Make the most of your Nikon camera's dual card slots

Nikon Z8 vs Z9 - memory card slots
The Z9 uses two CFexpress cards, but the Z8 uses one alongside an SD card slot (Image credit: Nikon)

Sometimes twice as much really is twice as good. Compared with the high-end Nikon DSLRs before them, the first mirrorless Z6 and Z7 cameras were criticized for only having a single memory card slot. That removed the safety net of being able to create instant backups on a second memory card every time you press the shutter button – as well as denying a whole lot of other options we’ll come to later.

Another problem for many of us was that the single slot of these cameras only took the relatively uncommon XQD memory card type, which are comparatively expensive to buy and completely different to the SD (SecureDigital) cards most of us have amassed. Fortunately, the Mark II editions of these cameras fell into line with the majority of other high-end Nikon DSLRs and subsequent mirrorless cameras by featuring dual memory card slots, including an SD slot, which enable you to enjoy a wealth of useful functions.

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.

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