Memory card(s) for D850?

[NikonAIS]

I shoot RAW on a D850 with Sony XQD 32GB x 2 and Sony Tough SD 32 GB for overflow. This gives me three days shooting as I rarely do bursts. As XQD prices have dropped I will buy a 64GB card and another SD 32GB for overflow. No desire to purchase CF express and yet another card reader.

I remmeber getting really excited when 220 film became available and I could get 24 frames on my Mamiya C330 - regret selling this beauty and my Pentax 6x7!

Now 220 is rare as hens teeth, if you can find it at all unless you are willing to roll the dice on expired film. Kodak stopped making 220 back in 2015. I use A18 backs on my Hasselblad and get 18 exposures out of a 120 roll. Not as many as 220, but still better than 12 on 120 and wasting a lot of negative space that you are probably going to crop out anyway.

 

[Abinoone]

Thanks, Abinoone, that is good to hear. Can I count on you to tell my wife about buying a second one? Actually, she's the one that told me "quit talking about it and just buy the silly thing." I'll sell my good D610 and my just-about-new D750 and make the bottom line look even better.

Tip: buy the second one as a gift for your wife. She'll be ecstatic about your thoughtfulness, and probably won't use the camera!

 

[BirdDogDad]

Tip: buy the second one as a gift for your wife. She'll be ecstatic about your thoughtfulness, and probably won't use the camera!

You are half right. She wouldn't use the camera, as she has no interest in photography. She cannot understand my obsession with the "golden hour" and days spent at the computer. As far as "ecstatic," I suspect that would not be the case. If I try that, I'll let you know how it goes, as soon as I find another place to live.

 

[NikonAIS]

You are half right. She wouldn't use the camera, as she has no interest in photography. She cannot understand my obsession with the "golden hour" and days spent at the computer. As far as "ecstatic," I suspect that would not be the case. If I try that, I'll let you know how it goes, as soon as I find another place to live.

When MAMA is not happy, NOBODY is happy.

 

[Abinoone]

You are half right. She wouldn't use the camera, as she has no interest in photography. She cannot understand my obsession with the "golden hour" and days spent at the computer. As far as "ecstatic," I suspect that would not be the case. If I try that, I'll let you know how it goes, as soon as I find another place to live.

I once bought my (ex) wife a power saw - she was speechless, to say the least! Don't follow my lead, or advice!

 

[BirdDogDad]

I once bought my (ex) wife a power saw - she was speechless, to say the least! Don't follow my lead, or advice!

Hey, it's the thought that counts. Very generous of you. The difficult part is getting them to use the power saw, snow blower, etc. quietly so as not to interfere with watching the football game.

 

[fulltimewanderer]

I know someone that bought his girlfriend a big screw drive power saw, she loved it and uses it regular.

 

[Woodpecker]

I used to have Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-I in D6x0, D7200 and D750 and never had a single malfunction or corrupted card since 2013, so I never used a backup card even for the SD's. Another reason was that all these cameras had in common a lowsy buffer capacity and a single memory card controller. With the backup function enabled that meant the backup photo had to be written twice and sequentially, cutting the burst rate after filling up the buffer in half.

Now I am using the XQD Sony QDG120F-R (120GB ,G Series) in my D850 and the D4s and they work perfect. I still don't use a backup card, because the XQD's (and also the CFE's being mechanically identical) are much more rugged and known to be very reliable - far better than SD cards and even the good old CF's.

Because I don't shoot video I decided not to go to the biggest capacity but prefere to have several cards of the smaller ones and change over if necessary - just like I did in the SD card days. Considering the bigger resolution of the D850, the higher frame rate and the fact that if you can shoot longer bursts you mostlikely will, this capacity shoot give me the same flexibility as the 32 GB cards on my older cameras.

 

[Rodamu]

When Nikon upgraded the firmware for the D850 so it could use the CFE cards, i bought one to replace the old XQD card. But the Photo Downloader in Photoshop Bridge will not recognize the CFE card. This means I have to drag and drop the files from the card into Bridge and miss the automatic Downloader features that I always use: append metadata template and erase the card; plus other options that I sometimes use. Thus, I have to manually add the metadata, erase the card, etc.
The main advantages of using the XQD or CFE cards is that they are studier and have no exposed connections that could be damaged or contaminated as does the SD cards. It is a minor advantage generally. A major plus to have a card in each slot in the camera is that if you forget to re-insert a card and go off to take photos, the camera will use the other card--good for us absent minded types.

