As I did for the Nikon D300/D300s, I aim to make this site the most up-to-date source of real-world memory card performance data for the Nikon D7000. The initial batch of test results are in, and the winner is a tried-and-true workhorse that’s been around for awhile.
Updated: 12/21/2012
New! USB 3.0 SDHC/SDXC Read Speeds
Unlike the D300, where I put the primary emphasis on JPG files, the real challenge on the D7000 is shooting NEFs. With a potential throughput of nearly 100 megapixels per second (6x16MP) and only slower SDHC/SDXC cards to rely on, card performance varies significantly. Settings used were typical for sports: ISO 800, manual exposure of 1/1000 @ f1.4 with the Sigma 50/f1.4 HSM, ADL (Auto), 12-bit lossless compressed NEF, 6 fps, Auto ISO set to off. With these settings, the D7000′s buffer could store 11 images; I thus fired 3 consecutive bursts of 15 frames, just enough to “bite” into the buffer. In just under 2 seconds the buffer filled; the remaining 4 frames trickled out of the camera as images were written to the card and the buffer cleared. I timed the total length of time for all 15 frames to determine an “effective” frames-per-second rate for the entire burst; then continued keeping time until the card activity light went out indicating that all images had been written to the card. Measuring the size of the 45 files and dividing by the total write time gave me an average throughout in MB/sec. (While I utilized the same lighting conditions and target for each card tested, variations of up to 10% in total files size persisted.) Throughput rates differing by less than 1-2 MB/sec probably aren’t meaningful.
SanDisk Extreme HD Video 30MB/s
Highly Recommended
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95 MB/s (16GB) – 3.8 fps; 29 MB/sec. SanDisk returns to share the top spot with Delkin, and at a reasonable price to boot.
Delkin 633 SDHC 95 MB/sec (8 GB) – 3.8 fps; 27 MB/sec. The new king of the hill comes at a steep price for only marginal performance gain.
Lexar 600x UHS-I (16GB) – 3.5 fps; 28 MB/sec. With Lexar finally getting in the UHS-I game, their premium 600x card turns in very good performance. It’s reasonably priced at $49 for a 16GB card, compared to $60 for SanDisk’s top entry.
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC 45 MB/sec (8GB) – 3.5 fps; 26 MB/sec. SanDisk’s first UHS-I SDHC card, this model quickly rose to the top of the heap but has been supplanted by Delkin.
Kingston ultimateXX 233x (8GB) – 3.5 fps; 26 MB/sec. Performance equals the SanDisk, but at too much cost ($60+ for an 8GB card). Possibly made by Toshiba.
SanDisk Extreme HD Video 30 MB/sec (8GB) – 3.5 fps; 25 MB/sec. Best bang for the buck with performance rivaling its pricier cousin.
SanDisk Extreme III SDHC 30 MB/sec (4GB) – 3.5 fps; 23 MB/sec. This warrior is so old it’s still rated at just Class 6, as Class 10 hadn’t been adopted at the time of its release. (Later versions are now labeled Class 10; discontinued.)
G.Skill UHS-I SDXC (64GB) - 3.0 fps; 25 MB/sec. Known more as a maker of computer memory, G.Skill has jumped into the SDHC/SDXC market with a pair of cards (32GB and 64GB). Just $49 for the 64GB model.
Patriot EP Pro SDHC (32GB) – 3.0 fps; 25 MB/sec. Patriot’s revamped line, which demotes the “LX” series to non-UHS Class 10, offers similar performance in both “Pro” and regular cards.
Patriot LX UHS-I SDXC (64GB) (new) – 3.0 fps; 24 MB/sec. A vast improvement over the original version (see below), with none of the incompatibility issues with the D7000. Possibly made by Toshiba.
PNY Pro-Elite UHS-I SDHC (16GB) – 3.0 fps; 24 MB/sec. PNY returns to the top rank with a respectable UHS-I card at just $15.99 for 16GB.
Transcend UHS-I SDHC (16GB) – 3.0 fps; 23 MB/sec. Once again, Transcend is a bit late to the game, and while this card has acceptable speed, it’s still expensive ($38).
Patriot EP SDHC (16GB) – Just a touch slower to clear the buffer than its “Pro” cousin, at somewhat lower cost.
Lexar Professional 133x (4GB) – 2.8 fps; 19 MB/sec. While trailing SanDisk, Lexar’s high-speed entry is less expensive – although recent SanDisk price cuts make it far more affordable.
Best deal: SanDisk Extreme 45MB/s Cards (from Adorama):
8GB ($15), 16GB ($18), 32GB ($36), 64GB ($66), 128GB ($134)
2-pack 16GB ($34), 2-pack 32GB ($68)
From Amazon:
16GB ($19), 32GB ($32), 64GB ($66)
Delkin 8GB Elite 633 UHS-I – $29
SanDisk ExtremePro 95 MB/s cards – as low as $20 (8GB)
Lexar 8GB 133x Professional SDHC Card – Just $20
Patriot EP PRO 32GB ($68), Patriot EP 16GB ($20)
Lexar 600x UHS-I cards – as low as $36 (16GB)
G.SKILL 64GB SDXC – Only $45
PNY Pro-Elite UHS-I 32GB – $36
Recommended
Panasonic UHS-I (8GB) – 2.5 fps; 20 MB/sec. New model RP-SDB08GB beats older Panasonic, but not by much and still less than ideal.
