![Nikon Zf Dual Memory Card Slot](https://alikgriffin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AG_NikonZf_MemoryCardSlots-800x533.jpg)
The Nikon Zf has two memory card slots, one for UHS-II SD cards and one for micro SD cards. Both slots are right next to the battery on the bottom of the camera.
The fastest memory cards you need for the Nikon Zf are UHS-II V60 SD cards. This will allow you to take advantage of all the features the camera offers, but you can jump up to V90 cards if you need to clear the buffer faster if you’re shooting a lot in the continuous burst mode.
The memory card capacity you can use is not restricted. You can use 8GB cards up to 1TB card, but any card smaller than 64GB will switch to using a 32-bit file structure, so I recommended sticking to 64GB cards as a minimum size.
![Fastest Memory Cards Nikon Zf - A chart showing the best recommended SD cards for the Nikon Zf.](https://alikgriffin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AlikGriffin_Nikon_Zf_Recommended_MemoryCards_00205-1200x900.jpg)
Recommended SD Cards For Nikon Zf
![Sandisk Extreme Pro V90 UHS-II](https://alikgriffin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Sandisk_ExtremePro_V90_UHS-II_MemoryCard.jpg)
The Nikon Zf has a maximum bitrate of 340 Mbps (42.5MB/s), meaning that a V60 UHS-II card is the fastest to shoot 4K video reliably.
However, the Nikon Zf can burst photos at a rate of 14 frames per second, which could benefit from a UHS-II v90 card if you’re using this feature a lot.
I recommend UHS-II v60 cards for most people and microSD cards as backup.
Here is a list of some of the best SD cards for the Nikon Zf and their in-camera buffer-clearing speeds.
Recommended SD Memory Cards For Nikon Zf | Speed Class | Minimum Write Speed | USB-C Write | USB-C Read | Nikon Zf Buffer | Check Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SD UHS-II V90 | UHS-II | Hide | Hide | |||||
Sandisk Extreme Pro V90 32-512GB | Sandisk Extreme Pro V90 UHS-II Review | UHS-II | 90 | 268 | 293 | https://geni.us/S6WrhEt | 219 | Amazon / B&H |
PNY EliteX-Pro90 V90 64/128/256GB | UHS-II | 90 | 276 | 293 | https://geni.us/QnfnzFj | 228 | Amazon / B&H | |
Angel Bird V90 II 64-512GB | Angel Bird V90 II | UHS-II | 90 | 257 | 271 | https://geni.us/b0DwdXG | 226 | Amazon / B&H |
OWC Atlas Ultra V90 64-512GB | UHS-II | 90 | 270 | 289 | https://geni.us/gFcA | 225 | Amazon / B&H | |
Kingston Canvas React V90 32-256GB | Kingston Canvas React Plus V90 | UHS-II | 90 | 274 | 292 | https://geni.us/bz1lL | 223 | Amazon / B&H |
SD UHS-II V60 | UHS-II | Hide | Hide | |||||
Lexar 1800x V60 64-512GB | UHS-II | 60 | 188 | 255 | https://geni.us/lsC9b | 166 | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar Silver Pro v60 | UHS-II | 60 | 162 | 255 | https://geni.us/L2b59A | 148 | Amazon | |
Sony E v60 128GB | Sony E Series V60 128GB Review | UHS-II | 60 | 142 | 252 | https://geni.us/BsQ8sQ | 69 | Amazon / B&H |
PNY EliteX-Pro60 V60 256GB | UHS-II | 60 | 183 | 280 | https://geni.us/zHpj | 164 | Amazon / B&H | |
Angel Bird V60 II 64-1TB | Angel Bird V60 II | UHS-II | 60 | 144 | 243 | https://geni.us/qxCS62 | 132 | Amazon / B&H |
MicroSD Cards For Nikon Zf
MicroSD cards will perform slower than v60 or v90 UHS-II SD cards, and the Nikon Zf does not support UHS-II microSD cards, so you might want only to send JPEGs to these cards or set the camera to record in a backup only in critical situations.
