Best Nikon D610 SD Memory Cards
SDXC, SDHC, and SD memory cards are produced to operate with the Nikon D610. For video and continuous shooting, it is essential the SD card you use has a fast write speed.
The functionality of your camera can be greatly reduced by using an incorrect SD memory card.
Don’t want the technical specs? Below is my recommendation on the SD card to use in your Nikon D610:
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- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
Dual Card Slots
Do Both Memory Card Slots Need to be Used?
No, the camera can be used with just one card. With two CF cards you will have more settings.
- Mirror the Cards. Both memory cards will have the same files written to them.
- Overflow. Once the first card is full, files will be written to the second card.
- RAW+JPEG. Raw files will be written to one card and JPEGs of the same images will be written to the second card.
Do SD Cards Need to be the Same?
No, Compact Flash memory cards are not required to match. You can use SD memory cards that have different sizes.
Having the two memory cards be the same helps to avoid compatibility concerns. In particular, a slow card can bottleneck the camera’s memory buffer.
Recommended SD Cards
SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
PNY Elite-X 128GB SD Card
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Good for burst shooting photos and recording 4K video.
- Larger capacity cards are available.
- Reliable & Durable: Magnet Proof, Shock Proof, Temperature Proof, Waterproof.
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SD Card
- Comparatively expensive for faster read speeds.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Only makes sense for professional use or if you need the largest storage capacity available.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
Best SD Cards
SD cards have greatly reduced in cost the time since the introduction of the Nikon D610.
Due to prices being quite low, it does not be advisable to get anything besides a pro-level card.
SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance cards have excellent overall performance and reliability. I have not endured a card break or corrupted data with any of those SD memory cards.
Each and every trouble I have dealt with has been because of low-cost unbranded SD memory cards. Hoping to save around a buck is not worthwhile if your D610 will not work as it should.
If you want to save some money, find a lower capacity card from a quality manufacturer. Because of this, you’ll not have to be worried about the photos stored on the SD card.
Nikon D610 SD Card Compatibility
The only cards that are compatible with the Nikon D610 are SD, SDHC, and SDXC. Ensure you have the latest firmware installed on your camera for the best functionality.
The newest SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) memory cards, are unable to be used with the D610.
You need to know of the 4 different types of Secure Digital (SD) cards that exist. They are broken up by storage size.
- SD (Secure Digital) - 128MB to 2GB.
- SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) - 4GB to 32GB.
- SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) - 64GB to 2TB.
- SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) - 4TB to 128TB.
Image Capacity
The following is a quick estimation of the volume of high-quality JPEGs shots you can expect to be stored on a SD memory card:
- 16GB - 4,640 images
- 32GB - 9,280 images
- 64GB - 18,560 images
- 128GB - 37,120 images
Speed, Class, & UHS Ratings
Card Speed
The speed rating of an SD card is dependant on the sequential write and read transfer speeds. SD card file write speed is essential for continuous shooting as well as video.
A slow card can cause a drop in the number of continuous photos the Nikon D610 can take. This is due to the camera’s buffer not being able to write to the card quickly enough.
When recording video, a slow SD card can cause an unexpected end to shooting. The video file may also end up being corrupted. If you are going to shoot video, it is critical the card you use meets the required write speed for video.
Card read speed is nice to have for file transfers to a computer. If you have cards that are full, a card with a fast transfer speed will save you time.
Speed Class Rating
An SD card receives a Class rating in line with its sustained write speed. Memory cards that have a write speed of 10MB/s will be rated Class 10.
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s or faster
Every brand-name SD card that you can find for sale today will receive a Class 10 rating. To determine the class rating of a memory card, try to find a number inside of a C on the front.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is a feature that can be found in SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. UHS makes it possible for increased file transfer rates.
There are three different specifications. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
To find out the rating of a SD memory card, look at the front of the card. The presence of a Roman numeral I, II, or III on the front of the SD card, that is going to be the UHS rating of your SD card.
- UHS-I - Maximum transfer rate of 104 MB/s
- UHS-II - Maximum transfer rate of 312 MB/s
- UHS-III - Maximum transfer rate of 624 MB/s
Related Cameras
Taking the specs into consideration, the 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro is the best memory card for the Nikon D610. You are now also prepared for any future camera you own.
Here are more posts on Nikon cameras related to the D610: