The Nikon D5300 is an advanced entry-level DSLR camera and features 1 SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slot.
Since the camera is capable of shooting at 5 frames per second and Full HD video at 60fps, we seriously recommend you to get a memory card that’s fast enough, otherwise you will experience delay in shooting or random video pausing.
The D5300 supports UHS-I type cards, but the maximum speed you’ll reach in-camera with even the fastest cards is around 50MB/s, so there’s no reason to spend more here.
What Size & Speed?
| Class | Speed | Our opinion |
| Class 4 | 4MB/s | Too slow for most modern cameras. Skip it. |
| Class 6 | 6MB/s | A little bit better but unless you take 3 pictures a year, skip it. |
| Class 10 | 10MB/s | Good enough for most cameras with 20+ megapixels and Full HD video. |
| U1 (UHS) | 10MB/s | Good enough for most cameras with 20+ megapixels and Full HD video |
| U3 (UHS) | 30MB/s | Perfect for fast burst cameras, Full HD at 60fps and 4K video |
Get a Class 10 or any of the higher classes.
Since the D5300 has a 24 megapixel sensor, you need quite a big memory card, especially if you often travel or shoot long events. We recommend going with 32GB or 64GB, and perhaps buying a few if you think you need more than 1.
These are the best 3 SDHC/SDXC memory cards you can get:
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I U3
- Lexar Professional 95MB/s UHS-I U3
- Transcend R95/W60MB/s UHS-I U3
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I U3
The SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro 32GB U3 is our favorite card, seeing as it’s inexpensive and provides writing and reading speeds near 90MB/s.
The speed makes it perfect for whatever you’re doing; fast bursts with large megapixel cameras, 4K video, let alone Full HD. It comes in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes.
You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.
Lexar Professional 95MB/s UHS-I U3
The Lexar Professional 32GB U3 95MB/s is cheaper than the model above, and reaches the same reading speed yet falls a bit short in the writing department. While the minimum for U3 cards is always 30MB/s, this Lexar series reaches around 60MB/s, whereas the Sandisk hits ~80MB/s.
Since the D5300 isn’t super fast in burst shooting and tops out at Full HD 6fps, the difference won’t be that noticeable, but if you always want to be on the safe side, the Sandisk above is better.
Lexar also gives you the code to download their Imaging Rescue software. It comes in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB sizes.
You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.
Transcend R95/W60MB/s UHS-I U3
The most affordable on our list, yet still UHS-I, is the Transcend 64GB UHS-I U3. In terms of reading speed it goes up to 95MB/s, while for writing the maximum is 60MB/s just like Lexar above.
Transcend, just like Lexar above, gives you the option of downloading their free image recovery program and they both work pretty good in most cases. It comes in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes.
You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.
Comparison of the 3 Memory Cards
| Card | Size | Speed |
| Sandisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3 | 32GB | Writing files: ~90MBs. Reading files: ~95MB/s |
| Lexar Professional 95MB/s U3 | 64GB | Writing files: ~60MB/s. Reading files: ~90MB/s |
| Transcend R95/W60MB/s U3 | 64GB | Writing files: ~60MB/s. Reading files: ~90MB/s |
What Brands are the Best?
Your photographs and videos are stored on a memory card, so you should definitely not try to save any money here by buying from unknown, cheap brands. While you save a few bucks, you probably won’t even get the advertised speeds, and are at a bigger risk of losing your shots.
We see too many beginners choosing the cheap route here, but until you transfer your shots to a computer/online, this is where they’re stored at. You want the memory card to be the most reliable piece of your equipment!
Stick to Sandisk, Lexar, Transcend, Kingston, Sony and Toshiba. There may be a few other good brands out there, but the ones we mentioned are already more than enough and offer great prices.
Last Updated on September 14, 2021 by Nick Voorhees
First and foremost, I’m a husband and father. Then professionally I’m photographer, designer, blogger, and Esty store owner. My homebase is near the stunning Wasatch mountains in Utah but I love traveling with my family as part of our homeschooling journey. I also love teaching and helping out others. My faith is one of the biggest aspects of my life and brings be a consistent joy that I haven’t found in anything else. My main blog is BestPhotographyGear.com and I strive to make photography simple for anyone looking to learn or find gear for their individual needs. By nature, I like to study, research, and analyze things and I use that help provide the best advice and reviews I can.