The best memory cards for your camera

Finding the best memory card for your camera can be confusing. Memory cards are the common standard media cameras use to store what they record. While most of us aren't loading films into our cameras anymore, in their place we have an almost dizzying array of options when it comes to memory cards, including capabilities such as speed and performance. We're here to help you find the best memory card for your needs (and the best deals on it).

Luckily, perhaps, physical formats of memory cards don’t change all that often – postage stamp-sized Secure Digital (SD) cards have been with us for most of the past two decades, in turn spawning the microSD variant still used by most smartphones and tablets.

What has improved over time is how many image files they can store and how fast they can do so, in line with innovations in the world of stills photography (bigger resolutions) and video (not only higher resolutions but also faster frame rates).

How to choose the best memory card

Obviously, you’ll have a budget in mind and will also want to go for the highest capacity card with the quickest read and write speeds you can afford. The advice here used to be to opt for several cards rather than one giant capacity option, in case the latter became corrupted in some way and images lost. But, in truth, such occurrences are rare, especially these days. If you do go for a one-size-fits-all high capacity card, you’ll obviously be paying more money for more memory, but it may be worth it in the long run.

Another recent development is toughened memory cards for power users. Examples include the aptly named Sony Tough, an SDXC format card that’s dust-proof, waterproof, can resist pressures up to 16kg – as well as being super-fast.

Your own particular needs may be very different though, so we’ve chosen a variety of memory cards to suit differing requirements – and budgets! Read on to find the best camera memory card for you…

01. SanDisk Extreme PRO SD UHS-I

The best all-around SD memory card
Card type: SDXC | Capacity: Up to 512GB | Read Speed: Up to 90MB/s | Write Speed: Up to 95MB/s | Warranty: Lifetime limited warranty | Suitable for: Both photography and/or video (including 4K)

Power users are advised to check out the Extreme PRO SDXC card from long-standing card manufacturer SanDisk. Available in capacities from 32GB up to an impressive 512GB, this option offers a speed class 3 rating. 

The real practical advantage here is not only written speeds up to an impressive 90MB/s – which means that it is able to deal with rapid-fire sequential shooting and in both JPEG and Raw – but also has a extremely fast transfer speed of up to 95MB/s, which will speed up the workflow of enthusiasts and pros. Aside from making it easier to capture a sequence of Raw photographs, the data crunching on offer here also makes it suitable for 4K video shooting. To sum up, this is one capable contender.

02. Lexar Professional Class 10 UHS-II 2000X Speed

The best SD card for professional photographers
Card type: SDHC and/or SDXC | Capacity: Up to 128GB | Read Speed: Up to 300MB/s | Write Speed: Up to 260MB/s | Warranty: Lifetime limited warranty | Suitable for: Both photography and video (including 4K)

Lexar has long been the go-to card for photography enthusiasts and professional shooters, and, despite disappearing from the market for a little while, it has bounced back with plenty of Lexar options still available. A solid choice for us is the Lexar Professional 16GB Class 10 UHS-II 1000x Speed, which deploys UHS-II tech to enable transfer speeds up to 300 MB/s and write speeds up to 260 MB/s.

This ensures that, whether you’re recording full HD, 4K video, or shooting high-resolution Raw files, this card delivers the goods, even if maximum data capacity is 128GB, rather than the maximum 512GB offered by some rivals. A close alternative in terms of specification and performance would be SanDisk’s Extreme PRO SD UHS-II (also featured here), but we feel you can't really go wrong with this one.

03. SanDisk Extreme PRO SD UHS-II

An even faster card than the UHS-I Pro version
Card type: SDXC | Capacity: Up to 128GB | Read Speed: Up to 300MB/s | Write Speed: Up to 260MB/s | Warranty: Lifetime limited warranty | Suitable for Pros wanting to shoot swift bursts of high res stills and video

Missing that essential shot if you’re working as a pro photographer can be an expensive mistake, and is especially irritating if it’s because your card can’t keep up. Try and avoid the latter ever happening by investing in this ultra-speedy, inevitably costlier, the example from industry stalwart SanDisk – the SanDisk Extreme PRO SD UHS-II. In offering read speeds of up to 300 MB/s and write speeds of an equally impressive 260 MB/s, it's a class leader among memory cards.

The above specification makes it a must-have option for reportage, sports, and wildlife photographers, shooting bursts of rapid-fire stills, or videographers wanting the clarity of 4K resolution video, with the inevitable data hungriness that comes with it. As this is an SDXC (‘Extended Capacity’) card too, storage is impressive. Available card offerings are from 32GB up to 128GB, but truly the accent is on speed here.

04. Sony SF-G Tough SDXC

A super-robust new breed of memory card
Card type: SDXC | Capacity: Up to 128GB | Read Speed: Up to 300 MB/s | Write Speed: Up to 299 MB/s | Warranty: Manufacturer’s | Suitable for: High-speed burst photography and video (including 4K)

The bigger the card’s data capacity, the higher the potential worry of losing hundreds, possibly thousands of precious image files should anything untoward happen. Purporting to eliminate some of that stress is the Sony Tough range, supplied in common-use SD format. While arguably no card can claim to be 100% destruction–proof, there come with the boast of being dustproof and waterproof, while possessing ‘bend proof’ strength into the bargain – namely being able to withstand 18KG of exerted pressure (that’s18x greater than standard SD).

If you need more convincing still, Sony’s Tough has also been tested against drops from 5 meters in height, while the card can simply be washed clean of any grime that gets on it. Speed wise, a further bonus is the card’s ability to cope with the sequential capture of 241-compressed Raw or 362 JPEGs in 20fps burst shooting mode on the Sony A9. If you’re a pro shooter and have the budget, you’ll definitely want to check these out.

05. Transcend SDXC UHS-II U3

Great for shooting Raw files or high-resolution video
Card type: SDXC | Capacity: Up to 64GB | Read Speed: Up to 285MB/s | Write Speed: Up to 180MB/s | Warranty: Five-year limited warranty | Suitable for Pros shooting rapid fire high res Raw stills and high-quality 4K video

If it’s Raw files you primarily need to capture, then you’ll want a card that can cope with the highest quality imagery in sequential bursts – as well as one that provides a sufficient storage capacity to avoid having to swap out the media in use at that decisive moment. 

While the Transcend SDXC UHS-I U3's 64GB maximum capacity (the alternative being 32GB) may initially appear a little small when compared with other options here, the performance is anything but, via commendably quick read and write times of 285 MB/s and 180 MB/s respectively.

Obviously, you will need UHS-II compatible DSLR or camcorder to be able to use this one – so check – but speeds of up to 3x faster than standard UHS-1 SD memory cards can be delivered. These Transcend branded cards are also shock and X-ray proof, thereby providing a degree of certainty for photo and video enthusiasts and pros.