Macs and digital cameras have gone hand in hand for a few many years. However Apple hasn’t all the time supplied a direct option to switch pictures from a digicam should you don’t have the proper USB cable helpful. Let’s not get began on Wi-Fi switch–a nightmare with most cameras, even in 2023.
Almost all digital cameras switched to the SD (Safe Digital) Card format about 15 years in the past from earlier codecs. It provides compact, high-density flash reminiscence storage, with larger capacities coming with the 2009 SDXC (eXtended Capability) improve, which elevated a 32GB most to as much as 2TB in a card!
Apple included or contains an SDXC Card slot that may learn practically all SD codecs on these fashions of Macs:
- 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac fashions (2010 or later)
- 13-inch MacBook Air (2013 to 2017)
- Mac mini (2011 to 2014)
- MacBook Professional (2011 to 2014, then restarting in 2021)
- Mac Studio
SD Playing cards are rated by throughput, which has elevated dramatically through the years. The most recent widespread requirements are UHS-I and UHS-II. (UHS stands for Extremely Excessive Velocity.) All of the Macs above can learn the sooner MMC, Default Velocity, and Excessive Velocity flavors, in addition to UHS-I and UHS-II. SD Playing cards are available in each normal and microSD sizes. Nevertheless, you should utilize a microSD adapter (these are typically included once you buy a microSD Card) that’s successfully a full-sized SD Card to make use of it with a Mac or card reader.
Nevertheless, the newer UHS-II playing cards, 3 times sooner than UHS-I, solely help their larger speeds in a number of Mac fashions. These are the iMac Professional, the 27-inch Intel iMac mannequin launched in 2020, and all MacBook Professional fashions launched from 2021 onward.
You possible gained’t purchase a UHS-II velocity card except you have got a specific function–like recording low-compression 4K video immediately on a digicam–as a result of the price for that added velocity is far larger. A SanDisk UHS-I 256GB card has a road worth of $40, whereas the UHS-II model is $280.
In case you don’t have a Mac that comes with an SD Card slot, it’s a straightforward matter so as to add one. You will get easy USB Sort-A adapters for as little as $7 with UHS-I throughput help. Apple sells a $39 USB-C adapter with help for UHS-II. Don’t pay for UHS-II help except you want it.
Many USB-C and Thunderbolt docks additionally embrace an SD Card slot as a fundamental function.
This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by Macworld reader Kevin.
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