Methods to use an SD digicam card along with your Mac

Macs and digital cameras have gone hand in hand for a few many years. But Apple hasn’t at all times supplied a direct technique to switch pictures from a digicam should you don’t have the right USB cable helpful. Let’s not get began on Wi-Fi switch–a nightmare with most cameras, even in 2023.

Nearly all digital cameras switched to the SD (Secure Digital) Card format about 15 years in the past from earlier codecs. It affords compact, high-density flash reminiscence storage, with greater capacities coming with the 2009 SDXC (eXtended Capacity) improve, which elevated a 32GB most to as much as 2TB in a card!

Apple included or consists of an SDXC Card slot that may learn almost all SD codecs on these fashions of Macs:

21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac fashions (2010 or later)
13-inch MacE-book Air (2013 to 2017)
Mac mini (2011 to 2014)
MacE-book Pro (2011 to 2014, then restarting in 2021)
Mac Studio

SD Cards are rated by throughput, which has elevated dramatically over time. The newest widespread requirements are UHS-I and UHS-II. (UHS stands for Ultra High Speed.) All the Macs above can learn the sooner MMC, Default Speed, and High Speed flavors, in addition to UHS-I and UHS-II. SD Cards are available in each commonplace and microSD sizes. However, you should use a microSD adapter (these are generally included whenever you buy a microSD Card) that’s successfully a full-sized SD Card to make use of it with a Mac or card reader.

However, the newer UHS-II playing cards, thrice sooner than UHS-I, solely assist their greater speeds in a number of Mac fashions. These are the iMac Pro, the 27-inch Intel iMac mannequin launched in 2020, and all MacE-book Pro fashions launched from 2021 onward.

You probably received’t purchase a UHS-II velocity card until you might have a specific goal–like recording low-compression 4K video straight on a digicam–as a result of the fee for that added velocity is way greater. A SanDisk UHS-I 256GB card has a road value of $40, whereas the UHS-II model is $280.

If you don’t have a Mac that comes with an SD Card slot, it’s a simple matter so as to add one. You can get simple USB Type-A adapters for as little as $7 with UHS-I throughput assist. Apple sells a $39 USB-C adapter with assist for UHS-II. Don’t pay for UHS-II assist until you want it.

Many USB-C and Thunderbolt docking stations additionally embody an SD Card slot as a fundamental characteristic. See our really helpful finest Thunderbolt docks for Mac.

This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by Macworld reader Kevin.

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