I had also switched to making the SD card slot as primary. The CF slot according to reports is the faster slot. This brings us to the heart of this post. The Nikon D810 works best when the performance of the memory cards being used meets or exceeds the performance of the camera. The three cards below are my current choices. It's important to note that I record Large Raw and Fine jpeg which equates to over 100 megabytes of data for each press of the shutter.
Lexar 1066x is the best CF Card for the Nikon D810 – MFR# LCF64GCRBNA1066
SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Card for the Nikon D810 – MFR# SDSDXPK-064G-ANCIN
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s is the Mimimum Best SD Card for the Nikon D810 – MFR# SDSDXXG-064G-GN4IN
The Lexar $75 160/MBs 1066x 64GB CF is still pretty much the gold standard for D810 CF Cards. Sandisk has improved the performance of the SD cards greatly but the improvement comes with a hefty price tag. The $118 300/MBs SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Card is probably the best SD card for the Nikon D810 available today. The $35 95/MBs SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card was the standard for years.
Be the first to leave a review.
The Nikon D810 has dual card slots, each with its own card format. One slot is compatible with SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. The other slot uses Type 1 CF memory cards.
To be able to get the best overall performance from the camera it is essential to use a UHS-I SD card and a CF card that is fast.
You will be able to work with cards as large as 2TB. However, this has not yet been tested as there are no 2TB Compact Flash or SD cards on the market.
In a hurry? Here is my recommendation for the best SD and CF memory cards:
- Best value for the money.
- Transfer speeds up to 170MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
Best CF & SD Cards
SanDisk is the most widely available brand for both CF and SD cards. I have been very happy with all of the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD or CF memory cards I have owned.
Top-quality cards deliver the most value. While only a small amount more expensive than bargain SD and Compact Flash cards, they will be better built-in addition to being faster.
The only problems I've had when using a memory card was when the card was a no-name card. I have never had a card fail or become corrupt when I have used a top tier card.
If you would like to lower the cost, do not spend money on a discount memory card. You'll be better off buying s high-quality SD or CF memory card with a smaller capacity.
Recommended SD Cards for D810
- Best value for the money.
- Transfer speeds up to 170MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
- Class 10, UHS-I.
- Read Speeds up to 95MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
- Magnet proof, shock proof, temperature proof, and waterproof.
- Professional Class. Card
- Read speeds up to 95MB/s.
- Excellent reliability.
Recommended CF Cards for D810
- Up to 150MB/s write speed.
- Extreme transfer read speed up to 160MB/s.
- RTV silicone coating for shock and vibration protection.
- Reliable from temperatures of 13°F to 185°F (-25°C to 85°C)
- UDMA read speed of up to 160MB/s.
- Support video performance guarantee - 65.
- Write speed up to 150MB/s.
- Video performance guarantee - 65.
- RTV silicone coating for shock and vibration protection.
- Reliable from temperatures of 13°F to 185°F (-25°C to 85°C)
Nikon D810 SD Card Compatibility
SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards can be used by the Nikon D810. Use an SD memory card with UHS-I to get the best performance from the camera.
The latest SDUC cards can't be used with the D810.
There are four different specifications of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. Newer card specs add features that provide for more memory capacity and increased read/write rates.
- Secure Digital (SD) - 128MB to 2GB.
- Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) - 4GB to 32GB.
- Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC) - 64GB to 2TB.
- Secure Digital Ultra Capacity (SDUC) - 4TB to 128TB.
Nikon D810 CF Card Compatibility
CF memory cards as large as 256GB were tested to be operating correctly in a D810. Compact Flash memory cards with a capacity of as much as 2TB will likely work as that would equal the SDXC memory card capacity.
Image Capacity
Below is an approximate estimation of how many large JPEG images you can expect to store on each size of an SD card.
- 4GB - 1,160 images
- 8GB - 2,320 images
- 16GB - 4,640 images
- 32GB - 9,280 images
Speed, Class, & UHS Ratings
SD Card Speed
The speed rating of an SD card is determined by the sequential read and write speeds. The transfer speed of a memory card is important for clearing the buffer for continuous shooting and recording video.
A slow card can reduce the number of continuous frames the Nikon D810 can take. This is because the camera's buffer is not able to write data to the SD card fast enough.
When shooting video, a slow card can cause a sudden end to shooting. The video file may also be corrupted. If you intend to record video, it is crucial the memory card you use meets the required minimum continuous write speed for video.
Card read speed is important for transferring files to a computer or laptop. If you have cards that are full, a card with a fast read speed will save you time.
Speed Class Rating
The Class rating of a memory card is related to the sustained write speed. Cards that have a minimum write speed of at least 10MB/s will be rated Class 10.
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s or faster
Every name-brand SD card that you can find for sale today will be rated Class 10. You can check the class rating of a card by looking for a number inside of a C on the label.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus can be found in SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. The UHS bus cards to have increased write speeds.
Three separate specs exist. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
You can find the rating of a card by checking the label. If the memory card has UHS a Roman numeral I, II, or III will be on the label.
- UHS-I - Maximum transfer rate of 104 MB/s
- UHS-II - Maximum transfer rate of 312 MB/s
- UHS-III - Maximum transfer rate of 624 MB/s
Do Both Memory Cards Slots Need to Be Used in the D810?
Nikon D810 Memory Card Slots
No, the Nikon D810 can be used with one or two cards.
To be able to use more options, you'll need to use two memory.
You'll be able to set the following settings:
Nikon D810 Memory Card Slots
- Mirror. The cards will be exact copies of each other.
- Overflow. Once the first card is full, files will be saved to the other memory card.
- RAW+JPEG. RAW files will be written on one card and JPEGs of the same images will be written to the other card.
Related Cameras
That's everything to look for in either an SD and CF memory card. The 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro is the best SD memory card for the Nikon D810. The 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro is the best CF memory card for the Nikon D810.
Nikon D810 Memory Slots
Here are additional cameras that have similar memory card requirements: