starlifter Loc: Towson, MD

I maybe acquiring a Nikon D850 in the near future. I was wondering should I get a XQD card or a Compact Flash one. What are the pro's and con's of each?

Peterfiore Loc: Where DR goes south

Hi,

I would check what Nikon recommends. B&H says...https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Best%20Memory%20Card%20For%20Nikon%20D850&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&ap=Y&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwLKFBhDPARIsAPzPi-K6pR7LImRK0jpRJfuPmK4wL4Bso9zyMapgCju4Gbj_ev49hivpTekaAnr8EALw_wcB

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I use both in the D850. If I need speed I use the XQD for birds in flight and long 10 fps shooting. If I am going to do general photography, landscapes etc. , a compact flash card will work fine.
Cost can vary.
1. a San Disk Extreme Pro 64 can record 170 MB per second and cost only $18.79. This is a great all purpose card.
2. a San Disk Extreme Pro 64 II can record 300 MB per second and cost $99.00. If video is in your future, you may want to look here.
3. A Sony XQD card 64 can record and write at 440 MB per second and is currently on sale at B&H for $99.95.
Buffers differ on every camera, check the manual for your buffer capacity.

So, if your just doing general photography I would go with door number 1. If I was doing a video of a wedding for money I would go with option 3.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.

TerryVS

Since XQD is on its way out if you're starting from ground zero I would do CFexpress. I believe both style of cards are faster than what the camera is capable of. I haven't compared cost but remember you'll also need a card reader for whichever route you chose.

Dalek Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown

Check the D850 firmware updates from Nikon. I believe there is some information relative to cards.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Congrats on the new acquisition.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

I recently received my D850 from B&H and included an XQD card and an SD card in the purchase. This gives me the chance to learn how they behave and then can upgrade to a CF express later. In the past (pre D850) I just used SD cards and filed the used ones since they were not expensive. Now with the large files of the D850I need to revise my process.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I use one XQD and one SD UHSII in my D850. CF Express has no advantage at this point as the camera can't write at the highest speed. However; CF will be around when XQD probably will not.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

It depends. I've had my D850 for not quite three years. I rarely shoot bursts, and never more exposures than what will fit in the buffer, so the cards don't really matter. My camera is set up with a 512 GB SD card as the primary card. JPEGs go to a 240 GB Sony XQD card. Video goes to the QXD card also on the rare occasion that I shoot video. And yes, you might find that your shooting model might work better with a different arrangement.

Loud voices will tell you to go straight to CFExpress cards and skip XQD. That is a pretty uninformed choice. Because the CFE cards are faster, they are more expensive, at least for now. And the camera does not use that extra speed. The ability to use CFE is a convenience that may become important sometime down the road. You do need to be aware that XQD and CFE cards generally require different card readers...I'm not aware of any yet that will read both.

You might want to start setting aside money for a larger hard drive. The big files from a D850 shot indiscriminately will fill your available storage space very quickly. I've gradually come to regard mine as a medium format camera, to be used carefully and with consideration. For more casual or high volume shooting, I use a different camera.

Good luck, and have fun.

BobPeterson Loc: Massachusetts

CF Express advantage is when you are downloading the large files to the computer.

a1sportsphotography Loc: UK

I use both, always have, I assume you WILL be using TWO cards the reasons for two are obvious

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

If you don’t already own xqd cards, why would you even consider purchasing dead technology that is essentially useless in anything other than a couple of old cameras? For those old enough to remember, that’s like buying a Betamax when VCR outsold it 100 to 1.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Because in my market they are substantially more expensive, and they provide no operational benefit in the camera. It's silly to buy them because of where they might be used sometime in the future. So far, I'm not seeing the CFE cards being used much beyond where XQD cards are being used.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Your D850 uses Compact Flash? I’m guessing he meant CFExpress.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I’m assuming you mean either XQD or CFExpress. Either will work fine in your D850. Both are fast enough for whatever that camera throws at it. If you’re gonna buy one and it’s gonna stay with that camera it really doesn’t matter. Whatever the best deal you find will do. The potential advantage is that CFExpress is open source while XQD is owned by Sony and I don’t see most manufacturers using XQD going forward. It’ll be interesting to see if the Z9 will support both like the other Z cameras. I started with a 64gb XQD card in my Z7 and found it filled up quickly when focus stacking macro shots so I got a 128gb CFExpress. It works great but I had to drop another $50 on another reader, so picking one and sticking with it is a good idea. For that reason I’d give a slight edge to the CFExpress