Best Nikon 1 J1 SD Memory Card

The Nikon J1 is able to use SDXC, SDHC, and SD memory cards. For continuous shooting and video, it is essential the SD card you use has a fast write speed.

The performance of your camera can be greatly decreased by using an incorrect card.

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If you’re in a hurry, here’s the best memory card you can buy for the Nikon J1:

• 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.

Best SD Cards

Like all things tech, the price range of memory cards has greatly fallen since the release of the Nikon J1.

Since prices are cheap, it does not be wise to purchase anything but a professional-quality SD card.

The best SD cards I own have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance models. I have not experienced a card physically fail or corrupted data with those memory cards.

Each and every hassle I have dealt with has been because of cheap unbranded SD cards. Hoping to save a small amount of money isn’t worth it if your J1 will not operate as it should.

If you want to reduce your cost, find a lower capacity SD card from a quality supplier. That way, you will not have to be worried about the images stored on the card.

Recommended SD Cards

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Nikon J1 SD Card Compatibility

Only SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards can be used by the Nikon J1. Make sure you have the latest firmware installed on your camera for the best compatibility.

The newest SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) cards, aren’t usable in the J1.

You should know of the four kinds of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards that can be purchased. SD memory cards can be told apart based on the memory card’s 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

Below is an estimation of just how many max-quality JPEGs photos you can be expecting to be stored on a SD 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 memory card is based on the continuous read and write transfer speeds of the card. The transfer speed of a SD memory card is important for video as well as continuous shooting.

A slow SD card can cause a decrease in the number of continuous frames the Nikon J1 can capture. This is because the camera’s buffer will not be able to write data to the SD card fast enough.

With video, a slow SD card can cause a sudden end to the recording. The video file might also end up being corrupted. If you are going to capture video, it is critical the memory card you use meets the requirements of the J1.

Read speed is important for transferring files to a computer. If you are filling up cards with images or video, a card with a fast transfer speed will decrease the time it takes the transfer to finish.

Speed Class Rating

The continuous write speed of a memory card is the factor that determines the Class rating. Cards that have a write speed of 10MB/s will be labeled 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 of memory card that you can find will receive a Class 10 rating. You can determine the class rating of a SD card by searching for a number inside of the C on the sticker.

Ultra High Speed (UHS)

The Ultra High Speed bus (UHS) is built into SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC cards. UHS memory cards to have faster transfer rates.

There are three different specs. They are called UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.

Look at the front of the SD card to determine the rating of a SD memory card. If the memory card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III can be found on the front of the 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