In their basic configurations, the Fujifilm Finepix XP120 and XP130 waterproof cameras don’t come with a memory card. Some retailers put together bundles with a few accessories to make the purchase more attractive. If you’re buying a bundle that includes a memory card, you’re all set. But chances are you’ll need to pick up an SD card separately before you get shooting.
To make it easier to know which memory cards work well in the XP120 and XP130, here’s a quick rundown of what specs to look for, along with some practical recommendations on specific cards. I’ve taken Fujifilm’s official guidance and combined it with my own experience with testing SD cards and shooting with these camera models.
The short version is that you don’t need a particularly fancy SD card for the XP120 or XP130. It’s not especially demanding of memory card speed by today’s standard, so you don’t need the latest and greatest (or the most expensive).
Quick Recommendations on SD Cards for the Fujifilm XP130 / XP120
If you just want the quick version, here are a few good options. I’ve found these to work well, to be readily available at major retailers, and to be cost-effective.
- Video Speed Class: U1
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
More Detailed Recommendations on SD Cards for the Fujifilm XP120 / XP130 Cameras
First, the basics. Both the XP120 and XP130 take SD cards. And they take one card at a time.
Making Sense of the SD Card Specifications
You’ll find a range of different acronyms and codes on SD cards. Here’s a quick overview of which to look for.
These cameras will work with both SDHC and SDXC cards (and, for that matter, just plain SD cards, but they’re hard to find these days). The difference between those two specifications is in the filesystem they’re formatted with–the SDHC specification uses FAT32 formatting, while the SDXC specification uses exFAT–but when it comes to buying memory cards, the practical difference is that cards 32GB and smaller will be labeled SDHC and cards 64GB and larger will be labeled SDXC.
There’s really no right answer when it comes to what size to get–it’s mostly a matter of convenience so that you don’t keep running out of space. As is probably obvious, you can fit twice as many photos on a 64GB card as on a 32GB card. And that’s handy when you’re traveling. The most logical sizes for this camera in terms of convenience and price are probably the 32GB or 64GB sizes. But if you want to use a larger or smaller one, say 128GB or 16GB, go right ahead–they’ll work just fine.1
Regarding speed, the XP120 and XP130 aren’t especially demanding. The camera uses its built-in temporary memory when you’re shooting in burst mode, so that’s not much of an issue. And even when shooting video, the bitrates of the video modes are relatively low (I have more details on this below). So you don’t need to go for a super-fast SD card. You can use one if you like, but the camera won’t perform any better with it.2 In terms of those marking on the cards, it makes sense to aim for Class 10 or U1. You can get away with slower if you’re not shooting video, but because SD card technology is constantly improving, it’s actually becoming hard to find new cards for sale that are slower than class 10, and because of the way the market works, they probably won’t be any less expensive anyway.
Practical Recommendations on SD Cards for the Fujifilm XP120 / XP130 Cameras
With that said, here are some practical recommendations. They’re based on a combination of Fujifilm’s official guidance and my own SD card tests. It’s not designed to be a comprehensive list–there are plenty of other SD cards that will also work well–but these are ones that are a combination of reliable, readily available, cost-effective, and work well in the XP120 and XP130 cameras.
These aren't necessarily the fastest SD cards on the market, but they're fast enough for this camera. This isn't necessarily a comprehensive list of every SD card that will work in this camera—there are also others that might work well, too.
My emphasis here is on cards that meet these criteria:
- fast enough for all the features of this camera
- from a reputable and reliable brand
- readily available at retailers
- good value for money
If you want to use a faster, fancier card you can, but you won't see any extra benefit in doing so while you're operating the camera (but you might see some faster speeds when downloading the photos to a computer, depending on your computer and memory card reader combination).
SanDisk Ultra U1 UHS-I
- Great choice for compact to mid-range point-and-shoot cameras
- Quick transfer speeds up to 150MB/s (Up to 150MB/s read speed engineered with proprietary technology to...
The SanDisk Ultra line is their cost-effective mid-range option. The latest versions of the Ultra cards are much faster than older versions, and it's a good basic option for cameras that don't demand too much of their SD card. The next level up—the Extreme cards—are also a good option, but the Ultra cards are often priced slightly lower. They're usually very easy to find in stores, too.
SanDisk recycles its model names, and you can still find older, slower versions with the Ultra name. This latest version of the Ultra card is rated for U1 for video recording and uses a UHS-I interface.
It comes in sizes ranging from 64GB up to 512GB.
Buy at: Amazon
Lexar 633x V30 UHS-I
- High-speed, Class 10 performance leverages UHS-I (U1 or U3 depends on capacity) technology for a read...
