Selecting a memory card that is appropriate for your camera and your needs is a crucial step to avoiding problems in the future. Your new D7000 is equipped with two Secure Digital (SD) memory card slots (Figure 2.1).
If you have been using a point-and-shoot camera, chances are you already own an SD media card. Which brand of card you use is up to you, but here is some advice about choosing a memory card:
- Capacity matters. At 16 megapixels, the D7000 will require a lot of storage space, especially if you shoot in the RAW or RAW+JPEG mode (more on this later in the chapter). You should definitely consider using a card with a storage capacity of at least 8 GB.
- Write speed is critical. Your Nikon D7000 can write to a card very quickly—that is, if the card is fast enough. Learn from my mistakes. You don’t want to buy an inexpensive memory card that can’t keep up with your camera’s file write speed. Having a card that can’t keep up can result in corrupted files as well as lost photo opportunities. Transfer speed is a key factor when shooting in Continuous mode (see Chapter 5) or when recording video. If your card is not rated fast enough or doesn’t have enough capacity, then you will be left in the dust. Here are some of Nikon’s recommendations for your D7000:
- If you shoot video, or plan on shooting in Continuous mode, choose an SDHC card with a class 6 or faster write speed. The D7000 also supports the newest and fastest card, the SDXC, which has a faster transfer speed and larger capacity than the standard SDHC.
- Buy more than one card. If you have already purchased a memory card, consider getting another. You can quickly ruin your day of shooting by filling your card and then having to either erase shots or choose a lower-quality image format so that you can keep on shooting. With the cost of memory cards what it is, keeping a spare just makes good sense. Plus, the D7000 has two memory card slots for storage—but more about that later.