Best Nikon D750 Memory Cards - How to Choose the Right SD Card

SDXC, SDHC, and SD memory cards are compatible with the Nikon D750. For video and burst shooting, it is crucial the SD memory card you use can write data fast enough.

You can reduce the overall performance of your camera by using the wrong memory card.

Want to skip the technical details? Here’s my recommendation on the memory card to use with the Nikon D750:

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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 is usable with just one SD card. When you use two cards you will have more options.

• 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, the SD memory cards are not required to be the same. You can use SD memory cards that have different capacities.

With that said, having both memory cards be identical helps to prevent potential compatibility issues. As an example, one slow SD card could cause problems with recording video or clearing the buffer during continous shooting.

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 UHS-I 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 memory cards are now considerably more affordable than at the time the Nikon D750 was originally released.

Seeing as how affordable costs are, it does not be cost-effective to invest in anything other than a professional-quality SD card.

The best memory cards I own have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance models. I have never encountered a card failure or corrupted data with any of those SD memory cards.

Every one of the complications I have encountered has been with no-name unbranded SD memory cards. Attempting to save around a buck is not worth it if your D750 is going to have problems.

If you want to save some money, pick a smaller capacity card from a quality company. That way, you’ll know your photos are safe and sound on the card.

Nikon D750 SD Card Compatibility

Only SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards can be used by the Nikon D750. For best performance, ensure your camera is using the most up to date firmware.

The newest SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) cards, are unable to be used in the D750.

You should know the 4 different types of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards that can be used. They are separated 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 number of large JPEGs photographs you can be expecting to be saved on a card:

• 16GB - 4,640 images
• 32GB - 9,280 images
• 64GB - 18,560 images
• 128GB - 37,120 images

Speed, Class, & UHS Ratings

Card Speed

Speed ratings of an SD card is dependant on the continuous read and write transfer speeds of the card. The continuous write speed of a memory card is essential for HD video recording, in addition to continuous shooting.

A slow memory card can reduce the number of continuous frames the Nikon D750 can capture. This is because the camera’s buffer is not able to write data to the SD card fast enough.

With video, a slow card can cause recording to stop. The video file may also be corrupted. If you intend to capture video, it is crucial the SD card you use meets the requirements of the D750.

Read speed is important for high-speed file transfer to a computer or laptop. If you have cards that are full, a card with a fast transfer speed will cut down on the amount of time it takes the transfer to finish.

Speed Class Rating

The Class rating of an SD memory card is based on the continuous write speed. Memory cards that have a minimum write speed of 10MB/s are labeled as 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 card that you can get will have a Class 10 rating. To check the class rating of a memory card, search for a number inside of a C on the front.

Ultra High Speed (UHS)

A UHS-I Card should be used with the Nikon D750 for best performance. They are the fastest SD cards that are compatible.

UHS-II cards can be used in the D750, but will be limited to the same transfer speeds of UHS-I SD cards. This is because the memory card slots in the camera are only compatible with UHS-I.

The Ultra High Speed bus (UHS) is a feature that can be found in SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC cards. UHS memory cards to have faster write speeds.

Three different specifications exist. The three are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III cards.

You can find out the rating of a SD card by reading the label. If the card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III can be found on the front of the 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