Here are some of the best micro SD cards for the Nikon Zf.
Recommended Cards | USB-C Write | USB-C Read | Check Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UHS-II | ||||
Lexar 1800x V60 | 120 | 290 | ||
Lexar 1000x V60 | Amazon | |||
Lexar Gold V60 A1 | 103 | 280 | Amazon / B&H | |
ProGrade V60 | 137 | 198 | Amazon / B&H | |
Delkin Power V90 | 275 | 287 | Amazon / B&H | |
Angel Bird A1 V60 | 142 | 267 | Amazon / B&H | |
UHS-I | ||||
Sandisk Extreme Pro U3 A2 | 96 | 173 | Amazon | X |
Sandisk Extreme Plus U3 A2 | 107 | 174 | Amazon / B&H | X |
Sandisk Outdoors 4k V30 A2 | 97 | 175 | Amazon / B&H | |
Sandisk Extreme U3 A2 256GB-1TB | 124 | 175 | Amazon / B&H | |
Sandisk Extreme U3 A2 128GB | 96 | 160 | Amazon / B&H | X |
Sandisk Ultra U1 A1 | ||||
Sandisk Nintendo Switch V30 A1 | 95 | 158 | Amazon / B&H | |
Sandisk High Endurance V30 | 82 | 92 | Amazon / B&H | |
Sandisk Max Endurance V30 | 49 | 92 | Amazon / B&H | |
Samsung Pro Ultimate v30 A2 | 130 | 179 | Amazon / B&H | |
Samsung Pro Plus V30 A2 | 127 | 176 | Amazon / B&H | |
Samsung EVO Plus V30 A2 | 123 | 127 | Amazon / B&H | |
Samsung EVO Select V30 A2 | 124 | 126 | Amazon / B&H | |
Samsung Pro Endurance V30 | 61 | 93 | Amazon / B&H | |
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus V30 A2 | 128 | 173 | Amazon / B&H | X |
Kingston Canvas Select Plus V30 A1 | 80 | 93 | Amazon / B&H | |
Kingston Industrial V30 A1 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Lexar Silver Plus V30 A2 | 151 | 177 | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar Silver1066x A2 | 118 | 146 | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar Blue 633x V30 A1/A2 | 82 | 93 | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar FLY V30 A2 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Lexar PLAY U3 A2 512GB-1TB | Amazon / B&H | |||
Lexar PLAY U3 A1 256GB | Amazon / B&H | |||
Lexar PLAY U1 A1 128GB | 20 | 144 | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar E-Series Plus U3 A2 | Amazon | |||
Lexar E-Series U3 A1 | Amazon | |||
Delkin Black V30 | 86 | 93 | B&H | |
Delkin Hyperspeed V30 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Delkin Select V30 64GB | 83 | 93 | Amazon / B&H | |
Delkin Dashcard V30 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Transcend 500S U3 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Transcend 350V High Endurance U3 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Transcend 340S Ultra Performance V30 A2 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Transcend 330S High Performance V30 A2 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Transcend 300s V30 A1 | 47 | 94 | Amazon / B&H | |
PNY Premier-X A2 V30 | 84 | 93 | Amazon / B&H | X |
PNY PRO Elite U3 A2 | 83 | 93 | Amazon / B&H | X |
PNY PRO Elite U3 | 31 | 91 | Amazon / B&H | |
PNY Elite-X V30 A1 | 48 | 94 | Amazon / B&H | |
Amplim 667X V30 A1 | 86 | 92 | Amazon | |
Netac Pro A1 U3 | 50 | 92 | ||
Patriot EP PRO U3 | Amazon | |||
Patriot EP A1 V30 | 49 | 94 | Amazon / B&H | |
Patriot High Endurance U3 | ||||
Silicon Power Superior Pro | B&H | |||
Silicon Power Superior V30 A2 | 41 | 94 | Amazon / B&H | |
Silicon Power Superior V30 A1 | 60 | 94 | ||
Silicon Power 3D NanD V30 A1 | 54 | 94 | Amazon / B&H | |
Silicon Power GAME V30 A1 | 89 | 94 | Amazon / B&H | |
Silicon Power High Endurance U3 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Ritz Gear V30 A1 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone 4k Camera Extreme Max | Amazon | |||
