The Best SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards in 2022

The speed of your SD memory card is extremely important.

With cameras being able to shoot 10 frames per second at 20 megapixels, and 4K video at 60fps, you need an SD card that can write these large files quickly.

There are a ton of different memory card brands out there, let alone different terms and expressions. It can be quite overwhelming trying to figure out if a certain card is fast enough and compatible with your camera, so we’ve decided to check out everything available.

These are the best 3 SDHC/SDXC memory cards you can get:

• SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s UHS-I U3
• Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3
• Transcend R95/W60MB/s UHS-I U3

We discuss cards and the important stuff below, but the 3 above are our final winners which check all the key boxes of our criteria below.

What to Remember about Memory Cards

Before we get started with some in-depth details below here are a couple key things to remember.

ALWAYS buy more than one SD card

Your camera is important but the pictures saved on your card are usually more important.

This is true of professionals as well as for the hobbyist. First off, memory cards don’t last forever. Secondly, it’s a real pain when you’re in the middle of shooting to have to delete photos if you’re out of space. It’s much easier to just pop in another card.

Back on running out of room. We suggest you have two to four cards for your camera, that way you can setup a nice rotation. One card in the camera, a second with you as a backup, then a third or fourth at home where you’re loading the photos to your computer. Then rotate the cards.

I had a old base line iPad with only 16GB and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to try and find stuff to delete because I was out of space.

In addition, many cameras now offer two card slots. You can use these two slots in a lot of different ways. For example, one for stills and the other for videos. Another option is to use the second slot as a backup, so you have two sets of the pictures incase something goes wrong. Just make sure that you get the right kind of card for the slot. Some cameras have two slots but they are for two different types of cards.

Card size isn’t as important as buying more than one card

Cards are relatively inexpensive these days, though it’s always nice to have a card with a larger capacity.  However, don’t spend your money on buying a single memory card with a larger capacity. Instead buy two or more cards.

If the choice was between a 128GB memory card and two 64GB cards (or even three 32GB cards), you should always get the two 64GB or three 32GB cards. As mentioned above, cards don’t last forever, and it’s much nicer to have multiple cards to rotate through your camera and loading to your computer then trying to deal with a single card. If you have the need for the 128GB size or more go for it, just make sure you get a couple of them.

If you must, skip a meal rather than buy a cheap SD card

Sometimes it feels like expenses build up with photography equipment but a memory card is not a place to try and save a little money. Regardless of what you spent on your camera or your glass, if you buy a bad memory card it’s just going to slow down your ability to use your camera to its fullest. Or worse, you might loose your photos if a cheap card ends up dying on you. You’re peace of mind alone is worth the cost.

If you see a card for more than a few dollars less then the ones we recommend there’s a good chance it’s an inferior brand, or the specs are going to limit your camera’s capabilities in some way.

Keep reading below for other important details to be aware of.

What Matters Before Buying an SD Card?

Speed

A memory card needs to be fast enough so you don’t have to wait a long time before you can start taking pictures again. It may not sound like a lot on paper, but in real life events (think weddings, where every moment matters), that one second could actually be one of your best shots.

If you’ve got a fast camera (5fps+) with a large buffer size, you also need to be careful not to choose something slow.

The same applies to video. If you’ve got Full HD at 60fps or 4K, you’ll need to get quite fast cards.

The U1 and U3 classes belong to UHS-I and UHS-II type cards, which are faster than non-UHS (basically all cards with ‘Class 10’ and lower). It stands for Ultra High Speed. You’ll notice this on the label of the memory card. At first I though it looked like a number sitting in a cup, but I realized the cup is actually a “U”. So if you see a “3” inside that U then you should be good for fast bursts and 4K video.

If you have a new or really high-end camera or do a lot of videography then make sure to check if you have the option of using a UHS-II type card. A UHS-1 card would still work, and are much less expensive, but they may not give you as quick of speeds.

Always remember to focus on the minimum Writing Speed (aka: picture taking speed) of the card and not Reading Speed (which is what most companies push the most and advertise on their cards because it looks better). Yes, it helps knowing how quickly you can transfer those shots to your computer, but that’s about it. It’s a pain when it ‘takes forever‘ for your images to download to your computer, but it’s much more painful waiting for your camera to buffer or refresh when you’re trying to get the shot you want.

Compatibility

With SD cards you’ll see some common expressions or terms. SD, which means Secure Digital, were kind of the first generation memory cards. This is also a generic term now, for memory cards. Kind of like the company name “Kleenex” being referred to for ’tissues’.

