Nikon D500 Memory card options

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AstroEd

AstroEd

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I currently am using 64GB UHS-II SDXC but have the firmware update to use the CFexpress cards. I am planning to get a Z9 eventually and I am wondering if there is a benefit to switching the D500 to the CFexpress card so I can swap them between the 2 cameras in the future.

Has anyone switched from UHS-II SDXC to CFexpress on their D500? what are the differences IN CAMERA, or are they just faster to get the images from the card to your PC?

Do the D500 and Z9 access the fastest CFexpress cards at the same speeds? or do I need a slower one for the D500 and the fastest version for the Z9 when I get it?
Or is it just a nitpicky moot point to consider?
 
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The D500 has a pretty large on board buffer so doesn't really need super fast cards. The Z9 needs the fast cards because the on board buffer only holds about 20 FF shots. With the D500 the only real benefit of high speed cards would be download speed.
 
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On a D500 you won’t see a huge gain going from SD to CFE but if you get the latest card reader you will see a massive increase in speed uploading files to a computer.
‘The D500 will be limited by its internal BUS so it won’t take advantage of a super fast CFE, but the z9 will; so you can buy a fast card now, you’ll only see a gain in upload speed and then you’ll see another jump when going to a z9.
 
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My understanding (CAUTION! Hearsay follows) is that the D500 only has one data channel, while the CFexpress cards have two for faster throughput. While the CFexpress cards will work on the D500 (that's what I use), there is no speed advantage in-camera over XQD cards. You may get faster downloads if you don't use the camera as the download platform.
 
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I use a USB 3.1 card reader to download my images but it is slow for SD cards
I had planned to buy a thunderbolt card reader to see if it worked faster, and just thought I would go all CFexpress cards, but I guess I can just use SD cards for the D500.
 
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Hi!
I would wait to change to CFexpress card in your case.

Just for the fact that they get cheaper and faster. So when you get the Z9 its a good chance that you can buy a better card for less money.
I have used the D500 with both SD and CFe and beside download to the computer i could not tell the diffrence.
 
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I have tested SD cards (UHS-I - don't have any UHS-II), XQD, and CFE cards in my D500. The CFE cards do perform faster in the D500 than XQD and SD cards but the only way you can really see the difference is to shoot in 14bit RAW uncompressed. In normal shooting the only difference you see is how long it takes to clear the buffer.

The important consideration in CFE cards at this point is sustained write speed if you are looking at using them in an advanced camera like the Z9 in the future. The newer CFE cards are stating sustained write speed and not just maximum write speed because that is important with todays newest cameras. I don't know if I have seen any sustained write speed values for SD cards.

The cost of CFE cards is not that much different from SD UHS-II cards, a SanDisk 128GB UHS-II SD card is about $150, an Angelbird 160GB CFE card is about $180, and an Angelbird 512GB CFE card is $180. The maximum write speed of the SanDisk SD card is 260MB/s (they don't give sustained write speed), the Angelbird 160GB CFE card is 1480MB/s, and the sustained write speed of the Angelbird 512GB CFE card is 800MB/s. I am using Angelbird as an example because I just purchased a 160GB CFE card to use in my Z6ii. If you need additional cards I think it would be worth considering CFE cards over SD UHS-II just to give them a little longer life in you camera bag. If you don't need cards there is no reason to purchase CFE cards now because it is likely they will get faster and cheaper.

I am sharing the link below that was shared with me when I was having "Hot Card" issues in my Z6ii. It is good information about sustained write speeds and temperatures.
John Navitsky said:
some cards definitely run cooler. i don't know if there is a strict correlation to speed, but these days i do pick cards based on heat and performance.

www.thessdreview.com

Delkin Black CF Express Type B 512GB Memory Card Review – Incomparable Sustained Write Speeds and Low Temps - The SSD Review

In late 2020, Canon introduced the EOS R5 mirrorless camera and that set off a frenzy of companies r
www.thessdreview.com www.thessdreview.com
Click to expand...
 
