Olympus E-M10 Memory Card Compatibility
SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards will work with Olympus E-M10. An SD memory card with fast enough write speeds is necessary for video and continuous shooting.
You can spoil the overall performance of your camera by using the wrong card.
Want to skip the tech specs? Below is my recommendation on the SD card for use with the Olympus E-M10:
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- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
Best SD Cards
Memory cards have greatly reduced in cost the time since the introduction of the Olympus E-M10.
With costs becoming cheap, it doesn’t make sense to pay for anything other than a pro-level memory card.
The best memory cards I use have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance models. I have not experienced unusable data or a card become inoperable with any of those memory cards.
Every single trouble I have encountered has been due to low-cost unbranded SD memory cards. Seeking to save a small amount of money isn’t worth it if your E-M10 is likely to have trouble.
To save money, purchase a lower storage capacity SD card from a quality manufacturer. That way, you will know your photos are safe and sound on the memory card.
Recommended SD Cards
- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Good for burst shooting photos and recording 4K video.
- Larger capacity cards are available.
- Reliable & Durable: Magnet Proof, Shock Proof, Temperature Proof, Waterproof.
- Comparatively expensive for faster read speeds.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Only makes sense for professional use or if you need the largest storage capacity available.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
Olympus E-M10 SD Card Compatibility
Only use SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards with the Olympus E-M10. For best performance, ensure that your camera has the most recent firmware.
The newest cards, SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity), can not be used in the E-M10.
You need to know of the 4 different kinds of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards that can be found. They are separated by their storage size.
- SD (Secure Digital) - 128MB to 2GB.
- SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) - 4GB to 32GB.
- SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) - 64GB to 2TB.
- SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) - 4TB to 128TB.
Image Capacity
Listed below is a quick estimation of the number of max-quality JPEGs pictures you should be expecting to save on a SD card:
- 16GB - 4,640 images
- 32GB - 9,280 images
- 64GB - 18,560 images
- 128GB - 37,120 images
Speed, Class, & UHS Ratings
Card Speed
Speed ratings of an SD memory card is based on the sequential write and read speeds. SD memory card speed is important for video and continuous shooting.
A slow SD card can cause a reduction in the number of continuous images the Olympus E-M10 can take. This is because the camera’s buffer is not able to write to the SD card fast enough.
With video, a slow memory card can cause an unexpected end to recording. The video file might also end up being corrupted. If you intend to record video, it is essential the card you use meets the minimum requirements of the E-M10.
Card read speed is nice to have for transferring files to a computer. If you have cards that are full, a card with a fast read speed will decrease the time it takes the transfer to finish.
Speed Class Rating
The sustained write speed of an SD card is the factor that determines the Class rating. Cards that have a write speed of at least 10MB/s will be labeled Class 10.
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s or faster
Every name-brand SD memory card that you can find for sale online will have a Class 10 rating. To check the class rating of a card, try to find a number inside of the C on the sticker.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is a feature often found in SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC memory cards. The UHS bus memory cards to have increased read and write speeds.
There are 3 different versions. They are called UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
You can figure out the rating of a SD card by reading the front of the SD memory card. The presence of a Roman numeral I, II, or III on the label, that will be the UHS rating of your card.
- UHS-I - Maximum transfer rate of 104 MB/s
- UHS-II - Maximum transfer rate of 312 MB/s
- UHS-III - Maximum transfer rate of 624 MB/s
Related Cameras
Determined by the topics that were covered is why the the 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro is the best memory card for the Olympus E-M10. Any future camera you own, you will know what SD card to purchase.
Here are more posts on Olympus cameras related to the E-M10: