BOTTOMLINE:

I always recommend getting the biggest/fastest storage you can for less than $100.  These cards from PNY are great, and VERY competitive with the SanDisk Extreme cards for half the price (for me the moderate speed tradeoff really isn’t worth it; I’ve never had problems with these cards in extraordinary mountain weather conditions).  That way you’ll mostly future-proof yourself against the inevitable resolution creep that occurs (and will continue to occur) with digital imaging products.  256gb may seem like overkill for most digital cameras, but if you’re on this site to begin with it’s probably because you fill that 64gb on your smartphone faster than you’d like.  With 4k and 8k video on the horizon, it’s a no-brainer to pickup SD cards that are fast, U3 ready and have plenty of space for video or live photos.  The last thing you want is to accumulate a stockpile of Flash/SD/CF cards that you have to keep track of and manage.  This way you’ll only need a couple of cards and a speed upgrade every few years that makes workflow and travel management a breeze.

WHY GET IT:

We never know we need more space or a faster memory card until we run out of space, or our camera stops shooting in the middle of a great shot.  Then you have to spend a day of your trip tracking down a tourist trap camera shop or electronics store where everything is intentionally WAY overpriced to profit from your misfortune and lack of planning.  Don’t learn the hard way.  Save yourself the headache, the cost and most of all the lost productivity finding and then juggling a bunch of smaller, slower capacity cards that you don’t need.  Pickup two of these and you’ll be good to go for several years without worry.