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AstroEd said:
I use a USB 3.1 card reader to download my images but it is slow for SD cards
I had planned to buy a thunderbolt card reader to see if it worked faster, and just thought I would go all CFexpress cards, but I guess I can just use SD cards for the D500.
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My SD card reader is USB 3 and is limited by card speeds for downloads. My XQD reader is also USB 3 and is quite fast. Yes, a TB port will be faster, but its the XQD cards that run circles around the SD cards.

--Ken
 
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Replytoken said:
My SD card reader is USB 3 and is limited by card speeds for downloads. My XQD reader is also USB 3 and is quite fast. Yes, a TB port will be faster, but its the XQD cards that run circles around the SD cards.

--Ken
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Thanks. I am just trying to figure out if the upgrade is worth the faster workflow. I find getting the images from the SD card to the hard drives and the time Topaz Labs to do Sharpen AI, and DeNoise AI are my biggest bottlenecks currently. I know my editing workflow is probably all wrong as I am just learning Lightroom (I. Have not used the Adobe RAW or Nikons software yet).
 
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AstroEd said:
Thanks. I am just trying to figure out if the upgrade is worth the faster workflow. I find getting the images from the SD card to the hard drives and the time Topaz Labs to do Sharpen AI, and DeNoise AI are my biggest bottlenecks currently. I know my editing workflow is probably all wrong as I am just learning Lightroom (I. Have not used the Adobe RAW or Nikons software yet).
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A couple of thoughts. First, when I have a lot of images to download, I just make a cup of coffee or go sit and read something on my iPad for a few. It is an old habit when everything computer-related was a lot slower, but I find it works for me as I am not on a production schedule. I cannot comment on Topaz, but first I move my files to my working drive for an initial culling. Then I rename and back them up just before I import them into LR Classic. So, I do appreciate fast transfer rates, but I also break up my workflow so a bit of extra transfer time is not an issue. If I did this for a living, I would certainly have a different approach. Of course, YMMV.

--Ken
 
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So far I have anywhere from 150-900 images each outing to the local lake, so not sure how many I would take if on an actual photography trip. So still trying to figure out how many GB to get. I only have 64GB now.
 
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AstroEd said:
So far I have anywhere from 150-900 images each outing to the local lake, so not sure how many I would take if on an actual photography trip. So still trying to figure out how many GB to get. I only have 64GB now.
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Buy an extra card or two that is either on a good sale if it is XQD, or something that you can use in your Z9. In my D500, I have one 32GB XQD and and SD card. I may fire off sequences, but usually they are in short bursts, so I do not fill the D500's buffer. My D750 has a very shallow buffer and fills quite quickly, so faster cards help a bit. But how much you need depends on how much you shoot and how long you will be away from home and your primary storage drives.

--Ken
 
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AstroEd said:
I currently am using 64GB UHS-II SDXC but have the firmware update to use the CFexpress cards. I am planning to get a Z9 eventually and I am wondering if there is a benefit to switching the D500 to the CFexpress card so I can swap them between the 2 cameras in the future.

Has anyone switched from UHS-II SDXC to CFexpress on their D500? what are the differences IN CAMERA, or are they just faster to get the images from the card to your PC?

Do the D500 and Z9 access the fastest CFexpress cards at the same speeds? or do I need a slower one for the D500 and the fastest version for the Z9 when I get it?
Or is it just a nitpicky moot point to consider?
Click to expand...
Maybe I am misunderstanding your question, but if I was you, I would buy the Delkin black CFexpress cards. Due to the limited production of XQD cards (the proprietary nature of these cards means that few companies make them), the cost of the CFexpress cards are almost the same as the XQD cards. If you think you will upgrade in the future to a Z9, you might as well get a card that would optimally work in that camera even if the card doesn't work any faster in the D500. My XQD cards were fantastic in the D500 but now that I have the Z9, have had to buy those (at the time I had bought the XQD cards the CFexpress cards weren't available). The price of a 120GB Sony XQD card is $159 versus the $174 for a 150 GB Delkin Black CF express card (probably one of the best CFexpress cards). As to size, everyone's shooting style varies but I have filled up 200GB shooting my Z9 in one morning (both video and photos) since I love shooting 20fps lossless RAW and 4K video. So I am happy with the 512 GB size since if you do a photo trip, I could easily see doing a terabyte these days!
 