EP Memory Class 10 (16GB) – 2.5 fps; 19 MB/sec. Very good performer.
Edge ProShot Class 10 (4GB) – 2.4 fps; 18 MB/sec. Good results from a no-name card.
Duracell 200x (8GB) – 2.4 fps; 17 MB/sec. Excellent for a non-UHS card.
Delkin UHS-I SD 600X (8 GB) – 2.3 fps; 19 MB/sec. Delkin’s mid-range card (following their “good, better, best” classification system) falls far short of their flagship card.
SuperTalent Class 10 (32GB) – 2.3 fps; 18 MB/sec. Nice performance in a bargain card.
Panasonic UHS-I (8GB) – 2.3 fps; 17 MB/sec. Worst in-camera performance of any UHS-I card I’ve yet tested.
SanDisk Extreme HD Video 20MB/s (16GB) – 2.1 fps; 18 MB/sec. Rated Class 6, this puts many Class 10 cards to shame.
Lexar 400x UHS-I (16GB) - 2.1 fps; 18 MB/sec. A real disappointment, don’t waste your time with this one. Get the 600x.
Sony UHS-I 94 MB/s (8GB) - 2.1 fps; 18 MB/sec. While Sony is careful specify their speed claim is read only and “write speed lower,” this falls well short of top-level performance.
Pretec HD Video Class 16 (16GB) – 2.1 fps; 17 MB/sec. Non-existent speed class is merely a marketing gimmick.
Kingston UltimateX Class 10 (8GB) – 2.1 fps; 16 MB/sec. Respectable performance at just $20 for 8GB.
Panasonic SDHC Class 10 (4GB) - 2.1 fps; 15 MB/sec. Officially rated at 22 MB/sec, this card is reasonably fast.
Team UHS-I SDHC (8GB) – 2.0 fps; 15 MB/sec. Picked this up as a “free gift” with another purchase; you get what you pay for.
Sony Class 10 (8GB) – 2.0 fps; 14 MB/sec. At $35, no value here for merely respectable performance.
Patriot SDHC LX Class 10 (8GB) - 2.0 fps; 14 MB/sec. This entry from memory-maker Patriot turned in a good performance at an outstanding price.
Note (12/30/2010): I have confirmed with Patriot that there are some compatibility issues with some of their SDXC/SDHC cards and the D7000. I have encountered this with their SDXC card but not the SDHC. At random times my D7000 will report that no card is in the slot when the SDXC card is inserted. Removing and re-inserting the problem solves the issue but it re-occurs periodically. I’ve never lost images but something is clearly not right.
Note (9/17/2011): Card is currently at Patriot for a firmware upgrade to fix this problem.
Note (10/1/2011): Upgraded card (see above) is a big improvement in both speed and D7000 compatibility.
Panasonic 4GB SDHC Class 10, 22 Mb/Second
– $19 Patriot LX SDHC 8GB, Class 10
– $19 SuperTalent 32GB, Class 10 – $45
Marginal
Kingston Ultimate 100x (8GB) – 1.9 fps; 15 MB/sec. Really not much worse than its Class 10 cousin (above), this Class 6 card is $4 cheaper in the 8GB size.
Delkin Pro 24MB/s 163x (8GB) – 1.8 fps; 15 MB/sec. Nope, doesn’t quite cut it.
RiData Lightning 64GB SDXC - 1.8 fps; 15 MB/sec. This lightning isn’t greased.
Pretec SDHC 233x (8GB) – 1.8 fps; 14 MB/sec. Lagging far behind its claimed specs of 34 MB/sec, there are better choices out there.
Dane-Elec ProLine 200x (8GB) – 1.8 fps; 13 MB/sec. Another pretender.
Hoodman RAW STEEL Class 10 (8GB) – 1.7 fps; 13 MB/sec. Looks like there’s kryptonite around.
Transcend Ultimate Class 10 (8GB) – 1.6 fps; 10 MB/sec. Transcend falls short, though if their CF line is any indicator, they will eventually release faster cards.
SanDisk Video HD Class 4 (4GB) – 1.5 fps; 10 MB/sec. Another old dog, this Class 4 card turns in Class 10 performance.
Not Recommended
PQI SDHC 150x (8GB) – 1.4 fps; 9 MB/sec. This claimed Class 10 card limped along.
PNY Professional 20MB/s Class 10 (8GB) – 1.4 fps; 9 MB/sec. Also fell far short of its claimed rating in the D7000.
Transcend SDHC Class 6 (4GB) – 1.3 fps; 8 MB/sec. Exceeded its rated speed but still lags.
Wintec filemate Professional (8GB) – 1.3 fps; 9 MB/sec. Don’t do it.
Lexar Platinum 100x (8GB) – 1.0 fps; 6MB/sec. Barely met its Class 6 rating but lagged far behind its claimed “x” speed in the D7000.
RiData Lightning Class 10 (8GB) – 0.9 fps; 8 MB/sec. Not really surprising given the RiData CompactFlash card that shares this card’s branding.