Gigastone 4k Camera Extreme | Amazon | |||
Gigastone 4k Camera Pro Max V30 A2 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone 4k Camera Pro V30 A2 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone Camera Plus V30 A1 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone 4k Game Turbo A2 U3 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone Game Pro Max V30 A2 | ||||
Gigastone 4k Game Pro V30 A2 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone Gaming Plus A1 V30 | Amazon | |||
Gigastone 10x High Endurance V30 | Amazon | |||
TeamGroup A2 Pro+ 256GB-1TB | Amazon | |||
TeamGroup A2 Pro+ 128GB | Amazon | |||
TeamGroup Go V30 A1 | Amazon | |||
TeamGroup High Endurance V30 | Amazon | |||
Amazon Basics V30 A2 | Amazon |
Nikon Zf Memory Card Benchmarks
Tests measure how quickly the buffer clears in the Nikon Zf with each card.
Unfortunately, I did not test microSD cards, but I have tested all the most popular SD memory cards.
It looks like there were some UHS-II initialization issues with the UHS-II V60 memory cards, so you might want to avoid those. However, these initialization issues sometimes occur due to improperly power cycling the camera after formatting and changing to new cards, but not always. Sometimes, some cameras don’t like some cards. For example, three of my Lexar 2000x cards from different generations always give me problems with my Nikon Z8.
Stick with the v60 cards on the list that did well, and you’ll likely have no issues.
There were no issues with V90 cards in the Nikon Zf.
![Benchmarks showing SD and the buffer speeds tested in the Nikon Zf](https://alikgriffin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AGriffin_Nikon_Zf_SD_MemoryCard_Benchmarks_00193-scaled.jpg)
Nikon Zf Camera Specs
Sensor Size: 24.5 EXPEED 7 Image Processor |
Also, check out my list of the Best Accessories for the Nikon Zf – there is lots of great stuff there.
Check out the SD Memory Card Speeds to see all the different SD card read and write speeds, or if you’re looking for microSD cards, check out this guide to the best microSD memory cards.
What Size Card To Buy?
If you mainly use photos and videos, a 128GB card should be enough. But for higher-quality video, you might need a 256GB card.
Nikon Zf Recording Specs & Details
Record Limit: Up to 125 Minutes
Audio File Format: AAC, Linear PCM
4k Recording Modes 8/10-Bit |
Memory Card Capacity With Record Times
This table shows the different recording modes and how much time they use for different card sizes. To get your own numbers, I have to build a bitrate-to-time converter.
Nikon Zf Record Times | 64GB | 128GB | 256GB | 512GB |
4k | ||||
4k 340Mbps | 42.5MB/s H.265 | 25min | 50min | 100min | 201min |
4k 144Mbps | 18MB/s H.264 | 59min | 119min | 237min | 474min |
Key Takeaways
The Nikon Zf is a pretty beefy camera in terms of specs and should have some amazing performance with that 14fps buffer and 340MBps video. But you do need the right SD cards. I recommend starting with a 128GB UHS-II V60 SD card for the Nikon Zf, and keeping a MicroSD card in the camera for backup purposes if needed.
If you burst frequently and need the fastest buffer-clearing speeds, a V90 card is your go-to choice. However, for normal photography or video, you can save money by using V60 cards. If you use a Micro SD card as a backup, the buffer will be slower. So, don’t pair it with a UHS-II v90 card, or you will waste money on speeds you can’t take advantage of.
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