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CFExpress will not be more than a slight bit faster than XQD cards in the D500 according to everything I have read or heard. On the other hand, they will certainly be faster than any SD card. This will make a difference if you experience a lot of action in a short time and need to mash the shutter. The buffer does, in my experience, occasionally fill in these kinds of situations with the D500 and even a fast v90 SD card.

Anyway, if you plan on getting a Z9 down the line, the logical choice might be to go with CFExpress cards since they only cost a slight bit more than the fastest SD cards.
 
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AstroEd said:
I have this in my wishlist to use with my future z9, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...pgcfx325gcjbh_pgd_325gb_cfexpress_memory.html I thought I could use it in both the z9 and the D500, or do they format the card differently?
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Personally, I always reformat a card when I put it in a different camera. So you can reformat it when you get the Z9, but then I wouldn't put it into the D500 without reformatting it back in the D500. So could use it for both cameras but not simultaneously.
Again, IMO, I would get the Delkin black. For $50 more, you can get substantially more GB with the Delkin Black. The problem is that some CFexpress cards specify "maximum write speed" (like Prograde digital) whereas others (like Delkin black) specify "minimum write speed", which is not comparable. My understanding is that both would work similarly.
 
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ricardo00 said:
They are almost the same, but Delkin came out with a "newer version" that is actually cheaper but with higher specs (I got one of the newer ones and it functions exactly like the older one). So I would take out the 128GB card and order this one:
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Hmmm, 22GB more and minimum Write speed is only 180 MB/s slower than the more expensive one with less storage… probably could never tell it was slower. Thanks.
95184E8D-1DEF-418B-AC08-BBC08A203641.png
 
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AstroEd said:
I have this in my wishlist to use with my future z9, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...pgcfx325gcjbh_pgd_325gb_cfexpress_memory.html I thought I could use it in both the z9 and the D500, or do they format the card differently?
Click to expand...
I can't speak to that specific combination, but when I formatted a CFExpress card in the D850 and then tested it in the Z7ii the frame rate with a full buffer and the write speed were much slower with much more stuttering. Always format the card in the camera to be used unless it's an emergency. Some cameras have differences in the file formatting based on the camera or the card size.
 
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Am I doing right to copy the files from card to hard drive put card back in camera and format or could I just erase all the photos? How many times can you use.. format an SD card or CFExpress card before it no longer works? And how do you know the card is wearing out from being formatted too many times?
 
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AstroEd said:
Am I doing right to copy the files from card to hard drive put card back in camera and format or could I just erase all the photos? How many times can you use.. format an SD card or CFExpress card before it no longer works? And how do you know the card is wearing out from being formatted too many times?
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Modern cards have leveling to eliminate bad sectors and level wear across the entire card.

You should not automatically delete photos on the computer as you import. You need to check the import and make sure there were no problems and you can open one or two files. Delete only after the copy is confirmed - and preferably after you have made a backup copy.

It's best to reformat the card in the camera.

Cards can be written and reformatted thousands of times. The card will normally outlive the camera. That said, if you have a hiccup with the card, or when you get a new camera, it's probably a good idea to buy a new card. The cards get faster and newer cameras can use capabilities of newer cards. Sometimes new cards make older cameras perform faster.
 
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A good CFexpress card for a future Z9 is the ProGrade Cobalt 325GB and 650GB. But prices are likley to fall before you get your Z9 and so no issues with waiting. With the D500 I had problems with early XQD cards as the timing was off and the D500 would freeze completely.

As the form factor is the same for XQD and CFexpress but they use different card readers it is a good idea to avoid XQD cards for the D500.
 
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