 

[Mrbigal]

in my 850, I use XQD 64 GB Sony G Primary & SDXC II 64 GB Sony G Secondary for overflow-- RAW + JPEG fine..... This setup has worked well for the past 2 years.... I've updated the firmware to accept CFEs, but don't see any reason to jump to them from XQD at this time.

 

[Roy]

Now that Nikon has put the D850 on sale, I think I will finally pull the trigger on one. The memory card slot options on the D850 are new to me. I have always had my cameras (D610, D750) set with the card in the second slot as a backup to the primary card. For all you D850 users, my question is: what memory card(s) do you recommend for this setup (CFE, XQD, something else)? Also, I have several Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC Type 1 cards in hand, used in my D750. Are these functional in the D850? Many thanks in advance for your collective expert advice.

SD cards are cheap but slow and a little unreliable but will work with the D850.
Although not as fast as CFExpress XQD are still really fast compared to SD and incredibly reliable.
Sony invented XQD are are a good place to start. I dont know who makes them but there are Nikon branded XQD cards too.
32 or 64 cards tend to be better value and I tend to like having a few. Not liking too many eggs in one basket philosophy.
Although I have a jar full of failed SD cards - I haven't had an XQD or CFExpress fail yet...

 

[flyguy]

Got my D850 as a Christmas present to myself right after the D850 was announced. Used and still use Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB SD cards as my cards of choice for 'scape shooting. ( I rarely if ever photograph wildlife.) Had an in store credit with B&H and used most of that to grab a 128GB XQD card for the D850. I use the XQD for video work only. At this time have no interest in CFExpress.

 

[glsmith9823]

I have 2 D-850s & 3 D-500s with the upgraded firmware & CFExpress. I went withe the CFExpress for one reason only. Increased speed in writing. The 3 D-500s are used as remote cameras triggereed by Miops . Cameras are set at the base of launch pad of rockets & depending on the shot I'm going for high speed writing is a huuge bonus (All images are raw)
The same applies for the D-850s mounted on tripods. I typically try & shoot a burst of 2-3 seconds, pause, repeat...I have a SD card in the seocnd slot on each camera as an overflow, however seldom see any images written to it & if I do its due to the sensitivity of the Miops picking up too much noise.

 

[EricBowles]

I have 2 D-850s & 3 D-500s with the upgraded firmware & CFExpress. I went withe the CFExpress for one reason only. Increased speed in writing. The 3 D-500s are used as remote cameras triggereed by Miops . Cameras are set at the base of launch pad of rockets & depending on the shot I'm going for high speed writing is a huuge bonus (All images are raw)
The same applies for the D-850s mounted on tripods. I typically try & shoot a burst of 2-3 seconds, pause, repeat...I have a SD card in the seocnd slot on each camera as an overflow, however seldom see any images written to it & if I do its due to the sensitivity of the Miops picking up too much noise.

Which card did you get? I'm pretty sure there is no increase in speed for CFExpress on the D850. The only reason you would use the SD card in overflow mode is because the primary card is full - not because the buffer filled or anything related to card speed.

I don't think CFExpress is a bad move. It does make for faster downloads.

 

[Mike C]

OK ... If this has already been answered please forgive me ... I couldn't find it.

On the subject of memory cards and their speeds, it seems to me that a card which can write at 2,000 MB/s is of little use if the camera's buffer can only output it to the card at 750 MB/s. (I made up these numbers just for an example.)

Does anyone know what the D850's output capability is from the buffer to the card(s)? I can't find it in the user's manual and I haven't found it online. Nikon does not seem (that I can find) to publish this information.

Has anyone tested it? Does anyone know?

 

[fulltimewanderer]

Use a Delkin Devices Premium Black XQD in my D850. Works fine, no slow downs when shooting bursts. Also comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

[EricBowles]

OK ... If this has already been answered please forgive me ... I couldn't find it.

On the subject of memory cards and their speeds, it seems to me that a card which can write at 2,000 MB/s is of little use if the camera's buffer can only output it to the card at 750 MB/s. (I made up these numbers just for an example.)