- Capture high quality images of stunning 1080p full-HD, 3D, and 4K video
The Lexar 633x range has been one of the mainstays of Lexar's SD cards for a while now. There are now faster cards available, but this one is again fast enough for this camera while also representing good value for money.
One distinctive thing about this range is that they're available from 32GB up through `TB.
Buy at: Amazon.
Kingston Canvas Select Plus V30 UHS-I
- Faster speeds — Class 10 UHS-I speeds up to 100MB/s.
- Capture in full HD & 4K UHD video (1080P) — the advanced UHS-I interface makes the card ideal for...
Kingston is a brand that isn't as well known as some of the others, but they've been making reliable memory cards for a very long time. As a brand, they don't tend to focus on the cutting edge speeds but rather on reliable and good-value memory cards.
This particular card (model SDS2 Canvas Select Plus) isn't the fastest in Kingston's range, but it's fast enough to work well in this camera. It's available in sizes from 16GB through 128GB.
PNY Elite-X V30 UHS-I
- Class 10 U3 V30 speed rating with read speeds up to 100MB/s
- Class 10 U3 V30 rating delivers speed and performance for burst mode HD photography and 4K Ultra HD...
PNY is another brand that isn't as well known as some others, but they've been around a long time and make very good memory cards that are usually very competitively priced and good value.
This particular model is available in sizes ranging from 64GB to 512GB.
Buy at: Amazon
Delkin Devices Advantage V30 UHS-I
- Supports 4K & Full HD 1080p Video Recording at High Frame Rates
- RAW Continuous-Shooting Approved
Delkin Devices have been around for a long time, but they've had something of a resurgence in recent years after simplifying their product lineup and updating the performance of their cards up to current specs.
This card is on the lower end of their range, but it works well in this camera without the higher price point of the faster cards. The Advantage card is rated to V30 and has a UHS-I interface. It currently comes in sizes up to 512GB.
Other Brands
There are also a lot of smaller, mostly unknown brands. In general, I'd recommend sticking to a brand you know and trust or one of the brands I've mentioned on this page because they have well-established reputations for putting out high-quality cards. Some of the other lesser-known brands might work, but they also might not be all they claim to be. The ones above should give a good selection of ones you can find fairly easily at retailers near you.
Faster SD Cards
If you're looking to use a faster card, take a look at the ones that I've subjected to my independent SD card speed tests.
Video Bitrates on the Fujifilm XP120 / XP130
The top video mode on the XP120 and XP130 is 1080p60. It records with variable compression encoding that averages a little under 15 Mbps (megabits per second). Compared to many other cameras on the market now, that’s quite low. It means that the stream of data that needs to be written to the memory card while recording video is relatively gentle. What that means for choosing an SD card is that you don’t need one that’s especially fast.
Here’s a quick rundown of the approximate bitrates used for recording video on the XP120.
| Mode | Bitrate Mbps |
|---|---|
| 1080p60 | 15 |
| 1080p30 | 15 |
| 720p60 | 13 |
| 480p30 | 3 |
| 480p120 | 2 |
| 240p240 | 0.5 |
| 120p30 | 0.4 |
How Many Photos from the XP120 / XP130 Can You Fit on a Memory Card?
These are calculated from the figures Fujifilm provides in the manual. It’s important to note, though, that they’re approximations. Because of the way JPG image compression works, the final filesizes will vary from image to image, depending on things like the detail and tonal complexity of the image. So while these are useful guides, it’s worth leaving yourself some wiggle room if you plan to cut things fine.