Ocx SDHC Class 6 (4GB) – 0.9 fps; 7 MB/sec. Yep, just what it says; Class 6.
SanDisk Ultra SDHC 15MB/sec (8GB) – 0.9 fps; 5 MB/sec. Liar, liar, pants on fire.
A note on SD speed ratings. The SD Association has developed basic performance standards for SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards. The traditional “speed class” fell into 3, and later 4, classes: 2, 4, 6, and 10, each representing a minimum sustained read/write speed of 2, 4, 6, and 10 MB/sec respectively. With the advent of the SDXC standard for the highest capacity cards, a new UHS-I speed class was established. The UHS-I (ultra-high speed) speed class allows for up to 104 MB/sec transfers, and the D7000 supports UHS-I cards. Very few of these cards have reached the market, with only Kingston and Patriot versions of UHS-I cards available at the time of this writing. Interestingly, the Patriot 64GB UHS-I SDXC card I tested turned in a nearly identical performance to the Patriot Class 10 SDHC card. As these cards retail for upwards of $250-$300 each, I’m withholding judgment on the UHS-I speed class in the D7000 for now, at least until SanDisk or Lexar releases their (announced) SDXC cards. Toshiba has also announced SDHC cards which will utilize the UHS-I interface, and perhaps these will be more reasonably priced. Time will tell.
98 responses so far ↓
1 JG // Jan 17, 2011 at 12:41 AM
I had the same experience in the D7000 with the Patriot UHS-I SDXC 64GB card. It worked for a couple shots and then the camera would jam and I couldn’t get the card to work again and the camera needed a power reset by popping the battery. I had to send the card back. I hope Patriot get’s their cards figured out.
2 n3 // Jan 17, 2011 at 5:47 PM
Any update on the D7000 with the newly released Sandisk Extreme PRO UHS card? Supposedly can reach 45MB/sec transfer rates.
3 The Sports Photo Guy // Jan 17, 2011 at 6:25 PM
Unfortunately, “announced” and “available” mean different things. :-\ SanDisk has these cards listed on their web site, but they’re not in stock if you try to order from the SanDisk store and they don’t list any online retailers that sell them either.
But as soon as I can get my hands on one, I will give it a go.
4 Connor // Jan 18, 2011 at 5:12 PM
Very much appreciate this information – thank you! Just wanted to point out that the picture you have used shows SanDisk Extreme 30MB/s, this clearly has the Class 10 logo on it, yet in your text, you state that it is Class 6 (Extreme III). A bit confusing as you are displaying the new branding for the old card. Suggest clarify for readers that this is the same card in new clothing. I’d be interested to see if you also get the same performance results, and that this is indeed the same card
5 The Sports Photo Guy // Jan 18, 2011 at 5:30 PM
You’re exactly right – thanks for pointing this out. I meant to do that myself!
6 Steve // Jan 21, 2011 at 11:38 PM
I just wanted to say a big thank you! I bought a D7000 and having been trying to decide on memory cards. Your comparisons were the best information to help me make my decisions. Keep up the great work!
7 Brook // Jan 27, 2011 at 5:06 PM
This is probably the best, most important webpage on the internet. You rock.
8 Ray // Jan 31, 2011 at 5:57 AM
Patriot LX 32gb class 10 didn’t work for my Nikon D7000, its giving me a “card err”, green light stays on, locking up the camera for couple minutes. now and then i get a corrupt pic.
9 The Sports Photo Guy // Jan 31, 2011 at 6:41 AM
That sounds like what I’ve experienced with the 64GB SDXC – except no corrupt images (yet). Still no reply from Patriot yet. Not sure how one updates the firmware on an SD card without sending it back to the factory.
10 Benoit // Feb 4, 2011 at 11:12 AM
Hi,
Saw a link to this review on Nikon Rumors forum. Great work, thank you.
I own a D7000 and already have two 16GB Patriot LX Series Class 10, part# PSF16GSDHC10, and have found them to work great and be reliable. I have taken some 2000 pictures and half a dozen videos with no issues.
I can’t tell about the specific frame per seconds, but I also read on CameraLabs reviews that the D7000 does suffer from quick buffer fill-up especially when shooting at CH with Raw. I’m not pro and this does not affect my style of shooting.
I already had those cards prior to seing your review and turns out I made a good selection. This said your work is appreciated as I might consult it later if I ever move to SDXC.
Cheers,
11 Ray // Feb 7, 2011 at 3:18 PM
i do too have the 16gb version of the Patriot LX series…works flawlessly but its the 32gb version that has the major problem. anybody out there get it working?
12 Dean // Feb 22, 2011 at 6:11 PM
I recently bought the 16gb patriot lx series card as well couldn’t get any of them to work consistently. I went through 6 cards before the website I bought them from agreed to give me store credit.
13 Aurelijus // Mar 6, 2011 at 10:33 PM
I have tried both SanDisk Extreme HD Video Class 6 (16GB) and Lexar Professional 133x (32GB). And? And SanDisk was an obvious winner, especially in Disk Utility (Linux) tests where multiple small bursts are used. Performance in test: SanDisk 6-12 MB/s writing (~20 reading) and Lexar 2-6 MB/s writing (16-22 reading). When you give a constant load both manage to write somewhere in the range 13-15 MB/s. Somewhat similar performance I have observed with my Canon 60D.