Does anyone know what the D850's output capability is from the buffer to the card(s)? I can't find it in the user's manual and I haven't found it online. Nikon does not seem (that I can find) to publish this information.

Has anyone tested it? Does anyone know?

It's not that simple. The benchmark speed of the card is just moving data in a specified manner. There is no processing involved, no checking or validation, thermal throttling, etc. Cards don't work that way when you put them in the camera and want to add processing, data validation, and a check routine. At one point ProGrade went so far as to differentiate the Peak Write Speed from the Sustained Speed. And the camera has no idea what kind of card you are using and what the limits are because Nikon does not test every card. Even more important, manufacturers are free to change components of the card over time. So they need a lowest common denominator to deliver a card and speeds that are likely to work.

The actual write speed probably does not matter until you fill the buffer. Once the buffer fills, your shooting speed is limited. Until then, it's the maximum frame rate. Once the buffer fills, I found wide variation in frame rate with as slow as 2.4 fps (154 MB/s) and as fast as 5.5 fps (352 MB/s) depending on which card I used. With a fast card in the D850, I could shoot 5.5 fps with 14 bit lossless compressed RAW files indefinitely until I hit the camera limit.

You can test this yourself for any card. Just format a fresh card in the camera and then shoot a 35 second burst. Make sure your settings are appropriate to shoot at the maximum frame rate for the first few seconds and take out any SD card. The EXIF data shows when each image was taken in full seconds. Count the number of frames in each full second and write them down. You should see the camera operating at peak speed until the buffer fills, then at write speed thereafter with a little variation for some cards.

Nikon normally does not update the users manual - certainly not fully - after initial release. CFEXpress cards did not exist when the D850 was released.

 

[Mike C]

It's not that simple. The benchmark speed of the card is just moving data in a specified manner. There is no processing involved, no checking or validation, thermal throttling, etc. Cards don't work that way when you put them in the camera and want to add processing, data validation, and a check routine. At one point ProGrade went so far as to differentiate the Peak Write Speed from the Sustained Speed. And the camera has no idea what kind of card you are using and what the limits are because Nikon does not test every card. Even more important, manufacturers are free to change components of the card over time. So they need a lowest common denominator to deliver a card and speeds that are likely to work.

The actual write speed probably does not matter until you fill the buffer. Once the buffer fills, your shooting speed is limited. Until then, it's the maximum frame rate. Once the buffer fills, I found wide variation in frame rate with as slow as 2.4 fps (154 MB/s) and as fast as 5.5 fps (352 MB/s) depending on which card I used. With a fast card in the D850, I could shoot 5.5 fps with 14 bit lossless compressed RAW files indefinitely until I hit the camera limit.

You can test this yourself for any card. Just format a fresh card in the camera and then shoot a 35 second burst. Make sure your settings are appropriate to shoot at the maximum frame rate for the first few seconds and take out any SD card. The EXIF data shows when each image was taken in full seconds. Count the number of frames in each full second and write them down. You should see the camera operating at peak speed until the buffer fills, then at write speed thereafter with a little variation for some cards.

Nikon normally does not update the users manual - certainly not fully - after initial release. CFEXpress cards did not exist when the D850 was released.

Eric

Thank you for your response. Let me phrase my question a little differently.

You have a 3 inch fire hose (the card) but you only have a fire hydrant (the camera) that supports output for a 1.5 inch hose. It does little good to have a 3 inch hose if all the hydrant can output is enough to fill a 1.5 inch hose.

I won't mind so much buying a CFExpress card that can write at 1200 MB/s if the camera can get anywhere near providing the data to the card at speeds somewhere near that. If all the camera can provide to the card is say 300 MB/s I would rather not spend the extra money on cards that can write 4x faster than the camera can deliver.

Just trying to make a sensible choice on card specs and not buy something that's WAY faster than the camera can effectively use.

 

[EricBowles]

Eric

Thank you for your response. Let me phrase my question a little differently.

You have a 3 inch fire hose (the card) but you only have a fire hydrant (the camera) that supports output for a 1.5 inch hose. It does little good to have a 3 inch hose if all the hydrant can output is enough to fill a 1.5 inch hose.

