Just got a used D850. SD, XQD or CFx?

[shaocaholica]

Just got a used D850. Need to get some storage for it. Higher capacity probably 256-512GB needed. I'll be shooting stills (slowly) and 4K video on occasion. Camera write speed doesn't seem to be an issue with any of the supported formats? But I'd like to be able to read off the cards as fast as possible if the price isn't a huge difference. Looks like XQD is already discontinued and more expensive $/GB compared to CFx? Any benefit to getting XQD over CFx for the D850? Just yolo with SD since modern SD is fast enough?

 

[Bodkins Best Photography]

Just got a used D850. Need to get some storage for it. Higher capacity probably 256-512GB needed. I'll be shooting stills (slowly) and 4K video on occasion. Camera write speed doesn't seem to be an issue with any of the supported formats? But I'd like to be able to read off the cards as fast as possible if the price isn't a huge difference. Looks like XQD is already discontinued and more expensive $/GB compared to CFx? Any benefit to getting XQD over CFx for the D850? Just yolo with SD since modern SD is fast enough?

XQD, while nearly as fast read and write speeds as the CFExpress (When used in the D850), is a dead format. I'm still using mine as there was no express support when the D850 launched and I bought a card. SD UHS-I is pitiful in the D850. Slow write, slow read, and your buffer will fill up in 20 shots because it can't write to the card fast enough. SD UHS-II is faster than UHS-I, and isn't as expensive as the XQD and CFExpress, but it's still not great.


I'd recommend CFExpress. Sure, it's the most expensive format out there, but consider it more future proof than all the other cards. Also nothing matches it's speed or capacity currently.

 

[Michel van Lint]

You could start with an SD card that you already have and see how it works. It might be good enough for you. A firmware update allows the use of CFExpress, which is much more expensive....

 

[shaocaholica]

Thanks everyone for the input. I snagged a 512GB 'Angelbird' CFx from Adorama used for $145 I couldn't pass up lol. Hope it isn't terrible but I can always return it if it is. That's way cheaper than XQD and marginally more expensive than UHS-I SD. I couldn't even find any 512GB UHS-II that was a major brand.

 

[Chuck Yadmark]

I can't think of any reason why a new user should go to XQD.

As a professional I believe in the dual slot recording so I have both CFE and SD slots filled, the SD is a bit more if you get the 170Mb/s and faster writes, which would be a good idea for 4k video recording.

 

[T O Shooter]

I see you made your choice, and CFx is the right one for 2022, especially seeing you shoot video.

For me, my main action cameras are the D4s and D500, so I use modest sized XQD cards, more than fast enough and enough capacity for the bit of action I shoot with the D850. CFx wasn't available when I bought the D850.

The other slot is SD, which I was routinely given these cards along with camera gear I bought and flipped, so have more than enough SD cards at no cost. All I need for any stills and even some action, as I typically shoot short burst. I hate the small size of SD, but my only complaint with them.