14 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 7, 2011 at 7:24 AM
No telling what cards will do in a card reader…it adds additional variables that aren’t present in a camera.
15 Ron Hendriks // Mar 22, 2011 at 5:18 PM
I use a PQ1 150x speed classe 10 card in my Pentax K-5 and it is my fastest card. It goes up to the limit of my camera to about 18 MB/s.
Surpriced to see it only gives halve of it in D7000. Maybe a not so good copy?
Great test!
16 Dew // Mar 26, 2011 at 3:53 AM
I have Nikon D7000. SanDisk Extreme III 16GB cards working perfectly. I had bad experiance with Silicon Power 32GB SD cards (SP032GBSDH010V10 and SP032GBSDH006V10). After ten shots in RAW camera givs „card err“. Tried that with two bodies – same thing. Local camera store don’t see a problem because Silicon Power claims that these cards are compatible with D7000 (http://www.silicon-power.com/support/su_search_mcard.php?PID=7&Remak=Digital%20Still%20Camera%20/%20Digital%20Video%20Camcorde&SN=D7000 ). Am I stupid or is that claim BS?
17 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:12 AM
I’ve heard of Silicon Power as a brand, but their market penetration is so low (in the U.S.) I’ve never tested any of their cards. It’s no secret why the same handful of brands – SanDisk, Lexar, Transcend – come up near the top in just about everyone’s reviews.
18 Tammy // Mar 29, 2011 at 10:38 AM
I intend to invest in the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 with an upcoming purchase of the D7000. With the increased speed of this card, do you still prefer the 8GB card over the 16GB as the sweet spot for performance?
19 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 30, 2011 at 4:02 AM
I haven’t tested the larger cards in the series yet, though performance usually does vary slightly among cards of different sizes. Given the recent price reductions, the 16GB card seems an economical choice. I rarely fill a 16GB card, so larger sizes don’t make a lot of sense to me. But a lot has to do with individual preference,
20 Alex // Apr 1, 2011 at 4:13 AM
Patriot has replaced my LX SDHC 32GB card, but the errors occur again. I doubt there’s a “firmware problem”, too, since SDHC have no own controller aboard as Compact Flash cards, which possibly could behave wrongly. Maybe it’s just a faulty charge. However, it doesn’t seem to be fixed? I really hope, they offer me a refund, so I could choose the Kingston now.
21 dfine // Apr 10, 2011 at 8:40 PM
Minor problem with the Patriot card. Just re-inserting into slot usually fixed. Worth the price.
22 Lou // Apr 18, 2011 at 4:15 PM
Thanks for the info! Picked up 2x SanDisk Extreme Pro 8 GB from your link. Just now have to patiently await their arrival next week.
23 LX // May 15, 2011 at 6:24 PM
Amazing how inconsistent these things are. In my Pentax K7:
Sandisk Ultra 4GB (Class 4): ~8.8MB/s sequential write RAW
PNY Pro 8GB (Class 10): ~7.9MB/s sequantial write
Seems like the only truly consistent cards I see from user testimony and review analysis are the Sandisk Extreme…sucks they’re so much more expensive, but maybe it actually is a case of “you get what you pay for”.
24 KA // May 26, 2011 at 8:03 AM
Since there seems to be a limit around 27 MB/s in the camera it would be nice to know if a cheaper UHS-I card from SD like HD Video 30 MB/s might be best bang for buck here? This card clocks 34MBs write and 43MBs read speed with AS SSD Benchmark which normally is close to real life..
25 The Sports Photo Guy // May 26, 2011 at 8:40 AM
That card is no slouch; it’s essentially the same as the Extreme III card I’ve tested. However, note that it is not a UHS-I card, and is unlikely to perform as well as the Extreme Pro in a true UHS-I reader.
I’ve never found a HDD/SSD benchmark program that didn’t significantly overestimate real-world flash memory performance.
26 KA // May 26, 2011 at 9:05 AM
Actually, i’m talking about Sandisk Extreme HD Video SDHC UHS-I Card, speed class 10, 30MB/s, 200x as it reads on the package. This is a bit faster to read than my Extreme Pro but about 5 MB/s slower in write. It performs clearly better than Pro in devices that are non-UHS. Benchmark was made with Pretec P240 which is UHS-I reader. This card is not very well known, that’s why I wrote about it – 8GB cost 27 dollars in ebay and is genuine retail
27 The Sports Photo Guy // May 26, 2011 at 9:18 AM
I’ll have to check that one out – I had seen it, I think, but did not realize it was UHS-I. Thanks!
28 Yucel // May 26, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Re the comment you get what you pay for, I tried bench testing and field testing various SDHC cards including the Delkin UHS-1 and the SanDisk UHS-1. Both gave better performance, in a D7000, than several class 10 and class 6 cards.
The Delkin at twice the price had the same performance as the SanDisk.
