Best Memory Cards for the Nikon Zf – 35 SD Cards Tested In-Camera

The Nikon Zf has two card slots, one for UHS-II SD cards and one for microSD cards (UHS-I). In my in-camera tests, most V90 SD cards wrote 197–228 MB/s, while V60 cards ranged from 83 to 166 MB/s. Buy a V90 card if you shoot a lot of bursts; for video and normal shooting, a good V60 card like the Lexar 1800x (166 MB/s) is all you need. Both slots are on the bottom of the camera, right next to the battery.

For my full take on the camera itself, see the Nikon Zf review. Nikon Zf: Amazon / B&H

Table of Contents

• How I Tested the Nikon Zf
• Quick Picks: Best Memory Cards for the Nikon Zf
• Nikon Zf Card Slots: UHS-II SD and microSD
• V90 vs V60 SD Cards in the Nikon Zf
• Current SD Cards I Recommend
• Current microSD Cards I Recommend
• Nikon Zf Video Card Requirements
• What Size Memory Card Do You Need for the Nikon Zf?
• Nikon Zf In-Camera Test Results: UHS-II SD Cards (Tested July 2024)
• Nikon Zf Memory Card Specs
• Nikon Zf Memory Card Quick Answers
• What is the fastest SD card for the Nikon Zf?
• Does the Nikon Zf’s microSD slot support UHS-II?
• How big is the Nikon Zf’s buffer?

How I Tested the Nikon Zf

I tested 35 UHS-II SD cards in the Zf in July 2024. Each test is a burst of Lossless Compressed RAW in Continuous H (extended) at 14 fps until the buffer fills. I time how long the camera takes to clear the buffer and divide the data written by that time, then take the fastest of several runs. It’s a simple scene, so files from more detailed scenes can be larger; treat the numbers as a comparison between cards. I don’t test RAW+JPEG, since JPEG processing muddies the card comparison. The results cover the SD slot; for microSD speeds, see my microSD memory card guide.

Quick Picks: Best Memory Cards for the Nikon Zf

Not sure what capacity to get? Check what size memory card you need before you buy. The Zf’s Lossless Compressed RAW files are about 25.9 MB each, so if you’re coming from an older or lower-resolution camera, you’ll fill cards faster than you might expect.

	Fastest in the Zf: PNY EliteX-PRO90 V90. 228 MB/s in the Zf, the fastest card I tested. In my reader it wrote 272 MB/s and read 287 MB/s.
	Also near the top: OWC Atlas Ultra V90. 225 MB/s in the Zf, a few MB/s behind the PNY. It wrote 271 MB/s and read 287 MB/s in my reader.
	Easy-to-find V90: SanDisk Extreme PRO V90. The previous version wrote 219 MB/s in the Zf. The current card wrote 260 MB/s and read 278 MB/s in my reader, so expect it to sit with the fastest cards here.
	Best V60: Lexar Professional 1800x V60. 166 MB/s in the Zf, the fastest V60 card I tested. In my reader it wrote 192 MB/s and read 251 MB/s. A good card for video and normal shooting.
	For the microSD slot: Lexar SILVER PLUS V30 A2 microSD. Wrote 151 MB/s and read 177 MB/s in my reader. The Zf’s microSD slot is UHS-I, so use it for JPEGs, overflow, or backup in critical situations.

Nikon Zf Card Slots: UHS-II SD and microSD

Slot 1 takes SD cards, UHS-I or UHS-II. Slot 2 takes microSD cards, which Nikon lists as UHS-I compliant, so the microSD slot is always the slower of the two. Nikon lets you use the second slot in a few ways:

• Overflow: the camera only writes to the microSD card when the SD card fills.
• Backup: every picture goes to both cards, so the camera waits for the slower microSD card and your buffer clears more slowly.
• RAW + JPEG/HEIF: RAW files go to the SD card and JPEG or HEIF files to the microSD card.
• JPEG/HEIF + JPEG/HEIF: duplicate JPEG or HEIF copies at different sizes.

MicroSD cards will perform slower than V60 or V90 UHS-II SD cards, so you might want to send only JPEGs to the microSD card, or set the camera to record a backup only in critical situations. If you use a microSD 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.

V90 vs V60 SD Cards in the Nikon Zf

In the Zf, 15 of the 17 V90 cards I tested wrote 197–228 MB/s and filled a full burst of about 5.2GB. The V60 cards varied a lot: the best (Lexar 1800x, PNY EliteX-PRO60, Lexar SILVER PRO) wrote 148–166 MB/s, while eight V60 cards wrote only 83–96 MB/s.

It looks like there were some UHS-II initialization issues with those slower 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.

Current SD Cards I Recommend

I update this list as new cards come out. The speeds are from my card reader tests, plus the manufacturer’s rated and sustained speeds.

Current microSD Cards I Recommend

Here are some of the best microSD cards for the Zf’s second slot. The speeds are from my card reader tests.

Nikon Zf Video Card Requirements

The Zf records 4K UHD at up to 60p in H.265 (10-bit or 8-bit); H.264 8-bit is limited to 1080p. Nikon recommends UHS Speed Class 3 or better SD cards for video, and UHS Speed Class 3 cards with a maximum transfer rate of at least 250 MB/s for high frame sizes and rates. A good V60 UHS-II card is the fastest card you’ll need for video; card speed matters mostly for stills bursts. Each clip can be up to 125 minutes long.

