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Olympus E-PM1 Memory Card Compatibility

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The Olympus E-PM1 uses SD, SDHC, & SDXC memory cards. To avoid problems when recording video, cards should be Class 10 with a UHS-I rating.

The Olympus E-PM1 is able to use SDXC, SDHC, and SD memory cards. Having fast write speeds is an important aspect for video and burst shooting.

The performance of your camera can be greatly decreased by using the wrong card.

Just want to have a SD card that works with the camera? Here’s my suggestion on the memory card to get to use with the Olympus E-PM1:

SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.

In the time since the introduction of Olympus E-PM1, the cost of memory cards has greatly reduced.

Seeing as how affordable the price range are, it will not make sense to get anything besides a professional-level SD memory card.

The best cards I use have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance models. I have under no circumstances experienced a card become inoperable or unusable data with any of those memory cards.

Every last trouble I have dealt with has been due to no-name unbranded SD memory cards. Seeking to save a little bit of money is not worth the cost if your E-PM1 is likely to have issues.

A sensible way to spend less money is to buy a smaller capacity memory card from a quality manufacturer. By making that choice, you’ll know your photos are safe on the card.

SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.
PNY Elite-X 128GB SD Card
PNY Elite-X 128GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SD Card
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.

The only cards compatible with the Olympus E-PM1 are SDXC, SDHC, and SD. Check to make sure your camera is using the most recent firmware installed.

The newest cards, SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity), can not be used in the E-PM1.

Four separate specifications of Secure Digital (SD) cards that you need to pay attention to. They can be told apart based on their 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.
SD Card Contacts
SD Card Contacts

Here is an approximation of the number of large JPEGs photographs you can be expecting to store on a SD card:

  • 16GB - 4,640 images
  • 32GB - 9,280 images
  • 64GB - 18,560 images
  • 128GB - 37,120 images

The speed rating of an SD memory card is dependant on the sequential read and write transfer speeds of the card. The continuous write speed of a SD card is critical for video in addition to continuous shooting.

Slows cards can decrease the number of continuous photos the Olympus E-PM1 can capture. This is due to the camera’s buffer not being able to write to the memory card quickly enough.

When recording video, a slow memory card can cause recording to stop. The video file might also end up being corrupted. If you are going to shoot video, it is crucial the SD card you use meets the minimum requirements of the E-PM1.

Read speed is important for transferring files to a computer or laptop. If you are filling up cards with images or video, a memory card with a fast read speed will save you time.

SD Card Speed Class
SD Card Speed Class

An SD memory card receives a Class rating based on its sustained write speed. 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 brand of memory card that you can buy will be rated Class 10. To discover the class rating of a card, search for a number inside of a C on the label.

Example of UHS Rating
Example of UHS Rating

The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is built into SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC cards. The UHS bus cards to have faster read and write speeds.

There are 3 separate specifications. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.

To figure out the UHS rating of a SD memory card, look at the front of the card. If there is a Roman numeral I, II, or III on the front of the memory card, that will be the UHS rating of your memory 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

Taking the specs into consideration, the 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro is the best memory card for the Olympus E-PM1. You’re now prepared for any future camera you buy.

Listed here are more pages on digital cameras with the same needs as the E-PM1:

Updated on 2022-09-28
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