I won't mind so much buying a CFExpress card that can write at 1200 MB/s if the camera can get anywhere near providing the data to the card at speeds somewhere near that. If all the camera can provide to the card is say 300 MB/s I would rather not spend the extra money on cards that can write 4x faster than the camera can deliver.

Just trying to make a sensible choice on card specs and not buy something that's WAY faster than the camera can effectively use.

The short answer is the camera's hardware is limiting the top end, but if you buy a low end card it can be a lot slower. There is no card that allows you to write at the speed on the card - and that's not even a good estimate as there are two many other factors involved. All you can do is test your own cards, or buy the higher end cards in a given brand if speed is important.

I don't know about the slowest cards on the market right now, but if the card said 500 MB/s was the card speed, you shouldn't buy it as speed will be closer to 70 MB/s in the camera. Buying a cheap or slow card is a bad idea unless it's just for emergencies.

 

[Mike C]

The short answer is the camera's hardware is limiting the top end, [...]

Thanks Eric ... This is exactly what I surmised, but I've no idea where the camera's limits are! I may see if I can devise some type of test to approximate what that may be. Heck - It's only math, right?

 

[Roy]

OK ... If this has already been answered please forgive me ... I couldn't find it.

On the subject of memory cards and their speeds, it seems to me that a card which can write at 2,000 MB/s is of little use if the camera's buffer can only output it to the card at 750 MB/s. (I made up these numbers just for an example.)

Does anyone know what the D850's output capability is from the buffer to the card(s)? I can't find it in the user's manual and I haven't found it online. Nikon does not seem (that I can find) to publish this information.

Has anyone tested it? Does anyone know?

I tested the max write speed of the D850 with an XQD to be just under 115megabytes/sec approx).
Which is pretty impressive compared to my Sony A7 at 39.
One point to remember is that card makes usually specify bits/sec not bytes which would appear 8x faster...

 

[EricBowles]

I tested the max write speed of the D850 with an XQD to be just under 115megabytes/sec approx).
Which is pretty impressive compared to my Sony A7 at 39.
One point to remember is that card makes usually specify bits/sec not bytes which would appear 8x faster...

How did you test? My test was 350 MB/s using a Lexar XQD card and 14 bit compressed RAW. That rate was sustained for 20 seconds after the buffer was filled. I had a much slower speed with some slow cards and with a card formatted for a different camera.

 

[FB101]

Eric

Thank you for your response. Let me phrase my question a little differently.

You have a 3 inch fire hose (the card) but you only have a fire hydrant (the camera) that supports output for a 1.5 inch hose. It does little good to have a 3 inch hose if all the hydrant can output is enough to fill a 1.5 inch hose.

I won't mind so much buying a CFExpress card that can write at 1200 MB/s if the camera can get anywhere near providing the data to the card at speeds somewhere near that. If all the camera can provide to the card is say 300 MB/s I would rather not spend the extra money on cards that can write 4x faster than the camera can deliver.

Just trying to make a sensible choice on card specs and not buy something that's WAY faster than the camera can effectively use.

Just from my practical experience, going from XQD to CFE with a massive increase in theoretical speed translated to no difference in camera BUT a huge difference when uploading pictures into the computer from a dedicated card reader. Import times got cut to about 1/3rd which on 3000 D850 files is quite meaningful. To me, just that benefit was well worth the cost but it may not be to you.

 

[EricBowles]

Just from my practical experience, going from XQD to CFE with a massive increase in theoretical speed translated to no difference in camera BUT a huge difference when uploading pictures into the computer from a dedicated card reader. Import times got cut to about 1/3rd which on 3000 D850 files is quite meaningful. To me, just that benefit was well worth the cost but it may not be to you.

I agree - I saw exactly the same thing if the right cables, reader, etc. are used. I also like just using a single card type - CFExpress - over a combination of XQD and CFExpress.

 

[Mike C]

I agree - I saw exactly the same thing if the right cables, reader, etc. are used. I also like just using a single card type - CFExpress - over a combination of XQD and CFExpress.

Makes sense ... However, forgive me:

A combination of both XQD and CFExpress does not seem to be possible on my D850. Were there different configurations for the D850 over time, or are you referring to a different camera model? (My D850 allows for one XQD or CFExpress, plus one SD card, FWIW.)