Best memory cards for the Sony A7 III

One of the many handy features in the Sony A7 III’s body design is dual memory card slots. There are a lot of advantages to having a camera with dual slots like this. For instance, storage. If you shoot primarily video, you’ll know how quickly a memory card can fill up. Dual card slots effectively doubles your storage capacity.

You can also customise the Sony A7 III’s memory card slots to suit your specific needs. For example, you might set one to record video files. Or you might designate one card to record raw files and the other JPEGs. You can also set one slot to mirror the other, creating a back-up of your work in real time.

How to set up the Sony A7 III memory card slots to your needs

The default setting in the Sony A7 III is for the camera to warn you when Slot 1 is full and not automatically start writing to Slot 2. You can easily change this, though.

Navigate to Rec. Media Settings on page 6 of the Setup menu. Press OK. Now select Auto Switch Media and set it to On. This will now trigger the A7 III to automatically start writing files to Slot 2 when the card in Slot 1 reaches capacity.

In this Rec. Media Settings menu you can also prioritise your primary memory card slot and the files it will record.

What memory cards does the Sony A7 III use?

The Sony A7 III supports SD cards, but Slot 1 is SD UHS-I and UHS-II compliant, while Slot 2 supports UHS-I cards. Both SD UHS-I and UHS-II cards are readily available, but the key is finding that perfect balance of write speed and capacity at a price that doesn’t break the bank.

So what are the best memory card for the Sony A7 III? We’ve used quite a few since the camera’s launch, and these are our picks…

Best memory cards for Sony A7 III – Slot 1

Sony SF-G UHS-II 64GB

• 299MB/s write speed
• 300MB/s read speed

Calling it the ‘world’s fastest SD card’, Sony’s SF-G series is designed for those recording 4K video or stills photographers shooting continuous sequences of high-resolution images.

What’s more, the Sony SF-G cards are temperature resistant, X-ray proof, shock-proof and water-proof. That said, we can’t say we’ve ever been tempted to drop one in a glass of water to find out!

Verbatim 64GB Pro II Plus

• 255MB/s write speed
• V90 video speed class for 8K recording

Verbatim’s Pro II Plus is a workhorse of a memory card. Its V90 video speed class supports up to 8K video recording, with read speeds at 295MB/s and write speeds at 255MB/s.

Like other professional cards on this list of the best memory cards for the Sony A7 III, the Pro II Plus is water resistant, shock-proof and temperature-proof. You’ll also benefit from a lifetime warranty.

SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II 64GB

• 260MB/s write speed
• 300MB/s read speed

SanDisk’s Extreme Pro range is one of the more affordable UHS-II ranges out there and is blazingly fast and super reliable.

With the 64GB option you can shoot up to 56 minutes of 4K video or 4000 still images; however, it doesn’t carry the V90 mark, so if 4K video is something you primarily shoot, it might be worth looking at the Verbatim Pro II Plus above.

That said, the SanDisk is a very fast card and the speed at which it empties its buffer is what will win you over.

Delkin V90

• 250MB/s write speed
• 8K capable

Delkin’s Speed Class 90 card offers superb read and write speeds at 300MB/s and 250MB/s, respectively. As well as high-resolution 8K video, the Delkin V90 card can support the demands of 3D and 360 recording, as well as 4K and HDR.

The Delkin V90, in particular, is designed for real-time broadcasting and continuous burst shooting.

Like other UHS-II cards on our list of the best memory cards for the Sony A7 III, the Delkin V90 is waterproof, shockproof and X-ray proof.

Best memory cards for Sony A7 III – Slot 2

Sony SDXC UZ UHS-I 64GB

• 90MB/s write speed
• UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and SD Class 10

Sony’s UZ Series UHS-I cards are fast and robust, offering 95MB/s read speeds and 90MB/s write speeds. With some of the fastest data transfer speeds among UHS-I cards, the UZ Series cards are a great complement to your videography or high-speed burst shooting.

Sony’s UZ Series cards also come with a slide lock, a waterproof design and a copy of free recovery software.

Verbatim Pro Plus 600X SDXC UHS-1 V30

• 80MB/s write speeds
• V30 video speed class

Verbatim’s Pro Plus SDXC cards offer 80MB/s write speeds along with 90MB/s read speeds, and their V30 video speed class rating supports 4K video recording. Verbatim’s cards are also U3 speed rated.

The Pro Plus 600X cards are water resistant, shock proof and temperature proof, backed by a lifetime warranty.

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC U3

• 90MB/s write speed
• V30 video speed class

SanDisk’s Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I card is one of the best bargains on our list of the best memory cards for the Sony A7 III. Fast and everything-proof, the Extreme Pro UHS-I card can capture both 4K UHD video and burst shooting.

Users rave about the speed of these cards, as well as their near indestructibility.

PNY Elite Performance U1 128GB

• 90MB/s write speed
• Class 10, U1 rating

Waterproof, magnet proof, shock proof and temperature proof, PNY’s Elite Performance range is a go-anywhere card designed for high-performance cameras and camcorders.

The 128GB option lets you record up to 29 hours of HD video or around 91,000 still images. With 90MB/s write speeds, the PNY Elite Performance is one of the fastest UHS-I cards on our list.