Now a days you’ll also see SDHC and SDXC memory cards. In simple terms these are just newer generations of cards that allow for more storage and faster writing (aka: picture taking) and reading/transfer (aka: download) speeds.

It’s important to check that your camera can use either SDHC or SDXC memory cards. Many newer cameras can use both. SDXC is the newer of the two, thus generally it will have faster writing (again that means picture taking) and transfer (again think downloading to your computer) speeds. These letters can be noticed on the card’s label if you look for them.

Cameras and devices that use SDXC generally accept SDHC cards as well. However, if a camera was only designed for SDHC then the newer SDXC card won’t work in it. Though even a camera like the Nikon D610 from 2013 can use SDXC cards. So speed class, as discussed above, is more often something to confirm so that you’re maximizing your camera’s features.

The physical size of the card is another thing to check for. As can be seen in the image below (from left to right) there are micro, mini, and standard size cards. So confirm what size your camera can use.

Capacity

Depending on your megapixels and video resolution, the capacity is also very important.

With memory cards being so cheap, we recommend you to get a minimum of a 16GB card or bigger.

It’s also much better to buy a few smaller cards as you minimize the risk of losing all of your shots. For example, having 2 x 64GB cards compared to just 1 x 128GB would mean losing everything if you only had that 128GB card. This obviously depends on your needs and what you shoot, but it never hurts to be careful.

How many shots can you store on 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB cards? SanDisk has a great table for JPEG and RAW files here.

Durability

For a professional this might be a little more critical but it’s something to consider even for a beginner photographer. Many SD memory cards are labeled as “extreme” or “professional” which generally will refer to their durability. Often you’ll see cards that are designed to be waterproof, shockproof and X-ray proof. In addition it’s important to consider the temperature range a card can work at.

Brands

We recommend buying a memory card from any the following brands; Sandisk, Lexar, Transcend, Sony, PNY and Kingston. Personally, I own a couple of Lexar and Sandisk cards, and have been perfectly satisfied with both for many years.

Any weird company or something ultra cheap will only result in you losing your shots sooner or later. You might be tempted to save a few bucks here, but think about it… this is the only place where all of your shots are stored. Yes you can always backup later, but you don’t always have to chance to do that immediately right?

The 3 Best SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards in 2022

We selected them based on speed, reliability and the price/performance ratio.

• SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s UHS-I U3
• Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3
• Transcend R95/W60MB/s UHS-I U3

They all come in different sizes, so pick the capacity that fits your demands (from 16GB to 256GB).

SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s UHS-I U3

The SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro U3 is easily our favorite card. It’s inexpensive, and most importantly, offers write/read speed at around 90MB/s. It comes in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes.

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 300MB/s UHS-II U3

The Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3 offers faster speeds for both writing and reading files. If your camera doesn’t support UHS-II it will still work normally, you just won’t be able to reach the advertised speeds. It will work blazing fast when sending your files to a computer though.

Don’t have a memory card reader that supports such speeds? Luckily you get a free Lexar UHS-II reader that’ll greatly reduce the waiting time. You also get a free downloadable Imaging Rescue software. If you know you need the speed and your device supports UHS-II, go for it, otherwise UHS-I is perfectly fine. It comes in 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. Again, this is great for cameras with long burst modes and 4K video as well.

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 Best Memory Cards

Here’s a useful video from the SD card association where you can see a comparison of the memory card speed classes and what video resolution they’re best suited for.

Tips for Using SDHC or SDXC Memory Cards

It’s best to delete the images on your computer rather than on your camera. When you erase all the images at one time on your computer you extend the life of your card. This is because you are putting it through fewer erase cycles.

Avoid extreme temperatures. Heat is an enemy to most electronics. So whether the card is in your camera or in your bag try to avoid prolonged exposures to high heat.

Periodically reformat your card. Kind of like restarting or shutting down your phone, tablet, or computer once it awhile, cleaning your card can help keep your card working well. Just make sure to download all the images you want first as well as format the card in the camera you want to use it with so that it’s formatted to work with that camera.

Replace your cards occasionally. If your cards are 3 years or older, you should consider getting some new ones. That depends a bit on how much you’ve used the card and how its been cared for. Cards can last longer than just a few years. Although if you take lots of pictures the cost of buying a new card is small in comparison to losing some great shots.

I know this is a lot of information to take in, on something that seams like such a small part of your camera, which is why we’ve done the digging for you. So to recap, make sure to buy more than one card and here’s our list of the best 3 SDHC/SDXC memory cards you can get:

• SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s UHS-I U3
• Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3
• Transcend R95/W60MB/s UHS-I U3