The Nikon Zf has two memory card slots, one for UHS-II SD cards and one for micro SD cards. UHS-II SD cards are faster than regular UHS-I SD or micro SD cards and are needed for the high-resolution 4k video files that the Nikon Zf can record.
The fastest card you need for the Nikon Zf is a UHS-II V60 SD card. 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.
There are no restrictions to the memory card capacity you can use. You can use 8GB cards up to 1TB cards.
Follow this guide to see what memory cards I recommend for the Nikon Zf.
SD Cards For Nikon Zf
The Nikon Zf has a maximum bitrate of 340 Mbps (42.5MB/s), which means that the fastest card you need to shoot 4K video reliably is a V60 UHS-II card.
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, however, keep in mind if you do run backup with microSD cards, they are limited to UHS-I speeds which will slow down performance.
Here is a list of all the best cards that will work well in the Nikon Zf. I’ve included all the tough-built cards as well, like the Delkin Black, Sony Tough, and Hoodmen Steel. I’ve had issues with card cards getting brittle as they age, so these are nice options for cards that should last a long time.
Recommended SD UHS-II Memory Cards For Nikon | Review Links | Speed Class | Minimum Write Speed | USB-C Write | USB-C Read | Stores |
---|
MicroSD Cards For Nikon Zf
MicroSD cards will perform slower than v60 or v90 UHS-II SD cards, but they are still fine for running redundancy with JPGs as a backup which have slightly smaller file sizes. For casual photography, they will perform fine when recording RAW+RAW as backups where you don’t always need the absolute best buffer-clearing performance.
Here are some of the best micro SD cards for the Nikon Zf.
Recommended Cards | USBW | USBR | Links | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UHS-II | |||||
Kingston Canvas React V90 A1 | Kingston Canvas React V90 A1 | ||||
Lexar Professional V60 A1 | |||||
Lexar 1000x V60 | Check Prices | ||||
Lexar Gold V60 A1 | Check Prices | ||||
ProGrade V60 | 137 | 198 | Check Prices | ProGrade V60 | |
Delkin Power V90 | 275 | 287 | Check Prices | Delkin Power V90 | |
Angel Bird A1 V60 | 142 | 267 | Check Prices | Angel Bird A1 V60 | |
UHS-I | UHS-I | ||||
Sandisk Extreme Pro U3 A2 | 96 | 173 | Check Prices | Sandisk Extreme Pro U3 A2 | X |
Sandisk Extreme Plus U3 A2 | 107 | 174 | Check Prices | Sandisk Extreme Plus U3 A2 | X |
Sandisk Outdoors 4k V30 A2 | Check Prices | ||||
Sandisk Extreme U3 A2 | 55 | 78 | Check Prices | Sandisk Extreme U3 A2 | X |
Sandisk Nintendo Switch | 95 | 158 | Check Prices | Sandisk Nintendo Switch | |
Sandisk High Endurance V30 | 82 | 92 | Check Prices | Sandisk High Endurance V30 | |
Sandisk Max Endurance V30 | 49 | 92 | Check Prices | Sandisk Max Endurance V30 | |
Samsung Pro Ultimate v30 A2 | Check Prices | Samsung Pro Ultimate v30 A2 | |||
Samsung Pro Plus V30 A2 | 62 | 126 | Check Prices | Samsung Pro Plus V30 A2 | |
Samsung EVO Plus V30 A2 | 63 | 127 | Check Prices | Samsung EVO Plus V30 A2 | |
Samsung EVO Select V30 A2 | Check Prices | Samsung EVO Select V30 A2 | |||
Samsung Pro Endurance V30 | 61 | 93 | Check Prices | Samsung Pro Endurance V30 | |
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus V30 A2 | 128 | 173 | Check Prices | Kingston Canvas Go! Plus V30 A2 | X |
Kingston Canvas Select Plus V30 A1 | 80 | 93 | Check Prices | Kingston Canvas Select Plus V30 A1 | |
Kingston Industrial V30 A1 | Check Prices | Kingston Industrial V30 A1 | |||
Lexar 1066x A2 | 118 | 146 | Check Prices | Lexar 1066x A2 Silver Series | |
Lexar 633x V30 A1/A2 Blue Series | 82 | 93 | Check Prices | Lexar 633x V30 A1 128GB Blue Series | |
Lexar U3 A2 PLAY | Check Prices | Lexar U3 A2 PLAY | |||
