The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS30 (also sometimes referred to as just the TS30 or, in some parts of the world, the FT30) doesn’t come with a memory card as standard. Some retailers put together special Lumix TS30 bundles with some accessories to make the purchase more attractive. If you’re buying one of those bundles and it 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.
And more than likely you want to spend your time shooting and adventuring rather than researching the ins and outs of which memory card to get. This is why I’ve put this post together–as some quick, practical recommendations on which memory cards will work well in the TS30 without buying something that’s unnecessarily fancy or expensive.
I’ve taken Panasonic’s official guidance and combined it with my own experience with testing SD cards and shooting with the TS30.
The short version is that you don’t need a fancy SD card for the DMC-TS30. It’s not 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 Lumix DMC-TS30
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
Detailed Recommendations for SD Cards for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS30
First, the basics. The TS30 takes SD-sized cards. It has a single memory card slot, so it takes one card at a time (although having a spare card on hand is always a good idea in case something goes wrong with a card).
Making Sense of 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.
The TS30 will work with both SDHC and SDXC cards (and, for that matter, just plain SD cards, but they’re harder 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.
When it comes to what size to get, the instruction manual says that cards from 2G up to 64GB will work. I’ve also used 128GB cards in it without any problems. Which to get, then, pretty much comes down to convenience so you don’t keep running out of space (although the TS30 has an internal memory that can hold another 34 or so photos if you fill the card up). The sweet spot in the combination of how many photos (or video) you can fit and the price of the card is probably in the 32GB to 64GB range for this camera, but if you want to use a smaller card like 8GB or 16GB, you can.
Some cameras need a fast SD card. The TS30 doesn’t, so you have plenty of options when it comes to speed. The function where card speed matters most on the TS30 is when shooting video. But the video mode on this camera uses quite low bitrates (i.e. the amount of data that needs to be written per second), so you can get away with slower cards than in some other cameras. If you’re shooting video, you’ll want something that’s rated for at least Class 4. In practice, you really can’t find anything readily available these days less than Class 10, so it’s actually quite rare to come across a card that isn’t fast enough. Don’t go hunting specifically for a Class 4 card–even if you find them, there’s a good chance they’ll be more expensive than a Class 10 card anyway. There are also plenty of cards available now that have faster ratings than Class 10–such as U1 or U3. You can use those cards if you like–they’re backward compatible–but you won’t see any extra performance boost in the camera.1
Practical Recommendations
With that said, here are some more detailed practical recommendations. They’re based on a combination of Panasonic official guidance in the instruction manual and my own testing of SD cards. This is by no means designed to be a comprehensive list of every SD card that will work in the TS30–there are plenty of other SD cards that will also work well–but these are ones that are a combination of reliable, readily available at major retailers, cost-effective, and work well in the TS30 camera without going overboard with fancier-than-necessary specs.
These aren't necessarily the fastest SD cards on the market, but they're fast enough for this camera. It's also not designed to be a comprehensive list of every SD card that will work.
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; and 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
- Video Speed Class: U1
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
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. 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 32GB through 256GB.
Buy at: Amazon
Lexar 633x V30 UHS-I
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
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
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
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
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
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
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Speed Class: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Delkin Devices have been around for a long time but have been relatively quiet in recent years. But they've refreshed their entire lineup of cards recently to simplify the range and bring the cards up to current specs.
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.What the Lumix DMC-TS30’s Instruction Manual Says
If you go hunting in the instruction manual, you’ll find this on page 22:
How Many Photos from the TS30 Will Fit on an SD Card?
These are based on the figures Panasonic provides in the manual:
| Size | Built-in Memory | 2GB | 4GB | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16MP | 34 | 300 | 1228 | 2455 | 4910 | 9889 | 19778 |
| 5MP | 76 | 660 | 2655 | 5310 | 10620 | 21490 | 42980 |
| 0.3MP | 1170 | 10240 | 40740 | 81480 | 162960 | 247160 | 494320 |
How Much TS30 Video Footage Will Fit on a Memory Card?
These are again based on Panasonic’s figures. The duration is in the format HH:MM:SS.
| Size | Built-in Memory | 2GB | 4GB | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HD | — | 0:23:45 | 0:47:30 | 3:14:08 | 6:28:15 | 13:05:20 | 26:10:40 |
| VGA | 0:05:52 | 0:52:17 | 1:44:34 | 7:07:14 | 14:14:28 | 28:48:24 | 57:36:48 |
What Brands to Get
All of the ones I’ve listed here on this page are from big, well-respected memory card brands. There are other smaller brands–some might be just fine, but others might not be. I generally try to stick to brands I know and have had good experiences with. And there are some cards from big brands, like Panasonic themselves, that just aren’t easy to find at many retailers.
Where to Buy Them
Believe it or not, counterfeit SD cards are a thing. So it’s best to buy them from a respected retailer. I buy a lot of memory cards, and I buy most of them from B&H Photo and Amazon.
How to Recover Photos if You’ve Accidentally Deleted Them
If you format the card before you’ve backed up the photos from it, it might still be possible to recover them. To do that you’ll need to fire up the computer–it’s not something that you can do in the camera. I’ve put together an overview on how to recover deleted photos from an SD card.
How to Format an SD Card in the Panasonic Lumix TS30
You can find the formatting function through the camera’s main menu, under Setup > Format.
You can find more details on page 50 of the manual [PDF].
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 Panasonic Lumix TS30
If you’re looking to kit out your TS30, here are some of the most popular accessories for it.
- 4K video and 4K photo: Panasonic’s exclusive 4K photo technology uses 30 frames per second in high...
- Leica DC Vario Elmarit lens: 24x zoom (25 600 millimeter with Full zoom range F2; 8 aperture for enhanced...
- Fine Detail Performance: 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor with no low pass filter resulting in a...
- Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Kit: With 2 super compact lenses 12 32mm F3.5 5.6 and 45150mm F4.0...
- POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA: Large, 1-inch 20.1-megapixel MOS sensor plus 3X zoom LEICA DC VARIO-SU...
- TILTING SELFIE DISPLAY: Rear touch-enabled 3-inch LCD display (1040K dots) tilts upward 180 degree for...
- Water proof (50 feet /15 meter), dust proof, shock proof (7 feet / 2.1 meter), crush proof (100 kgf),...
- High resolution F2.0 lens, maximum 8x zoom, true pic VIII, back illuminated CMOS image sensor
- POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA: Large, 1-inch 20.1-megapixel MOS sensor plus 10X zoom LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT...
- EYE-LEVEL ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER AND LCD DISPLAY: High-resolution 1,166k-dot viewfinder and rear...
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