Sony A7III had incredible success on the market because it truly became very popular for a short period of time. Now, when Sony developed and released the fourth version, people got even more excited about what types of features they can expect. Sony is a high-quality brand that most people would decide on. Now, with such various amazing advancements and improvements including a long-waited flip-out and fully articulating screen, 4k60k video as well as the 10MP feature for photos, the choice is more than obvious. However, with all of these incredible advancements aside, if you decide to purchase a Sony A7IV, you are going to need a fast and high-quality SD card that will be able to support all of the mentioned improvements that come with this device.
You are probably assuming that choosing the best SD card brand, the capacity that it comes with and the speed is crucial in providing the power of the SonyA7 IV device. In addition to this statement, you should know that there are particular settings that are supporting certain cards.
However, there is one good thing when it comes to memory cards. We are talking about the fact that they are having standards that are making the overall selection process for the device much easier.
Therefore, with the proper guide to follow and some rules to keep in mind you are going to find the appropriate card for your camera and settings much easier and more effective. On the other side, there is one disadvantage when it comes to memory cards. We do not know whether or not you are familiar with this fact – but memory cards are having so many standards. Additionally, there are so many cameras that are coming out with dual card slot types.
The camera that we are talking about in this article belongs to this category. Therefore, you may be wondering what type of cards should you pick and in that way make the most out of your device. You are not alone when it comes to this question. No need to worry, because we got you covered. By the end of this article, you will know what types of SD cards are best for your SonyA7 IV and where you can buy them.
Which Memory Cards Does SonyA7 IV Support?
Before we start mentioning some of the best SD cards such as class 10 sd cards for this camera, it is important to talk about camera slots first. The Sony A& IV is very unique when it comes to slots since it has a dual card slot feature. One card slot is a standard CFexpress Type A and UHS-I and UHS-II (SDHC/SDXC) SD cards slot while the other slot is only for UHS-I and UHS-II (SDHC/SDXC) SD cards. Now let’s explain these two slot standards.
CFexpress Type-A Memory Cards
It is very unique that Sony A7 IV is joining both the Sony A1 and the previous version Sony A7 III by adding support for the faster CFexpress Type-A memory cards. However, in this camera case, only one of the memory card slots is supporting faster cards. You should know that since at this point only a few brands such as Sony, ProGrade, and Delkin are launching these types of cards, they come at a higher price.
For instance, if you are shooting in uncompressed RAW, you should know that you will not be able to hit the buffer with these cards, and the number of shoots will not affect this. In case you want to shoot in an S&Q Mode with the file format of XAVC S-I 4k, and a record rate of 30p as well as the frame rate of 50fps, you are going to need a CFexpress Type A card. The SonyA7 IV camera will not let you record in this specific format with a V90 card. One more important tip is that you should not confuse these cards with the CFexpress Type-B C since these are larger and they are not compatible with the camera that we are talking about.
Best UHS-II SD Memory Cards
As we said, SonyA7 IV also supports UHS-I and UHS-II SD memory cards and this counts for both memory card slots. This means that you do not have to spend a lot of money on investing in the previously mentioned CFexpress Type-A cards if you do not need them.
You can be peaceful to decide on this option instead. We want to note one important thing – when you are shooting in uncompressed RAW, uncompressed RAW + JPEG, or lossless compressed RAW as well as the lossless compressed RAW + JPEG, the maximum frames per second are going to be reduced from 10 fps to 6 fps.
Some of the best memory card options
Now, let’s list some of the options that you can consider for your own SonyA7 IV camera device.
1. CEA-G CFexpress Type-A (800/700)
This Sony Type A memory card can write up even 700MB/s and when it comes to reading up it can go up to 800MB/s. This is a high-quality card that has been tested and it can protect your card data even during a drop from up to eight meters. This is something that Type A cards standard stay for. Despite that, they are IP57 rated for high protection from dust and moisture. You can choose between 80GB and 160GB because these options are available on the market.
2. ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type A Cobalt (800/700)
One more great option is this one since this memory card can also write up to 700MB/s and read up to 800MB/s like the previously mentioned one. Even though it is not tough as the previous option, this card has a special metal enclosure/encasement created in a way to endure very high temperatures and at the same time provide great thermal conductivity. When it comes to the available capacity, this memory card has 1660GB.
3. Kingston Canvas React Plus UHS-II SDXC Memory Card (300/260)
Kingston cards are very popular since 1987, so if you decide on this brand, you should know that you are deciding for safety and quality. The Canvas React Plus UHS-II SDXC cards are having a special claimed read speed of 300MB/s, while the speed of reading is 290MB/s. They are only a bit slower than Sony SF-G cards. However, good thing is that they come with the price of 40% less for a 64GB card that includes a UHS-II card reader. Therefore, with so many great reviews, this is the ideal option. They are available in different sizes and are V90 rated.
4. Sony SF-G Tough UHS-II (300/299)
For the last, you can also decide on a Sony SF-G Tough card since they have a read speed of 300MB/s and a write speed of 299MB/s. They have the same rate and available sizes as the previously mentioned cards. What is important to highlight is the fact that the Sony Tough memory series of cards are even 18 times stronger than the traditional SD cards. Additionally, they are coming with a drop-proof, waterproof, and dust-proof material.
