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

B&H sometimes will discount these, I use Sony XQD cards, right now they sell for $129 for a 64 GB card, they write at 400 MB/S,
You can also buy a 64 GB SD SanDisk II card that writes at 300 MB/S and it is on sale for $84.99
I have used these cards with great success in my Sony a9, but, I am not sure these II cards will work in your D500, Nikon might have done a firmware update to allow it, not sure.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Don’t think you will find sales on the card. Sometimes as a perk, they add them with a camera sale.

Check with Delkin Devices and Hoodman. Found they have good prices but I suspect there is a “standard” price that has been set.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Sign up for B&H's daily deals email. I bought a great CF express card on sale through them and have seen many XQD cards on special. The daily deals are really good but expire at the end of the day.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Firmware was updated for both the D850 and D500 to allow the use of both CFExpress and XQD cards. That happened well over a year ago. Neither camera can really take advantage of the higher speed of the dual-channel CFE cards, and most computers don't, either.

Memory has been priced as a commodity item for nearly 40 years. Pricing is based on capacity and speed and not much else for that whole time. There is little objective reason to use a CFE card in either of these cameras. Some folks claim to see a benefit it transfers to the computer, but in my experience, that is a small minority. The single real benefit (again, with these two cameras) will be down the road as Sony inevitably stops making the XQD cards, and CFE becomes the only choice available.

Operationally, you may or may not see a benefit in the faster cards at all. I do not shoot bursts, except for occasional 5 or 7 shot bracketing groups. My cameras are set up with raw files going to large SD cards set up as primary, and JPEG files going to smaller XQD secondary cards. The rare video goes to the XQD card. I’ve been shooting this way for approaching 4 years with never a problem. The camera buffer handles everything necessary for me. Of course, this might not work for your shooting model.

avemal Loc: BALTIMORE

Buy on EBAY. Best prices.

therwol Loc: USA

It makes sense to me to switch over. Who knows if and when they will stop making XQD cards? Probably not soon, but better to go with the newer standard and not worry about it. I actually think that SD cards are a safe bet if they work for you because so many devices are in use that use them. They'll be around for a long time, and they're getting faster and larger too.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I do not use them....but I see that the pricing in the USED markets is high too!!!!

photoman43

I rarely see them on sale. I recommend XQD cards of 64GB or 128GB for D 500 with Write speeds of 400+ and Read speeds over 400 too. Fast write speeds are needed to clear the buffer. Mine are made by Sony Tough or Sandisk

duffy021049 Loc: Colorado

mikee

If you buy older-series used xqd cards, make sure your card reader will read them. I made that mistake and had a hard time hunting down an older reader.

photoman43

The XQD card slot will also accept CF Express cards. With firmware update (C:Ver.1.30), Nikon made the XQD slot also able to accept CFexpress B cards.


https://havecamerawilltravel.com/nikon-d500-memory-cards/

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

I think you might like to use a cable for direct camera-to-computer file transfer. No card reader involved. Just use Nx Studio, with the appropriate cable, for file transfer. Go to the Nikon website for correct wire connection (uses a USB port on your computer).

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

As others have said, the solution is to buy CF Express Type B cards instead. They're less expensive, faster, made by a lot more manufacturers, available in a wider variety of sizes, as well as in combination "kits" (such as multi-card packs or cards with readers).

B&H lists three brands of XQD cards: Sony, Delkin and Nikon. Neither Delkin or Nikon make them, so they are probably relabeled Sony cards.

B&H lists twelve brands of CF Express Type B cards. Probably some of those are relabeled too, but probably there are at least eight or ten different manufacturers. Competition makes for lower prices.

For example, 64GB XQD are selling for $130 and have a 400 MB/sec write speed. Top-of-the-line 64GB CF Express cards are selling for $100 and have an 800 to 1000 MB/sec write speed.

There also is greater choice of sizes with CFE cards: B&H lists fifteen sizes from 64GB to 4TB, but only four sizes of XQD from 32GB to 240GB.

And, as noted, if you plan to use them you need to be sure to update your camera's firmware for CF Express cards to work properly (the physical socket is the same).

You also may need or want a different card reader to download images. The write speed of CF Express is also faster: up to 1500 to 1750 MB/sec, compared to 440MB/sec with XQD. So long as the rest of your computer is up to the task, you should see faster image downloads with CFE, too. Lexar is currently offering several sizes of CFE cards in a kit with a reader for the same price most are charging for the card alone. For example a Lexar 64GB CFE card with a reader is $99.

EDIT: I don't recommend cabling your camera to your computer to download images. That's unnecessary extra wear and tear on the camera itself, some risk to the USB socket, plus a lot of extra time on the electronic components. A camera is much more expensive to repair or replace than a card reader. Also, the camera needs to remain powered on during the download. It is possible if the battery runs down and it powers off that the data gets corrupted and images are lost. Get and use a card reader. Much better in the long run.

User ID

Only thing I’d ever buy from Ritz is crackers.

Don’t cheap out on cards. That doesn’t mean you should pay extra for “Armor Plated” cards. Live and learn.

I always bought Sandisk cuz they have the best reputation. But for my only CF Express type-B card I went with Pro Grade cuz they invented the Express type-B. I’m about to do it again. I easily filled a 128 with a 24MP camera. With a 45MP enroute I’m ordering a 256. Pro Grade is the same $$ as SanDisk. The lesser brands can cost about 1/3 less. Live and learn.

Lastly, do not buy cards from ebay, Amazon, etc. ... too much counterfeit merchandise. Buy from a respectable photographic vendor. Live and learn.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Give some thought to what size cards you need, based on how you think you will set up and use your camera. Raw files will go to whichever card you identify as primary, JPEGs to the other card. Or you can use the second card as backup or overflow. If you go the raw/JPEG route, you'll have room for about 4.4k images with the raw files on a 256 GB card and Fine/Large JPEGs on a 128 GB card. 2.3k images will fit on cards half that size. (Of course, you'll need to decide where to direct any videos you shoot, also.

By the way...if you didn't get a manual with your camera, be sure to go to the NikonUSA website and download one. Here's the link:

https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/323/D500.html