For my testing meathodology see: http://glamourphotography.co/?p=2552
29 Alex K // Jun 11, 2011 at 4:55 AM
Many thanks for the thread and sdhc comparisons. I’ve just brought a Nikon 5100 and this thread has definiey helped in clarifying what card to purchase.
Many thanks once again, keep ip the good work
30 KA // Jun 11, 2011 at 8:09 AM
By the way, if someone wants the best speed of both old 30 MB/s Sandisk cards as well as new UHS-I cards, a USB 3.0 reader should have GL3220 controller, it reads/writes old Extreme cards 30MB/s. Readers with GL3220 have xD card slot. One name I know is i-tec in Europe. It is similar to PhotoFast 8600 in appearence.
31 John // Jul 5, 2011 at 9:18 PM
Thanks for this info! Can’t wait to fire up my D7000!
32 Niall Bacon // Jul 18, 2011 at 3:58 AM
My D7000 won’t shoot 1080 video on a Sandisk UHS-1 Extreme Pro card withou locking up with an error message ‘The recording was interrupted’ after about 11 seconds, but will record at lower quality. Using an Extreme III Sandisk card has no problem woth 1080 video. Anyone else have this problem?
33 The Sports Photo Guy // Jul 18, 2011 at 5:15 AM
That’s definitely not right – sounds like you have a bad card.
Might I ask where you bought your Extreme Pro card?
34 Niall Bacon // Jul 18, 2011 at 9:16 AM
Amazon UK
35 The Sports Photo Guy // Jul 18, 2011 at 9:20 AM
There are a lot of counterfeit SanDisk cards out there…I’m careful when ordering through Amazon that the actual seller is one that I recognize as an authorized SanDisk retailler.
36 Niall Bacon // Jul 18, 2011 at 9:29 AM
Was ordered from Amazon directly, no third party seller, all packaging, appearance etc. match web pictures and included free disk recovery link that works, so I’d be surprised if it’s a fake. I have contacted Amazon for a replacement in light of your opinion that it’s a bad card though.
Many thanks.
37 RacerX // Jul 19, 2011 at 12:53 AM
Great info. Why the focus on NEFs? Isn’t jpeg the more likely choice for shooting sports, especially with the smaller buffer?
38 The Sports Photo Guy // Jul 19, 2011 at 5:41 AM
The D7000 can pretty much shoot JPGs all day long – with the exception of JPG Fine, which frankly I never use – huge file sizes and an imperceptible increase in quality, and none of the advantages of shooting NEFs.
39 RacerX // Jul 19, 2011 at 3:26 PM
Buffer reported to fill after 30 frames using Large/Normal JPEG over at camerlabs.
40 The Sports Photo Guy // Jul 19, 2011 at 4:02 PM
That’s for JPG Large/Fine, not Large/Normal. He’s just reading the data out of the table in the back of the D7000 manual.
I didn’t watch the video all the way through, but I don’t think he ever shot at Large/Normal – he just reduced compression to size-priority while shooting Large/Fine (which I also use all the time – no discernible advantage, IMO, to using “Optimal Quality”). He also says he “… used Lexar Professional 16GB SDHC 133x Class 10 memory cards, so speed wasn’t an issue.” But we know that the Lexar, while good, isn’t the fastest card the D7000 can handle. 
There’s a reason Nikon’s figures in the manual are based on SanDisk Extreme cards – the best cards at the time.
41 RacerX // Jul 19, 2011 at 4:45 PM
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_D7000/verdict.shtml
They state 30 frames when selecting Large Normal JPEG, optimised for size.
What number of frames on Large Normal do you get with the SanDisk?
42 The Sports Photo Guy // Jul 20, 2011 at 9:39 PM
Thanks for the link. I’m not familiar with the site, and all I saw was the video where he was shooting boats. I still think the problem is with his memory card – I got 40+ frames with a SanDisk Extreme Pro at Large/Fine.
Still, that makes me wonder…I may take a look at Large/Normal and/or Large/Fine shooting, much like I did for the D300.
43 RacerX // Jul 21, 2011 at 12:37 AM
Does the camera wait until the buffer is filled before writing to the card?
44 The Sports Photo Guy // Jul 21, 2011 at 7:00 AM
No, writing is continuous…you can watch how the “shot remaining” indication (r##) changes – it declines at an uneven pace as images are written to the card from the buffer and new shots are taken.
45 RacerX // Jul 21, 2011 at 3:50 PM
Special thanks for all the answers. This website is an awesome resource.
46 Josh // Aug 30, 2011 at 12:40 AM
Hi,
I was out shooting star trails continuously in RAW with the wired remote and was only able to get about 20 shots before the camera stopped shooting. Would any of the cards you mention allow me to get over 100 raw shots @ 30sec each without worrying about having to wait for the images to buffer? Should I just shoot jpg fine?
47 The Sports Photo Guy // Sep 2, 2011 at 6:28 AM
Once you have your basic settings established, I’d see no real benefit to shooting star trails in RAW; indeed, you’ll want your exposure and white balance to be constant for every exposure. I imagine you’re also using long exposure noise reduction, and all bets are off regarding speed when you do that.
