Don't Overpay for a Nikon D3100 Memory Card for Photos and Video
The Nikon D3100 uses SD memory cards. It is compatible with memory cards up to 2TB in capacity.
In order to record video, get a card with a Class 10 speed rating. I suggest getting a card with UHS-I, as those cards are way faster than Class 10. They will have compatibility with as many cameras and devices as possible.
A 64GB SD card will be plenty of storage for most needs. The cards are widely available and inexpensive.
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SanDisk Ultra 64GB
- Class 10 and UHS-I
- Large enough storage capacity for hours and hours of video.
- Stays in stock
- Lots of people buy them
See current price and more information on:
As long as the SD card you buy has UHS-I, it will be best enough. Seriously, if you can save a $1, go for it. You’ll never be able to tell the difference in use with the D3100.
This got my pick because it stays in stock. There also won’t be much of a price difference between 64GB and 32GB cards. It hard to beat the price to capacity.
PNY Elite-X 128GB SD Card
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. (Fast!)
- Good for future 4k camera upgrade
- Larger capacity cards are available.
See current price and more information on:
In my experience, PNY cards have been just as high quality as SanDisk, Lexar, Sony, and Transcend. I can not stress enough how difficult it is to make a bad purchasing decision.
With a 128GB card, buy the cheapest that is U3 or has a V30 rating. Both of those mean the card is capable of sustaining 30MB/s continuous write speeds.
That is important if you have, or intend to upgrade to a camera with better video specs. It’s a mature technology, so no one bothers making slow cards anymore.
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating.
- Needlessly fast.
- Only made sense for professional use.
- Likely overpriced.
See current price and more information on:
People like SanDisk and SanDisk likes money. The card is faster on paper, but likely won’t be in use.
They tend to be among the most expensive SD cards. I don’t think they are worth paying a premium for.
Card reader should have tails
Future proof features:
- USB-C 3.1 or 3.2
- UHS-II Compatible
- Has a Tail
It’s super annoying when a card reader blocks other ports. They can also be built-in multi-port dongles or be able to read multiple types of memory cards.
Multi-card readers can do newer memory cards like CFExpress. If you’re into older cameras, a USB 2.0 26-in-1 memory card reader might be for you.
- Memory Stick (Sony)
- xD (Olympus)
- CompactFlash (Old Nikon, Canon, Pentax)
Nikon D3100 SD Card Compatibility
The Nikon D3100 is compatible with SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. In order to be able to record video, use a card that has a Class 10 speed rating.
Cards that meet the newest standard, SDUC, have no been released yet. When they do eventually show up, the D3100 will not be able to use them.
- 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
Listed here is a quick estimation of just how many large JPEGs photos you should be expecting 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, and UHS Ratings
Card Speed
The speed rating of an SD card is determined by the sequential write and read transfer speeds of the card. Card file write speed is very important for clearing the camera buffer for continuous shooting as well as recording video.
A slow memory card can cause a reduction in the number of continuous photos the Nikon D3100 can take. This is because the camera’s buffer is not able to write data to the memory card quickly enough.
When recording video, a slow SD card can cause a sudden end to shooting. The video file could also end up being corrupted. If you are going to shoot video, it is important the SD card you use meets the required minimum continuous write speed for video.
Read speed is important for transferring files to a computer or laptop. If you have cards that are full, a memory card with a fast transfer speed will save you time.
Speed Class Rating
The Class rating of a card is based on the continuous write speed. Memory cards that have a write speed of 10MB/s are rated 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 SD card that you can buy today will have a Class 10 rating. To determine the class rating of a memory card, find a number inside of the C on the sticker.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed bus (UHS) is built into SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. The UHS bus allows provides a way to increase file transfer rates.
There are 3 different versions. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
You can find out the rating of a memory card by examining the label. A Roman numeral I, II, or III on the front of the card, that is going to be the rating 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