It’s not always easy to know which type of memory card to get, and if you get one that’s not good enough for the camera, you can end up with errors or not be able to use all of the camera’s features. Here are some practical recommendations on which cards to get for the Nikon D780 DSLR camera.
If you just want some quick recommendations, here you go. Any of these will work well in the D750. These aren’t necessarily the fastest SD cards money can buy, but they’re a good combination of meeting the requirements of the D750’s features, have a strong track record of reliability, are readily available, and are usually cost-effective.
A memory card is an essential accessory for the Nikon D750. Without it, you’re not going to be able to take many photos or shoot much video.
But the D780 doesn’t come with a memory card by default. There are some bundles that retailers put together that might include a memory card, but chances are it’s something you’re going to have to pick up separately. Or maybe you want something bigger with larger storage capacity—the cards that are included in bundles are often on the small side and might fill up quickly, especially if you’re on a trip. So which card should you get?
Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
That’s where this post comes in—hopefully, to help you get out shooting sooner and taking full advantage of your new camera’s features rather than spending your time searching the web and trying to make sense of cryptic technical codes. I’ve been buying and testing numerous SD cards for several years and have put many of the most popular SD cards on the market through their paces. You can find my main SD card tests here.
The Nikon D750 is a 24-megapixel DSLR with a full-frame FX sensor.
The Nikon D750 has two SD card slots with UHS-I interfaces. It’s compatible with SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards.
The D750’s instruction manual isn’t especially helpful on the topic of which SD card to get. This is what is buried on page 491 of the reference manual:
Approved Memory Cards The camera supports SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards, including SDHC and SDXC cards compliant with UHS-I. Cards rated SD Speed Class 6 or better are recommended for movie recording; using sower cards may result in recording being interrupted. When choosing cards for use in card readers, be sure they are compatible with the device. Contact the manufacturer for information on features, operation, and limitations on use.
The Benefits of Using Both Memory Card Slots
The D750 has double memory card slots, but you don’t have to fill both to make the camera work. However, using both slots has advantages.
The second slot can be used for overflow—or, put another way, to use the cards in series for maximum storage space—or you can specify that either NEF (RAW) or JPG files versions can be saved to one card and the other format to the other card. There’s also a built-in function to copy images from one card to the other.
Nikon D750 Memory Card Recommendations in Detail
There are several different types of SD cards. So which SD card should you get for your Nikon D750? Here’s the more detailed version.
What I’m aiming to do here is provide some practical recommendations on which SD cards to get for the Nikon D750 so you can spend less time searching online and more time out shooting.
I’m not trying to list every SD card that works in the D750—there are others that will work just fine as well. I’m focusing here on ones that offer a good combination of meeting the requirements of all of the D780’s features, are readily available at major retailers, are cost-effective, and come from major manufacturers with track records for good-quality cards. I’m also basing this on my own SD speed tests.
Tip: Don’t buy an SD Express or SDUC card. Both might look just like regular SD cards, but they’re emerging standards, and this camera isn’t compatible with those types of cards.
As a technical matter, SD Express cards are designed to be backward compatible and will function in this camera, but the camera won’t be able to use any extra speed benefit, and it may, in fact, perform slower than a non-SD Express card. SDUC cards require a different interface and will not function in this camera.
Delkin Devices have recently come out with a range of new SD cards of varying speeds and specs. While they're not as well known as some of the other brands, they've actually been in the memory card game a long time, and their recent efforts are paying off and getting noticed amongst those who use high-performance memory cards.
This is one of their mid-range cards that is rated for V30 video recording speeds.
This card from Lexar, one of the leading makers of memory cards, is a fast, reliable option. It's rated for video recording speed rating of V60. It comes in sizes up to 512GB.
SanDisk's Extreme range are good bets for many cameras, and that's true here too. SanDisk has faster ranges like the Plus and Pro lines, but the Extreme line is both quick enough for most cameras and usually less expensive than those faster lines.
One thing to note with SanDisk cards is that they recycle their model names. So you can find Extreme cards that are older and slower. You'll probably find those older versions work just fine--it really depends how far back you go--but you can tell the latest version because it's labeled with both U3 and V30, both of which are speed ratings specifically related to recording video. These cards are often good value, and you can sometimes find them sold in 2-packs.
Kingston is another 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 SDG3 Canvas Go 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 512GB.
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 aren't as well known as some of the other brands, but they've been around for quite some time and make reliable, cost-effective memory cards. It comes in sizes from 64GB up to 512GB.
You’ll find a range of different acronyms and codes on SD cards. Here’s a quick overview of which ones to look for.
SDHC vs. SDXC
Most of the cards you’ll see available now have either SDHC or SDXC printed on them. The Nikon D750 will work with both SDHC and SDXC cards (and, for that matter, just plain SD cards, but they’re hard to find these days and have impractically small storage capacities).
These aren’t performance categories, as such. An SDXC card isn’t necessarily any faster than an SDHC card, and vice versa. But they’re important for compatibility with the camera and also in terms of storage capacity.
They’re categories assigned by the SD Association, which is the organization that oversees and develops the standards for SD and microSD cards. 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.
UHS-I vs. UHS-II
The current generations of SD cards also have UHS-I or UHS-II on them (or often just an I or II). This refers to the type of interface that’s used to connect to the cards. It stands for ultra-high-speed bus.
