On my D500, I have not ever used an XQD card. Is it much better than the SD cards I use? I know the write speed is faster, but I am not really sure how that impacts my shooting. Even in a fast sequence of action shots I take, my card (camera?) does not run out of memory during the write sequence.
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XQD vs SD card
- Thread starter SamNC
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- nikon d500
Robert Cohen
Senior Member
An XQD will allow you to take more photos on CH before filling the buffer, but if you're not running up against the speed limits while using an SD card, I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep shooting.
Doug Haag
Senior Member
Prior to purchasing my D500, I rented one from BorrowLenses, but didn't bother with an XQD card. I just used the Sandisk Pro 300 MB/s UHS-II SD card from my E-M1 II, and never had an issue with it shooting in Continuous High drive mode. Granted, I was only shooting in ~3 second bursts, but never once did I fill the buffer.
Having said that, now that I own a D500, I shoot with an XQD and UHS-II SD card, with RAW files going to the XQD card, and JPEG files going to the SD card.
Honestly, unless you're filling the buffer on your camera, there's not much need to go out and buy an XQD card, unless you want to shoot with 2 cards for redundancy purposes.
Having said that, now that I own a D500, I shoot with an XQD and UHS-II SD card, with RAW files going to the XQD card, and JPEG files going to the SD card.
Honestly, unless you're filling the buffer on your camera, there's not much need to go out and buy an XQD card, unless you want to shoot with 2 cards for redundancy purposes.
ShutterDude
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Isn't the price of a SD UHS-II the same price as an XQD?
n057
Veteran Member
If you write simultaneously to XQD and SD, your maximum speed is the slowest link, the SD card. It is unfortunate that for some reason Nikon elected to have two different slots in the D500 (and the D850), but there we are.
At any rate, to use a worn out automobile analogy, getting SD only in one of those machines is like getting bicycle wheels on a Ferrari because you only do the groceries. Why then do you get a Ferrari in the first place?
As for the price, there is practically no difference between a UHS-II card and an XQD. I only use one card in the camera, and it is XQD.
JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers
at least before the Lexar exit, XQD cards was actually slightly cheaper than UHS-II SD cards..
Are we certain that's how the D500 operates? I would agree if you had the cards set up as redundant, but I put only RAWs on the XQD, and only JPEGs on the SD.
My thinking was that the RAW files are larger, and writing them to the XQD card with the faster write speed would help clear them from the buffer faster. The JPEG files are smaller in size, so writing them the SD card with the slower write speed would make sense.
n057
Veteran Member
Unfortunately, it has to take time out to write. It does not save to both cards at the same time, but sequentially. And there is only one buffer. It takes more time to flush the buffer to an SD card than to an XQD, so you will not reach the rated 200 images before a slowdown.
Also, the "native" images are RAW, and are not processed in the camera. JPG has to be processed, and that takes additional time too. That is another cause for slowdown.
JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers
I guess it's a good thing I never need to shoot 200 images in a row then! But then again, I don't buy my cars based on their advertised top speed either, since I never get there.
n057
Veteran Member
And then, there is always that "YMMV" disclaimer
JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers
I don't think I agree with that analogy. The handling and speed of my Ferrari is exactly the same as all the others.
Maybe... buying an XQD card for the D500 is like paying a lot extra for a Ferrari that can (impressively) drive 2000km on a single tank of fuel. Luckily I never need to drive further than 400km on a tank, which is probably more than ample for 90% of Ferrari owners. The speed (10FPS) and handling is the same.
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62strat
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Try not to think of it that way. Instead, just think that you ought to always write to two cards at the same time. In this case, it's two different cards.
I've had two SD cards fail on me in the past two years. IMO they are unreliable. But in almost one year of shooting with XQD cards, haven't had one failure. My CF card seems pretty reliable too.
So yeah, I never shoot with just one card. Always two. I don't really care what those cards are, if it is an XQD + SD, or CF + SD, or 2 x SDs. You need backups IMO, otherwise you might regret it.
Leonard Shepherd
Forum Pro
There are dozens of different SD cards at different price points with different read and write speeds.
Type II SD cards suitable for D500/D850 are rated between 150 and 300 MB/s.
XQD are generally rated at 400 MB/s.
When maximum burst rate and biggest buffer are wanted, ignoring cost it is easy to work out the most suitable type of card.
If you never need speed performance you do not need an XQD or even a higher speed SD type II.
There are some reports SD Class II work slower than SD in cameras not designed to work with type II, although type II fit.
I have only once had a failed card, the pins on an SD. In use XQD seem much more robust if considering buying extra cards.
Type II SD cards suitable for D500/D850 are rated between 150 and 300 MB/s.
XQD are generally rated at 400 MB/s.
When maximum burst rate and biggest buffer are wanted, ignoring cost it is easy to work out the most suitable type of card.
If you never need speed performance you do not need an XQD or even a higher speed SD type II.
There are some reports SD Class II work slower than SD in cameras not designed to work with type II, although type II fit.
I have only once had a failed card, the pins on an SD. In use XQD seem much more robust if considering buying extra cards.
XQD cards are faster at everything. Writing speeds so you get more shots before you buffer fills. I can get almost 40 on SD UHS II (Lexar), but a lot more on XQD. Image review is faster, copying files to my computer is also much faster.
If none of those factors make a difference then SD cards might be for you. Personally the additional responsiveness of the D500 compared with my D800 is one of the main benefits. I only use SD cards when I fear I will fill the card without time to change and when I need to transfer files and don’t have a good XQD card reader option.
If none of those factors make a difference then SD cards might be for you. Personally the additional responsiveness of the D500 compared with my D800 is one of the main benefits. I only use SD cards when I fear I will fill the card without time to change and when I need to transfer files and don’t have a good XQD card reader option.
The answer is Yes and No, depending on the exact use case.
The limits of the cards eventually boils down to the limitations of the interfaces they use. be it UHS-(I,II,III) or PCIe or SATA.
In Normal Use No it should not matter, however I have had a few Sandisk SDXC cards fail on me. I have plenty of 64 Gig SDXC cards, however have now also gotten myself a 128 Gig XQD Card.
Thing is IMO, If you are spending money on this kind of performance camera, then you should invest into the Optimal Media that this was designed for/with to get the optimal performance. It's all about the completely tuned ecosystem when it comes to performance machines.
The limits of the cards eventually boils down to the limitations of the interfaces they use. be it UHS-(I,II,III) or PCIe or SATA.
In Normal Use No it should not matter, however I have had a few Sandisk SDXC cards fail on me. I have plenty of 64 Gig SDXC cards, however have now also gotten myself a 128 Gig XQD Card.
Thing is IMO, If you are spending money on this kind of performance camera, then you should invest into the Optimal Media that this was designed for/with to get the optimal performance. It's all about the completely tuned ecosystem when it comes to performance machines.
n057
Veteran Member
Uh? No such thing as an XC card.
But there is a subset of SD called SDXC.
XQD is a whole nother matter. It has a different physical size.
JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers
n057
Veteran Member
Although the XQD format was defined by Sandisk, Sony and Nikon, it seems that most of the patents are held by Sony. The first cards available were by Sony and Lexar. Then Lexar dropped out of manufacturing, and because of the Sony patents, others have a hard time making a decision to manufacture them. Fortunately the successor of XQD, CFExpress, is more open, and it is compatible with XQD, requires just a firmware update to implement for existing hardware.
Hopefully Nikon will issue firmware updates to all its XQD cameras.
Search Google for more info about XQD.
JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers
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