48 Taylor // Sep 11, 2011 at 6:34 PM
Any test on the new 64gb sdxc cards? I’m looking forward to buy an around $100 64gb sdxc card. Three main options available, Lexar with claimed 20mbps, sandisk with 15mb and transcend with only class 10 stated. Lexar has the lowest price, $97 on amazon now.
49 Taylor // Sep 11, 2011 at 6:38 PM
btw, I have D7000 and am looking forward to shooting sports photos too
50 The Sports Photo Guy // Sep 11, 2011 at 7:33 PM
The only 64GB SDXC card I ‘ve looked at, the Patriot LX Class 10, had compatibility problems with the D7000; mine is still with Patriot for a new firmware flash. It’s possible I will look at some of the others, but frankly 64GB is a lot more card than I need – but with prices coming down, I’ll give a very tentative maybe.
51 hristo // Sep 15, 2011 at 9:56 AM
what can you tell about a A-Data class 10 card .. its the cheapest of the ‘class 10′ ones in my end of the world … for example this one:
http://reset.bg/images/products/h0-product1414128.jpeg
it says 155x ..
52 The Sports Photo Guy // Sep 15, 2011 at 4:47 PM
There’s a reason they’re so cheap. While I have not yet tested A-data SDHC cards, my experience with their CompactFlash cards has shown them to be much slower in real-world situations than their claimed speeds.
53 hristo // Sep 16, 2011 at 8:46 AM
do you plan adding more cards to the list ? I mean , there are cheap class 10 sollution like Verbatim , Integral .. (also some brands that I have never heard of , like TopRam and MFC)
54 The Sports Photo Guy // Sep 16, 2011 at 9:01 AM
I do add cards periodically, but my priority is UHS-I cards rather than Class 10 cards in general. This precludes many inexpensive cards.
55 New to Nikon // Sep 30, 2011 at 7:43 AM
Thank you for the speed tests. Very informative, as I’m about to get a card for my new Nikon. I was just wondering about the Dane Elec ProLine 200x compared to the Duracell 200x as they should be the same card, since Dane Elec manufactures both. Could Dane Elec be more selective when providing cards under the Duracell brand?
56 The Sports Photo Guy // Sep 30, 2011 at 8:17 AM
It’s possible; or sample variation can explain some of the differences in results. In either case, though, there are better choices at lower prices on the market.
57 New to Nikon // Sep 30, 2011 at 9:29 AM
Thanks for the reply. I’m in the UK and the Duracell 200x one that you recommend is very reasonably priced if it’s as fast as your test result. I can get both the Duracell and Dane-Elec 16GB ones for about $21.50 and a Dane-Elec 32 GB for about $32.50 . I would “only” get 8GB if I went for the Lexar Pro 133x and Sandisk Extreme IIIs in comparison to the 16GB prices. To be honest, I’m unlikely to push my new camera to its limits.
58 Nagaraj // Oct 5, 2011 at 10:01 AM
I have noticed the no card problem on the D7000 with a SanDisk SDHC 8 gb card for a few days. Every time happened when I was on multiple shots.
59 The Sports Photo Guy // Oct 6, 2011 at 5:56 AM
My guess is a bad card…or a counterfeit one. Lots of counterfeit SanDisk cards out there.
60 Melissa // Oct 7, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Thanks for the information! It was very helpful in figuring out which SD card to get.
61 Julius // Oct 11, 2011 at 4:55 AM
Thank you for the info posted by everyone. I was at first doubting if there was something wrong with my D7k body. I had 2 x 16gb Sandisk class 6 which came with my Nikon and I was getting Card Err msg and camera locks up. But whenever I use my old SD cards, nothing wrong happens. I had the Sandisk SD’s replaced by JBHifi with Panasonic 16gb class 6 SD’s and so far hasn’t given me the dreaded card error message.
62 Alex // Dec 10, 2011 at 2:32 AM
Hey,
When are you going to release the test numbers for the Sandisk Extreme Pro 95mb/sec? These have been in stock at B&H for some time.
Thanks for this page, it saved me $80 when I was buying cards for action shooting in my d7k. I got the 30mb/sec rather than the 45mb/sec, and I am very happy with them.
63 The Sports Photo Guy // Dec 10, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Soon…ordered one, when it arrived someone had swapped a 30 MB/sec Extreme card and put it in the 95MB/sec box. So got another one on order…
64 Jay // Dec 15, 2011 at 9:10 AM
The latest firmware for the D7000 might address some of the problems users were having with errors and lock-ups. It’s relatively recent, too – released around 10th November 2011. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/v2hqaE
65 KA // Dec 15, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Thumbs up for the new card to arrive! A customer review in A-zon.de sais about burst in D7000:
“mit der alten Karte noch 26 Bilder in RAW-Qualität in Serie schiessen, bevor die Verschnauf-Pausen länger wurden, schafft die neue Karte derer 32!”
So, a noticable increase in framecount in his case. I have new Pro 8G and it is really fast in all devices, even in the old ones it behaves like the fastest SLC cards.
66 The Sports Photo Guy // Dec 19, 2011 at 5:01 PM
Yes, the throughput for this newer SanDisk is quite good, though I think in practical terms it is about the same as the (more than twice as costly) Delkin.