Aside from whatever is printed on the card or packaging, you can tell UHS-I and UHS-II cards apart just by looking at them. UHS-I cards have a single row of contacts on the back. UHS-II cards have a second row of contacts.
UHS-I is the older, simpler bus interface. UHS-II is newer and potentially faster. But putting a UHS-II card in a UHS-I slot—as the D750 has—will result in it rolling back to UHS-I speeds.
Video Speed Classes
The SD Association has come out with various rating systems over the years to help buyers choose a card that’s suitable for use in cameras. Because recording high-resolution video (or, more specifically, high-bitrate video) is often the most demanding operation in terms of a camera and its memory card, it’s known as a video speed class rating system.
Most cards available now have a mix of old and new speed class codes printed on them. And while it’s helpful, it’s still an imperfect system for judging the speed of an SD card.
As a practical matter in the Nikon D750, cards that have any of these on them will be fast enough:
U3
V30
V60
Cards with the V90 rating will also work well, but they’re overkill for the D750, and the camera won’t be able to take full advantage of their UHS-II speed.
There’s a separate rating system that you might also see on some cards. They might have an A1 or A2 on them. You can ignore that when choosing an SD card for a camera. It’s designed for the kinds of operations that gaming devices and smartphones do.
What Size SD Card to Use in the Nikon D750
The D750 is compatible with SDHC and SDXC cards.
That means you can use cards from 4GB all the way to the largest cards currently available, which are 512GB and 1TB cards.1
There’s really no right answer when it comes to what size, or storage capacity, 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 with a 128GB card, you can fit four times as many photos as on a 32GB. And so on. And that’s especially handy when you’re traveling; even more so if you’re shooting any video. The most logical sizes for this camera in terms of convenience and price are probably the 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB sizes. But if you want to use a larger or smaller one, say 64GB or even 1TB, go right ahead—they’ll work just fine because of the way that the SDXC spec is designed.
Do You Really Need To Get a Good Memory Card?
A better memory card is not going to help you take better photos or improve image quality. But it can let you take advantage of all of the camera’s features. A card that’s not fast enough to keep up with the camera can cause issues like locking up, dropped frames, and overheating.
There’s also the issue of reliability. There are plenty of junk memory cards on the market. Not only do they have flaky performance, but they’re also more likely to fail. And that means the risk of losing your photos and videos.
At the same time, you don’t want to pay extra for a high-performance SD card that’s overkill for the camera. This is why I’m trying to provide some practical examples here.
How to Format SD Cards
When you buy a new SD card, you should format it before use and then regularly after that. If you’re formatting a card that you’ve already been using, make sure that you’ve downloaded any photos and videos you want to keep, because formatting deletes everything on the card.
Here’s some information on how to format the memory card.
How to Format SD Cards in the Nikon D750
It is best practice to always format memory cards in the camera that you’ll be using them in. That sets the card up with the filesystem, folder hierarchy, and, in some cameras, a database file, so that the card is just how the camera expects. That greatly reduces the risk of unexpected errors and unpleasant surprises.
Always be sure you’ve backed up everything you want from the card, because formatting it will wipe everything. (If you’ve formatted accidentally, it still might be possible to recover data from the memory card, but it’s not always guaranteed, and it can incur the expense of buying recovery software; more on that below.)
MENU button > Setup (wrench icon) > Format Memory Card
There’s also a shortcut method of formatting the memory card that you can use without going through the menu system. Press and hold the Trash Can and the ISO buttons together for 2 seconds. Then press them again to format the current memory card. You can switch which card is formatted by rotating the main command dial.
How to Format SD Cards with a Computer
Having said that, it is still possible to format memory cards using a card reader and computer. You get a lot more flexibility that way, but also some extra risk if things aren’t set up just how the camera wants them. It’s also sometimes a good troubleshooting step if you’re having issues with a memory card.
There are some things to watch out for, particularly when it comes to choosing which filesystem to use. 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.
Backing Up Images & Videos
While memory cards are remarkably resilient, just like any electronic product, they can and do fail. So regular backups are highly recommended. Ideally, that should include a mix of local backups and off-site or cloud backups.
Nikon D750 Memory Card FAQs
What type of memory cards does the Nikon D750 use?
The Nikon D750 has two SD card slots with UHS-I interfaces. It’s compatible with SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards. It’s compatible with SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards ranging from 4GB up to 1TB.
How many memory cards does the Nikon D750 use?
The Nikon D750 DSLR camera has two SD memory card slots. Both are compatible with SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards, and both have UHS-II interfaces.
It’s not required to fill both slots—the camera will work with just one memory card—but there are benefits to using both, such as the ability to create real-time backups and to divide up different types of image and video files onto separate cards.
More to Check Out
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It’s also technically compatible with SD cards. But I’m ignoring those here, because that spec maxes out at 2GB, and they’re slower. So they’re not a practical choice for the D750. [↩]
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I'm a professional photographer based in Washington, DC. Seven continents, up mountains, underwater, and many places in between. I've been shooting for 30+ years, and my photos and time-lapse videos have appeared in a bunch of different publications, from major newspapers to magazines and books, billboards, TV shows, professional sports stadiums, museums, and even massive architectural scrims covering world-famous buildings while they're being renovated. You can see some of my travel photography here and here.
