A7rIV write speed

[danxyz]

Has anyone experienced slow write speeds to the SD card for single images (A7rIV)?  I noticed single images are occasionally taking 5-10s to clear the buffer so I ran some tests.   Filling the buffer completely with burst mode shooting I was able to get the rated write speed for my SD cards on average (90MB/s in my case).  But with that speed, I'd expect to see single images for RAW Compressed (about 60MB in size) to take less than a 1 second to clear the buffer.  Not the 5-10 I sometimes see.  I've experimented with different SD cards (same type and different type) as well as RAW Uncompressed and have gotten the same results.  I'm not writing any JPEG files.  Dual or single card writing makes no difference.  It's mildly annoying because you can't change most camera settings while the buffer is writing. Thanks.

[Jeffreykmd]

What Type of SD card are you using? Using a UHS-II Card will greatly increase your read write speed. I use Sony Tough G cards with my A7R4 and shoot uncompressed raw and a jpeg file for each of my shots and it does not take 5-10 secs to clear the buffer.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Jeffreykmd

[Mhudson42484]

Hi,

I'm experiencing the same thing. I’m shooting full frame uncompressed RAW, recording Simultaneously to two Sony Tough 128Gb UHS-II SD cards.  Sometimes my write speeds are very quick and other times it takes 5-10 seconds per image as you had stated.  It seems to correct itself when I power cycle the camera. But I’d like to know what causes this or know if I have a defective unit because the buffer will continue to fill up if it takes 5-10 seconds per photo.  Caused me to miss a few wildlife shots the other day.  Please let me know if you find a more permanent solution. 

[EpicEric6]

Yes, I have the exact same issue with two Sony Tough UHS-II Cards. Both are 128GB and are not part of the recall.

In my case, it may correct itself after a few shots. Sometimes a power cycle is needed.

[vincentroy22]

I have the same problem.  Did anyone find the cause of that?

[jrh65]

I am new to the A7r4 after using the a7r3 for several years I was very unhappy about the slow write speed of the R4. What I found was the slot 1 is opposite of the what it was on the R3 so I had a slow card in slot one left and a fast one in slot 2 right. Swapped around and problem is gone. I can't imagine why Sony swapped them around like that??? 

[ACs Photo Works]

For some reason mine does this too. I remember one time it used to write pretty fast and only took 1-2 seconds to save a file but now mine is just consistly taking around 8 seconds to write each file and during those 8 seconds there are quite a few important settings you cant change, ive tested this with multiple sd cards like the sony g tough 128gb the 299RW v90 version (which is supposed to be a minimum write speed of 90MBps and each photo is around 120MB so should be save no longer than 2 seconds) and a lexar 256gb v90 with 299R and somewhere around 250-290W speed i forgot what speed its at, and all seem to write at the same speeds, i tried single mode where i had only one card in the slot too. I dont know who was the person behind the idea of locking main feature changes while saving photos but it is not a great idea, some things like shutter mode should not be locked during save, maybe incorperate a built in flash storage chip that handles the storage of settings so that the camera doesnt rely on sd cards for settings changes and only use sd cards for saving files and backup of settings when you create a backup.

Edited May 3, 2023 by ACs Photo Works
Added some more specifics