Frame size / rate (H.265 8-bit)	Approx. time on a 256GB card
4K UHD 60p / 50p	93 minutes
4K UHD 30p / 25p / 24p	186 minutes
1080p 120p / 100p	186 minutes
1080p 60p / 50p	368 minutes
1080p 30p / 25p / 24p	719 minutes

For other settings, use my bitrate-to-record-time calculator.

What Size Memory Card Do You Need for the Nikon Zf?

Nikon rates a 32GB card at about 654 Lossless Compressed RAW files, so a 128GB card holds about 2,600. If you mainly shoot photos and some video, a 128GB card should be enough. But for higher-quality video, you might need a 256GB card: Nikon rates 256GB at about 93 minutes of 4K 60p. I recommend sticking to 64GB cards as a minimum size, since cards smaller than 64GB use the older 32-bit (FAT32) file system. The memory card capacity you can use is otherwise not restricted.

Nikon Zf In-Camera Test Results: UHS-II SD Cards (Tested July 2024)

The SanDisk Extreme PRO V90, SanDisk Extreme PRO V60 (256GB+), and Angelbird V90 II here are earlier versions; the brands have updated them since, so the current cards will likely perform differently in the Zf. The ProGrade V90 is the older pre-Iridium card. Some of these cards are also really good and the only reason they didn’t make the recommendation list comes down to price or availability.

Card	Class	In-camera write (MB/s)	Data per burst (GB)
PNY EliteX-PRO90 V90	V90	228	5.23
Angelbird V90 II (previous version)	V90	226	5.21
Kodak V90	V90	226	5.21
OWC Atlas Ultra V90	V90	225	5.20
Ritz Gear VideoPro V90	V90	225	5.20
Wise PRO V90	V90	225	5.21
Kingston Canvas React V90	V90	223	5.20
Amplim V90	V90	221	5.22
SanDisk Extreme PRO V90 (previous version)	V90	219	5.22
Delkin BLACK V90	V90	219	5.22
Sony TOUGH G V90	V90	212	5.23
Delkin POWER V90	V90	209	5.22
ADATA Premier ONE V90	V90	200	5.22
ProGrade V90 (pre-Iridium)	V90	200	5.22
Lexar Professional 2000x V90	V90	197	5.23
Transcend V90	V90	170	4.62
Hoodman Steel 2000x V90	V90	149	3.45
Lexar Professional 1800x V60	V60	166	4.06
PNY EliteX-PRO60 V60 512GB	V60	165	3.90
PNY EliteX-PRO60 V60 256GB	V60	164	3.93
Lexar Professional SILVER PRO V60	V60	148	3.41
Sony TOUGH M V60	V60	137	3.14
Sony E V60	V60	132	2.99
Angelbird V60 II	V60	132	2.99
Amplim 2000x V60	V60	127	2.91
OWC Atlas Pro V60	V60	106	2.42
SanDisk Extreme PRO V60 64–128GB	V60	96	2.42
Ritz Gear Video Pro V60	V60	96	2.44
Hoodman Steel 1500x V60	V60	95	2.42
Wise V60	V60	95	2.42
ProGrade V60	V60	88	2.34
Lexar Professional 1667x V60	V60	87	2.50
Delkin PRIME V60	V60	85	2.31
SanDisk Extreme PRO V60 256GB+ (previous version)	V60	83	2.24
Sony E V30	V30	69	2.08

Nikon Zf Memory Card Specs

Card slots	1 × SD (UHS-II) and 1 × microSD (UHS-I)
Slot 2 options	Overflow, backup, RAW in one slot and JPEG/HEIF in the other, or duplicate JPEG/HEIF at different sizes
Continuous H (extended)	About 14 fps
Continuous H	About 7.8 fps
Lossless compressed RAW	About 25.9 MB; Nikon buffer rating about 186 frames
Buffer (my estimate)	About 1.5GB
4K video	3840×2160 up to 60p, H.265 (10-bit or 8-bit)
Full HD video	1920×1080 up to 120p; H.264 8-bit up to 60p
Maximum clip length	125 minutes

Nikon Zf Memory Card Quick Answers

What is the fastest SD card for the Nikon Zf?

The PNY EliteX-PRO90 V90 clocked in as the fastest card in my tests at 228 MB/s. The Angelbird V90 II, Kodak V90, and OWC Atlas Ultra V90 were right behind it, hitting between 225 and 226 MB/s.

Does the Nikon Zf’s microSD slot support UHS-II?

Nikon lists that microSD slot as UHS-I, so it’s always going to be the slower of the two slots. I’d stick to using it for overflow, JPEGs, or backup in critical situations, but know that running it as a backup will slow down your buffer clearing while the camera waits on that slower card.

How big is the Nikon Zf’s buffer?

It’s about 1.5GB based on my testing. Nikon rates it at about 186 Lossless Compressed RAW frames with a fast SD card like the SanDisk Extreme PRO, and that’s possible because the camera keeps writing data to the card while you’re shooting.

More guides: Nikon Zf review, Nikon Zf accessories, Nikon Z6 III memory cards, Nikon Z8 memory cards, Nikon Z30 SD cards, best SD cards, and best microSD cards.