| Image Size | Quality Setting | Aspect Ratio | 4GB | 8GB | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large | Fine | 4:3 | 460 | 940 | 1,880 | 3,760 | 7,520 | 15,040 |
| 3:2 | 520 | 1,050 | 2,100 | 4,200 | 8,400 | 16,800 | ||
| 16:9 | 620 | 1,250 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | ||
| 1:1 | 620 | 1,250 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | ||
| Normal | 4:3 | 930 | 1,860 | 3,720 | 7,440 | 14,880 | 29,760 | |
| 3:2 | 1,040 | 2,090 | 4,180 | 8,360 | 16,720 | 33,440 | ||
| 16:9 | 1,230 | 2,470 | 4,940 | 9,880 | 19,760 | 39,520 | ||
| 1:1 | 1,230 | 2,470 | 4,940 | 9,880 | 19,760 | 39,520 | ||
| Medium | Fine | 4:3 | 920 | 2,860 | 5,720 | 11,440 | 22,880 | 45,760 |
| 3:2 | 1,040 | 2,090 | 4,180 | 8,360 | 16,720 | 33,440 | ||
| 16:9 | 1,220 | 2,460 | 4,920 | 9,840 | 19,680 | 39,360 | ||
| 1:1 | 1,240 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 | ||
| Normal | 4:3 | 1,820 | 3,660 | 7,320 | 14,640 | 29,280 | 58,560 | |
| 3:2 | 2,040 | 4,110 | 8,220 | 16,440 | 32,880 | 65,760 | ||
| 16:9 | 2,400 | 4,830 | 9,660 | 19,320 | 38,640 | 77,280 | ||
| 1:1 | 2,400 | 4,900 | 9,800 | 19,600 | 39,200 | 78,400 | ||
| Small | Fine | 4:3 | 2,300 | 4,620 | 9,240 | 18,480 | 36,960 | 73,920 |
| 3:2 | 2,050 | 4,120 | 8,240 | 16,480 | 32,960 | 65,920 | ||
| 16:9 | 3,420 | 6,870 | 13,740 | 27,480 | 54,960 | 109,920 | ||
| 1:1 | 2,420 | 4,850 | 9,700 | 19,400 | 38,800 | 77,600 | ||
| Normal | 4:3 | 3,380 | 6,800 | 13,600 | 27,200 | 54,400 | 108,800 | |
| 3:2 | 3,030 | 6,080 | 12,160 | 24,320 | 48,640 | 97,280 | ||
| 16:9 | 4,990 | 1,020 | 2,040 | 4,080 | 8,160 | 16,320 | ||
| 1:1 | 3,550 | 7,140 | 14,280 | 28,560 | 57,120 | 114,240 |
How Much Video Footage from the XP130 and XP120 Will Fit on a Memory Card?
These are again calculated on the figures given in the manual. The durations are given in the HH:MM format (i.e., hours and minutes).
| Resolution and Framerate | 4GB | 8GB | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p60 | 0:36 | 1:13 | 2:26 | 4:52 | 9:44 | 19:28 |
| 1080p30 | 0:36 | 1:13 | 2:26 | 4:52 | 9:44 | 19:28 |
| 720p60 | 0:40 | 1:21 | 2:42 | 5:24 | 10:48 | 21:36 |
| 480p30 | 3:08 | 6:18 | 12:36 | 25:12 | 50:24 | 100:48 |
| 480p120 | 1:04 | 2:08 | 4:16 | 8:32 | 17:04 | 34:08 |
| 240p240 | 2:07 | 4:15 | 8:30 | 17:00 | 34:00 | 68:00 |
| 120p320 | 2:21 | 4:45 | 9:30 | 19:00 | 38:00 | 76:00 |
To clarify, the durations in the table above are cumulative totals referring to storage space. It’s not the same thing as how long you can record individual video clips. Here are the maximum times for individual clips in the various modes on the XP120 and XP130:
| Mode | Max Duration |
|---|---|
| 1080p60 | 29 mins |
| 1080p30 | 29 mins |
| 720p60 | 29 mins |
| 480p30 | 120 mins |
| 480p120 | 30 secs |
| 240p240 | 30 secs |
| 120p320 | 30 secs |
How to Format SD Cards with a Computer
It’s always best practice to format memory cards in the camera you’re going to use them in, but if that’s not possible or not what you want to do, you can also format cards using a computer. But there are some things to know when formatting SD cards to minimize the risks of your camera having problems with them. So I’ve put together guides on how to format SD cards on Mac and how to use the free SD Card Formatter app for Windows or Mac.
Popular Accessories for the Fujifilm XP120 & XP130
Here are some of the popular accessories if you’re looking to kit out your XP130 or XP120.
- Fashionable appearance design,The case specially designed Replacement for Fujifilm FinePix...
- Replacement for Fujifilm FinePix XP140/XP130/XP120/XP90 Digital Camera can be loaded into the hard...
- Advanced Design, High Portability Brand New! Excellent customer service!
- Tested Units. In Great Working Condition.
- This float wrist strap is for use with most of waterproof cameras/underwater cameras/action cameras below...
- The circumference of this float strap is adjustable with a max circumference of 30 cm / 11.8 inches
- Tailored to fit – this Mega gear neoprene camera case is specifically tailored to fit the Fujifilm...
- Protective – crafted from scratch free, soft, durable and padded neoprene material to provide maximum...
- Specially designed for fuji XP130/XP120/XP90
- The raw materials made tempered glass are from Japan;Shield camera screen from Dirt, Scratches,...
- As a technical matter, the XP120 and XP130 will work fine with even smaller cards, all the way down to 512MB. But it’s hard to find SD cards commonly available less than 16GB these days. ↩
- You might see quicker downloading from the memory card to your computer with a fast SD card, depending on your setup, but you won’t see any real difference in the camera. ↩
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Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-09-25 at 16:41. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
