Best Memory Cards for Nikon Z5: Why You Don’t Need V90 Speed

Nikon Z5 Memory Card Quick Recommendations

If you just want to cut to the chase, here are some quick recommendations on which memory cards to get for your Nikon Z5. I have a more detailed version below, but any of these will work well in the Nikon Z5.

This post focuses on the original Nikon Z5. More recently (in mid-2025), Nikon released a newer version: the Nikon Z5 II. The Z5 II is the new entry-level model.

These SD cards meet the needs of the Z5’s features, have a strong track record of reliability, are readily available, and are usually cost-effective.

Nikon Z5 SD card compatibility & requirements

The Nikon Z5 is Nikon’s entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera. It sits below the high-performance Z6 and high-resolution Z7 lines. While those models have since been updated, the hierarchy remains the same: Z5 < Z6 < Z7 < Z8 < Z9.

It has two SD card slots. You can use either SDXC or SDHC in them (SDXC probably makes more sense simply because those cards have more storage capacity). And, notably, those SD card slots are both UHS-II compatible. You won’t see the benefit in the camera, but you will notice the difference in transfer speeds to your computer so long as you’re using a compatible memory card reader and your computer is fast enough.

The Z5 shoots 24-megapixel photos and 4K30 video (note that it applies a heavy 1.7x crop in this mode). The 4K video maxes out at 144 Mbps, which, while moderately high, is nowhere near the 400 Mbps that some of the market-leading cameras shoot. So that requirement doesn’t really need a fast UHS-II card.

Nor does the burst photo mode. Maxing out at 4.5 fps, which is pretty slow, doesn’t really require the high-end transfer speeds of UHS-II.

What that means in terms of choosing SD cards for the Nikon Z5 is that you can use either UHS-I or UHS-II cards in the camera. Since the Z5 has a modest burst rate (4.5 fps) and video bitrate, it doesn’t strictly need UHS-II speeds to keep up with shooting. However, I still recommend UHS-II cards because they drastically cut down the time it takes to offload photos to your computer.

How many SD cards do you need for the Nikon Z5?

The Nikon Z5 has dual SD card slots, so you can use two SD cards.

But it’s not a requirement that both slots be filled. The camera will work normally with a single SD card in slot 1.

That said, there are advantages to filling both memory card slots. That’s because the second slot gives you extra options. You can use it for storage overflow, so that when the first card fills up, it moves on automatically to the next one. Or you can use it in various ways for creating a real-time backup copy or designate one card for photos (or RAW) and another for video (or JPG). You can also copy between the cards.

So the ideal situation is to use two memory cards and fill both slots, but the camera will still work normally with only one SD card.

Nikon’s recommendations on memory cards for the Z5

The Z5’s instruction manual is pretty unhelpful regarding the topic of which SD card to get. There is a section titled “Approved Memory Cards,” which you can find on page 689. This is what it says:

• The camera can be used with SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards.
• UHS-I and UHS-II are supported.
• Cards rated UHS Speed Class 3 or better are recommended for movie recording and playback. Slower speeds may result in recording or playback 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.

None of which is especially practical advice.

So what I’m aiming to do here is provide some practical recommendations on which SD cards to get for the Nikon Z5 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 Z5 — 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 Z5’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.

Nikon Z5 memory card detailed recommendations

Here’s more information on the cards mentioned above, along with some other good alternatives.

Making sense of SD card specifications

There are several types of SD cards, and you’ll find a range of different acronyms and codes on them. Here’s a quick overview of what to look for.

SDHC vs. SDXC

Most of the cards available nowadays are labeled with either SDHC or SDXC. The Nikon Z5 is compatible with both SDHC and SDXC cards. It can also work with regular SD cards, but they are rare to find and have limited storage capacity.

It’s important to note that SDHC and SDXC are not performance indicators. The speed of an SDXC card is not necessarily faster than an SDHC card, and vice versa. However, these labels are significant for camera compatibility and storage capacity.

These categories are assigned by the SD Association, the organization responsible for establishing standards for SD and microSD cards. The main difference between SDHC and SDXC lies in the filesystem they use for formatting. SDHC uses FAT32, while SDXC uses exFAT. When purchasing memory cards, the practical difference is that cards 32GB and smaller are labeled SDHC, while cards 64GB and larger are labeled SDXC.

UHS-I vs UHS-II

The latest SD cards come with the labels UHS-I or UHS-II (sometimes just I or II), which indicate the type of interface used for connecting to the cards. UHS stands for ultra-high-speed bus.

You can easily differentiate between UHS-I and UHS-II cards just by looking at them, regardless of what’s written on the card or packaging. UHS-I cards have a single row of contacts on the back, while UHS-II cards have an additional row of contacts.

UHS-I is the older and simpler bus interface, whereas UHS-II is newer and potentially faster. However, to fully benefit from the speed of UHS-II, both the device (host) and the SD card need to be UHS-II compatible. Nevertheless, the UHS-II specification is designed to be backward compatible, allowing you to use UHS-I cards in UHS-II devices, but you will only experience the speed of UHS-I.

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.

As a technical matter, the first system was known as Speed Classes (these were Class 2, 4, 6, and 10). The second system was known as UHS Speed Classes (U1 and U3). The third system is known as Video Speed Classes (V6, V10, V30, V60, and V90).

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 Z5, cards that have any of these on them should be fast enough:

• V30
• V60
• V90
• U3

For the Z5’s 4K video (144 Mbps), a V30 card is perfect. V60 and V90 are overkill for video on this specific camera, though they offer faster computer offload speeds.

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 Z5

The Z5 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.

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.

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 Z5

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 and directory structure exactly how the camera expects it. 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.)

On the Nikon Z5, you can find the format function under:

MENU > Setup Menu (wrench icon) > Format Memory Card

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.