67 Cheick // Dec 29, 2011 at 3:35 AM
I, for one, am somewhat disappointed. I was hopping that the speed of the UHS I card would render the size of the internal buffer obsolete in the D7000 even at full speed in raw. but with 95MB/s cards topping at 3.8 fps i doubt that even at the maximum speed of 104 MB/s we will see much improvement.
Oh well, nice Benchmarks though.
68 The Sports Photo Guy // Dec 29, 2011 at 7:33 AM
As with the D300/D300s, eventually cards could outrun the camera. Disappointing, true – but you can hardly expect Nikon to design a camera that writes at twice the speed of any card currently available, no? (How would they test it?)
69 Daniel // Feb 15, 2012 at 7:21 PM
Would love you see you test the Transcend UHS-1 Card. No reviews on it yet: TS16GSDHC10U1
70 The Sports Photo Guy // Feb 15, 2012 at 8:06 PM
Been waiting for this one myself…I’m hoping to have a test within a week or two. Stay tuned!
71 Jo // Feb 24, 2012 at 12:39 PM
I’ve recently bought a 16G Class 10 Imation. I got it for around $25. I was just wondering if you’ve ever heard of this brand on your side of the world? I noticed it’s not on your list.
72 The Sports Photo Guy // Feb 24, 2012 at 1:04 PM
I have. I tested some non-USH Class 10 cards early on, but now there are too many to keep up with. If it’s not UHS-I rated, its performance will probably be similar to the other non-UHS cards here – OK at best, nothing to write home about.
73 Yucel // Feb 28, 2012 at 5:22 PM
Anyone know what the D800 is supposed to perform like w what memory??
74 KA // Mar 13, 2012 at 8:39 AM
Hi! Have you ordered the latest Sandisk Extreme to test yet? It’s not on SD website, production and web sellers are running months ahead as usual. It seems that 30MBs HD video series is being replaced with “Extreme 45MB/s class 10″ cards and the price will eventually be the same. So, they have dropped “HD video” from the name and added some write speed, which is nice. Now the card should be faster in write than any camera available.. 32GB card cost me 57,60$ from HK, Amazon seems to have it around 60 in the US.
75 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 13, 2012 at 9:17 AM
Hmm…sounds like their “old” Extreme Pro, frankly. But I will have to get one to test.
76 KA // Mar 13, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Actually this card is much speedier in non UHS devices than my old Pro, closer to HD video but faster. In CMD3 write test, this one gets 47.6/45.2 R/W in Transcend TS-F8 reader. Write speed in Lexar RW047 USB2.0 reader is 22 MB/s . The production line seems to be BMxxx while all my other Extremes are BI or BH. Old Pro is still pricier than HD video, but I got this when I ordered 30MBs HD video card..
77 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 13, 2012 at 11:19 AM
Funny how SanDisk’s delivery actually is ahead of their marketing, instead of the other way around like it is for everyone else! Must be good to be market leader.
78 Monteverde Costa Rica // Mar 20, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Thank you very much for your memory cards benchmarks on the Nikon D7000.
I would like to mimic your FPS tests on a bunch of different cards I have on the D7000. I know can’t compare to your results as I can’t replicate exactly your setup but want to rank them relative to each other.
My question is how did you know that the 15 frames burst was done precisely? Could you give details on your method? You wrote: “I timed the total length of time for all 15 frames to determine an “effective” frames-per-second rate for the entire burst.”
79 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 22, 2012 at 12:06 AM
That one’s easy – custom setting D7, Max. Continuous Release – just set it to 15.
80 Sony Alpha A77 DSLR Rumours… | Wing Tang Wong Photography // Mar 28, 2012 at 2:23 PM
[...] rated 10MB/second. Contrast this to a 233X CF card in the same test that achieves 26MB/second. ~ Source ~ Now let’s look what CF is actually capable of and has had on the market for a few [...]
81 Veronica // Mar 28, 2012 at 6:02 PM
I have a Dane-Elec 16 gb card (it was on sale from $70 to $20 so I figured hey why not!) I get randomly get completely green, striped yellow, or occasionally blocks of random colour in my pictures. It continues to do this until I turn off the camera, pop the card out and put it back in again. Does this sound like a memory card issue to you, or something else? Video also only works once, then I have to pop the card out. Did you run into any card errors or anything with the Dane-Elec card you tried? Thanks
82 The Sports Photo Guy // Mar 28, 2012 at 7:14 PM
That sounds typical of corrupted JPG files, that can be caused by card read/write errors. I assume you don’t get this with other brand cards that you use?
I must admit, I haven’t used my Dane-Elec card for much else besides the speed test.
83 WillieG // May 10, 2012 at 9:34 AM
I’d love to see a test that determined the fastest card shooting JPEG’s at highest resolution on the D7000. The Nikon has been taking a lot of flak for a shallow buffer. Maybe it just needs the right card.
84 The Sports Photo Guy // May 10, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Galbraith does. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/camera_wb_multi_page.asp?cid=6007-12454
While I did such a test for D300, in my initial use of the D7000 I really didn’t see the need. Even though, as Galbraith’s tests bear out, the D7000′s burst capacity for JPGs is less than half that of the D300, does anyone REALLY shoot 100 JPGs in a row? Or even 40?
