Recomended SD cards for a7iii

[cokeaddict]

Hey guys,

Just got the a7iii and learning as much about it as i can, so much more complex than my a7s but a very nice piece of kit. 

So I am not a tech wiz and wanted to ask those that know, which SD card is suggested for this camera. I am reading that a few are having issues with some Sandisk cards with this camera. What do you guys suggest I buy? my options are 64GB and 128GB. More into the photo side but will mingle with the 4k as I understand it better.

Thanks in advance.

Angelo.

[LiveShots]

I use the Sony 128GB (300MB/s) in my a9

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1322907-REG/sony_sosd128gbuii_128gb_uhs_ii_sd_card.html

[Chrissie]

5 hours ago, cokeaddict said:

Just got the a7iii and learning as much about it as i can,

This is what your camera supports: https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/1720/v1/en/contents/TP0001653092.html

5 hours ago, cokeaddict said:

More into the photo side but will mingle with the 4k as I understand it better.

Your highest requirement determines the speed rating of the the memory card, irrespective of how frequent this highest need arises. Have a look at this.

5 hours ago, cokeaddict said:

my options are 64GB and 128GB

This determines the amount of images (or recording time) which the card can store. The decision is yours.

[Iansky]

I am using Sandisk Extreme PRO 32Gb Class 2 running at 280 mb/s - I only shoot raw and this card gives me over 1000 images so more than enough for day to day shooting and I have a class 1 card in No.2 slot as well as a spare Class 2 card with my spare battery.  I am conscious of the fact that it is too easy to shoot more than needed with this camera and this impacts on editing time / effort.

I come from a background of shooting analogue cameras professionally so am rather frugal with my shooting rather than adopting a "run & gun" attitude that many adopt.

I do not shoot video so this does not impact my card choice.

Good information though Chrissie, thanks for sharing.

[Chrissie]

2 hours ago, Iansky said:

Good information though Chrissie, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for complimenting me on this, Ian. Being an engineer by education and profession, I always try to match capabilities with requirements. Or vice versa. You can't decide on one without considering the other. It's basically a method of tackling unknown problems. Which I'm trying to convey.

I really hate to do someone else's work. But I enjoy enabling him/her to do it on his/her own.

In that sense I'm a true fan of enlightenment.

[cokeaddict]

Many thanks Chrissie,

Will read up tomorrow mate. 

Make sure I get what I need without any "overkill".

[Chrissie]

Well, as I have the impression you appreciate the level of detail I'm going into, this emboldens me a little further ?

From what I find on the internet, each of your raw, uncompressed images takes up around 50MB of card space. Compressed about half that amount. Which would give you around 20 raw, uncompressed images per GB of card capacity. That's 1280 for a 64GB card, and 2560 for a 128GB card. That applies for stills only. So 64GB may already be "overkill", unless you're planning for a one week (or more) hike in the wilderness.

Regarding video recordings, the required write speed is described here. If you ever (even only for a single time) would like to record at the highest quality setting that your camera supports, you will need a card which supports the required write data rate. Else the recording won't happen at all. That looks like a requirement of 

Quote

750 MBytes / minute

, which equates to 3 GB per 4 minute clip.

One piece of unsollicited advice: I would not clip the quality at the time of recording. Else you would be limited on every step downstream. In other words: I see no point in buying a camera with a four-digit price tag on it, and then cripple its capabilities by saving some tens of €, $, Lbs or whatever on a storage card.