The Best Memory Cards for the Sony A200
The largest Compact Flash card that is fully compatible with the Sony A200 is 32GB. There could be compatiblity issues if you use a bigger card.
The memory limitation comes from the use of the FAT32 file system. The A200 is not able to format a card to larger than 32GB.
If you don’t want to read a bunch of specs, my recommended CF memory card is:
- Read speeds up to 120MB/s.
- Write speeds up to 85MB/s.
- Water, x-ray, & shock proof.
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Best CF Cards
The best value CF card is going to be either 32GB or 16GB. Smaller or larger cards are going to cost more per GB.
A professional card doesn’t add a large amount to the cost. Having a fast card will get rid of the need to upgrade the card when you upgrade your camera.
Recommended CF Cards
- Read speeds up to 120MB/s.
- Write speeds up to 85MB/s.
- Sustained data recording of 20MB/s.
- Water, x-ray, & shockproof.
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- Fast enough write speeds for burst photography and video.
- Upto 60MB/s write and 120MB/s red speeds.
- Supports UDMA7 transfer mode.
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- Transfer speeds up to 160MB/s.
- Video Performance Guarantee sepc VPG 65.
- Limited lifetime warranty.
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- Transfer speeds up to 160MB/s.
- Can record 4k Ultra HD and Full HD video.
- Video Performance Guarantee sepc VPG 65.
- Limited lifetime warranty.
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Compact Flash Card Types
Compact Flash cards come in two sizes. The CF cards are known as Type I or Type II.
The difference between the types of cards is the thickness. The length and width of the cards are identical.
- Type I - 3.3mm thick
- Type II - 5mm thick
The Type II spec were thicker so Microdrives could be used in the Sony A200. A Microdrive was a tiny mechanical harddrive, the size of a compact flash card.
When Compact Flash cards were first released they had high prices and limited capacities. Microdrives were the only choice to get large amounts of storage.
Microdrives are no longer produced. Because they were mechanical, failure was a matter of time. So you can’t find them used.
SD to Compact Flash card adapters also take advantage of Type II sized slots. There are adapters that will allow you to use SD or Micro SD cards in a CF slot.
Card Reader
The UGREEN 4-in-1 card reader is what I use with my CF cards.
The UGREEN reader is compatible with USB 3.0. Using the card reader will allow transfer speeds that are faster than what the Sony A200 is capable of.
The reader can read the following memory card types:
- CompactFlash Cards
- SD, SDHC, & SDXC Cards
- Memory Stick (MS), MS Pro, MS PRO-HG, & MS XC DUO
- MicroSD, Micro SDHC, & Micro SDXC Cards
Avoiding Card Read Errors
One of the common problems with cameras that use CF memory cards are bent card slot pins. When a pin is bent, you might see a ‘unable to use card’ error.
To avoid damaged pins, do not force a Compact Flash memory card into the Sony A200. The extra space for a Type II card makes it possible for a Compact Flash card to be misaligned.
If the CF card won’t easily slide into the slot, remove it and check the positioning of the card. Also, check to see if the card is damaged.
If everything looks undamaged, carefully align the CF card and make another attempt.