85 SD card for OM-D - Micro Four Thirds User Forum // May 24, 2012 at 7:19 AM
[...] saw this review: Nikon D7000 RAW Burst Test and since I was able to get the 32GB Sandisk Extreme Pro 95 for $76 at B&H went with [...]
86 WillieG // Jun 5, 2012 at 2:34 PM
“does anyone REALLY shoot 100 JPGs in a row? Or even 40?”
I don’t. Gordon Laing at Camera Labs seems to think we all do. He spent a considerable amount of time lambasting the D7000 for not taking as many shots of the boat coming down the river as the Canon 60D could. Personally, “spray and pray” photography is not my style. Why would you want a stream of shots of the boat from way off at the beginning and the end of the run. I would wait until it got close and then fire off a dozen or so shots. Unless, of course, you are just a tad anti-Nikon(or Pro Canon) and you are desperately trying to sour the reputation of a camera that everyone is raving about. So much for professional objectivity.
87 The Sports Photo Guy // Jun 14, 2012 at 7:28 PM
If I remember correctly, he was using a 133x Lexar card, which he dismissed as being more than fast enough for burst shooting…but we know better.
88 Olympus OMD EM5 Memory Card Test - Page 3 - Micro Four Thirds User Forum // Jun 19, 2012 at 5:17 PM
[...] Looks like the Transcend UHS-I SDHC (16GB) is comparable to the Sandisks. See this test: Nikon D7000 RAW Burst Test [...]
89 James // Jun 20, 2012 at 6:11 PM
How about an update to this post? Thanks!
90 The Sports Photo Guy // Jun 25, 2012 at 4:07 PM
It’s been updated…well, not sure how many times, but a lot! Which card(s) are you interested in that you don’t see here?
91 Burst mode question - Page 2 // Aug 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM
[...] clearing. This test can help you check what cards to get to reach better buffer performance : Nikon D7000 RAW Burst Test In short, with Sandisk Extreme cards, you're really giving your buffer a boost. And they're very [...]
92 star trails time lapse // Sep 16, 2012 at 9:27 AM
[...] times Nikon D7000 RAW Burst Test A quick look tells me that with a good card you can save about 1 RAW per second. Say you have a [...]
93 David Mulligan // Oct 1, 2012 at 2:57 PM
I just ran some tests on my new 16GB Patriot EP UHS-1 card and was very excited until I started to do the math and compared my results to your results.
I only used 11 shots, buffer plus one, for my tests. I recorded the time from the time I depressed the shutter until the time the green light turned off.
Results:
16GB Patriot LX: 160MB/20.9s=7.66MB/s
16GB Lexar 133x: 162MB/17.4s=9.3MB/s
16GB Patriot EP: 165MB/8.4s=19.6MB/s
as you see, the first two cards I tested were also tested by you but I got about half of the transfer rate that you got.
I wonder what I am doing wrong.
David
94 The Sports Photo Guy // Oct 2, 2012 at 8:19 AM
If 11 shots is “buffer plus one” for your given settings, then you’ve activated something that slows shooting more than my tests do. With my combination of settings (key elements detailed at top of post) my buffer is 11. Also, by firing additional frames after the buffer fills initially, my method “speeds up” the test slightly. Think of it this way: buffer fills up, then there is a pause while the buffer clears enough to take another shot. That shot is taken, and the buffer continues to clear…so that by the time the SECOND shot is taken after the initial buffer is filled, there’s now room in the buffer for two more shots. So my sequence sounds kind of like this: braap (buffer fills)….click…click-click…click. Invariably.
Bottom line: any sort of “test” has to be replicated exactly to yield the same results. I don’t offer mine as an absolute measure of speed, but rather relative comparisons of performance under a set of conditions I’ve developed to represent a typical shooting environment.
95 David Mulligan // Oct 2, 2012 at 10:12 PM
I wonder how much of a difference the target makes. The only difference that I’ve noticed is that I am shooting lossy raw files. I guess I’ve got some playing to do.
Anyhow, did you notice how much faster my Patriot EP card is over my Patriot LX and Lexar 133x cards? Although we’ve used different methodologies I’d still guess that this cheap card would come very close to the top of your tests.
96 The Sports Photo Guy // Oct 3, 2012 at 7:39 AM
Hmm…looks like Patriot has revamped their lineup. Will have to look at these new UHS-rated “EP” cards. Looking at the claimed specs for the standard EP cards, though, I doubt they’re that good – if they’re only claiming 35 MB/sec write speed, it’s probably much less than that on my tests. But we’ll see. The “EP Pro” may indeed be a contender, though…claiming 50 MB/sec write. It might hit 25 MB/sec in my tests. Got one of each on their way, although I’m behind in testing due to the start of the fall sports season.
97 David Mulligan // Nov 19, 2012 at 3:38 PM
Have you received your EP cards yet? I imagine you haven’t done a full test yet but any thoughts? Oh! I just read the specs on the EP Pro cards. Daddy wants one!
98 The Sports Photo Guy // Nov 19, 2012 at 3:44 PM
Hoping to get some testing done this week.
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