Lexar U1 A1 PLAY | 20 | 144 | Check Prices | Lexar U1 A1 PLAY | |
Lexar U3 A2 E-Series Plus | Check Prices | Lexar U3 A2 E-Series Plus | |||
Lexar U3 A1 E-Series | Check Prices | Lexar U3 A1 E-Series | |||
Delkin Advantage V30 | 77 | 92 | Check Prices | Delkin Advantage V30 | |
Delkin Select V30 | 83 | 93 | Check Prices | Delkin Select V30 | |
Delkin V30 Black | 86 | 93 | Check Prices | Delkin V30 Black | |
Delkin Dashcard V30 | Check Prices | Delkin Dashcard V30 | |||
Transcend 500S U3 | Check Prices | Transcend 500S U3 | |||
Transcend 350V High Endurance U3 | 21 | 23 | Check Prices | Transcend 350V High Endurance U3 | |
Transcend 340S Ultra Performance V30 A2 | Check Prices | Transcend 340S Ultra Performance V30 A2 | |||
Transcend 330S High Performance V30 A2 | Check Prices | Transcend 330S High Performance V30 A2 | |||
Transcend 300s V30 A1 | Check Prices | Transcend 300s V30 A1 | |||
PNY Premier-X A2 V30 | 84 | 93 | Check Prices | PNY Premier-X A2 V30 | X |
PNY PRO Elite U3 A2 | 82 | 93 | Check Prices | PNY PRO Elite U3 A2 | X |
PNY PRO Elite U3 | Check Prices | PNY PRO Elite U3 | |||
PNY Elite-X V30 A1 | Check Prices | PNY Elite-X V30 A1 | |||
Amplim 667X V30 A1 | 86 | 92 | Check Prices | Amplim A1 V30 667X Gold | |
Netac Pro A1 U3 | 50 | 92 | Check Prices | Netac Pro A1 U3 | |
Patriot EP PRO U3 | Check Prices | Patriot EP PRO U3 | |||
Patriot EP A1 V30 | Check Prices | Patriot EP A1 V30 | |||
Patriot High Endurance U3 | Patriot High Endurance U3 | ||||
Silicon Power Superior A2 V30 | 41 | 94 | Check Prices | Silicon Power Superior A2 V30 | |
Silicon Power Superior A1 V30 | 55 | 92 | Check Prices | Silicon Power Superior A1 V30 | |
Silicon Power 3D NanD V30 A1 | Check Prices | Silicon Power 3D NanD A1 U3 | |||
Silicon Power GAME V30 A1 | Check Prices | Silicon Power GAME U3 A1 | |||
Ritz Gear V30 A1 | Check Prices | ||||
Gigastone 4k Camera Extreme Max | Check Prices | ||||
Gigastone 4k Camera Extreme | Gigastone 4k Camera Extreme A2 V90 | ||||
Gigastone 4k Camera Pro V30 A2 | |||||
Gigastone 4k Camera Pro Max V30 A2 | Check Prices | Gigastone 4k Camera Pro A2 V30 | |||
Gigastone Camera Plus V30 A1 | Check Prices | Gigastone Camera Plus V30 A1 | |||
Gigastone 4k Game Turbo A2 U3 | Check Prices | Gigastone 4k Game Turbo A2 U3 | |||
Gigastone 4k Game Pro A2 V30- Fiix | Gigastone 4k Game Pro A2 V30 | ||||
Gigastone Gaming Plus A1 V30 | Check Prices | Gigastone Gaming Plus A1 V30 | |||
Gigastone V30 | Check Prices | Gigastone V30 | |||
Gigastone 10x High Endurance V30 | Check Prices | Gigastone 10x High Endurance V30 | |||
Gigastone Ultimate Storage A2 V30 | Check Prices | Gigastone Ultimate Storage A2 V30 | |||
TeamGroup A2 Pro+ | Check Prices | TeamGroup A2 Pro Plus | |||
TeamGroup Go V30 | Check Prices | TeamGroup Go V30 | |||
TeamGroup High Endurance V30 | Check Prices | TeamGroup High Endurance V30 | |||
Amazon Basics V30 A2 | Check Prices | Amazon Basics V30 A2 |
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 – lots of great stuff there.
Check out the SD Memory Card Speeds to see all the different cards read and write speeds.
What Size Card To Buy?
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 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
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 by Sony, Lexar, or Delkin for the Nikon Zf, and keeping a MicroSD card in the camera for backup purposes if needed.
If you burst a lot and need the fastest buffer-clearing speeds then a v90 card is your go-to choice. But 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.
**This website contains affiliate links. We will earn a small commission on purchases made through these links. Some of the links used in these articles will direct you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. |