Best Sony NEX-5R Memory Card
Two types of memory cards can be used in the Sony NEX-5R. Sony PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo are compatible with and in addition SDXC, SDHC, and SD memory cards.
The camera only has a single card slot. You’ll need to make a choice between a PRO Duo or SD card.
Sony owns the PRO Duo card format. SD memory cards have had a wider adoption that PRO Duo cards because SD cards are considerably faster as well as more affordable.
- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
Best SD Cards
SanDisk, Lexar, and PNY are manufacturers that make the best Memory cards. The best SD cards I have owned have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro memory cards.
That does not mean you need to buy a card from SanDisk for your Sony ILCE-NEX-5R. Just make sure the name sounds cool. That will make sure you get fast read/write rates, shock resistance, and other features.
I have not had errors with Lexar Professional or PNY Elite Performance SD cards.
When I have had problems with memory cards has been when I have used cheap no name brands. A low cost card increases the chance of data corruption or card failure.
If you are looking to save money, don’t buy a cheap card. You will be better off buying a high-quality card with a smaller capacity.
Recommended SD Cards
- UHS-I, U1, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 10MB/s write speeds.
- Excellent choice for photos.
- Capable of recording Full HD (1920x1080) Video.
- Inexpensive with more than good enough performance.
- Larger capacities are available for a reasonable price.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Good for burst shooting photos and recording 4K video.
- Larger capacity cards are available.
- Reliable & Durable: Magnet Proof, Shock Proof, Temperature Proof, Waterproof.
- Comparatively expensive for faster read speeds.
- UHS-I, U3, V30, and Class 10 Speed Rating. Can sustain 30MB/s write speeds.
- Only makes sense for professional use or if you need the largest storage capacity available.
- Temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and X-ray-proof.
Sony NEX-5R SD Card Compatibility
SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards can be used by the Sony NEX-5R. To get the optimal overall performance from the NEX-5R, use a SD card.
The latest SDUC cards are not compatible with the NEX-5R.
Currently, there are four different types of SD (Secure Digital) cards. New card specs add features that provides for greater memory capacity and faster read/write speeds.
- Secure Digital (SD) - 128MB to 2GB.
- Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) - 4GB to 32GB.
- Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC) - 64GB to 2TB.
- Secure Digital Ultra Capacity (SDUC) - 4TB to 128TB.
SD Card Speed
The speed rating of an SD memory card is dependant on the sequential read and write speeds. Card speed is important for continuous shooting in addition to video.
A slow SD card can decrease the number of continuous frames the Sony NEX-5R can capture. This is because the camera’s buffer is not able to write data to the card quickly enough.
When shooting video, a slow SD card can cause an unexpected end to shooting. The video file could also end up being corrupted. If you are going to shoot video, it is essential the memory card you use meets the minimum requirements of the camera.
Card read speed is important for file transfers to a computer. If you have cards that are full, a SD card with a fast read speed will save you time.
Speed Class Rating
A SD memory card gets a Class rating based on the sustained data write speed of the card. Class 10 is the maximum rating, even though cards are manufactured that are quite faster.
Here is a list of the Classes and their corresponding lowest transfer rates:
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s or faster
Any card worth choosing for the Sony NEX-5R will be a Class 10 SD memory card. In the time period since the camera was introduced, SD memory cards have gotten so much faster.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is available in SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. The UHS bus allows for faster file transfer rates.
Three different versions exist. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
Look at the label to find the rating of a SD memory card. If the SD card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III will be on the label.
- UHS-I - Maximum transfer rate of 104 MB/s
- UHS-II - Maximum transfer rate of 312 MB/s
- UHS-III - Maximum transfer rate of 624 MB/s
Sony NEX-5R PRO Duo Card Compatibility
The Sony NEX-5R is able to use one PRO Duo or PRO-HG Duo memory cards. PRO-HG signifies the memory card may have read speeds up to 50MB/s and a 15MB/s minimum write speed.
PRO Duo memory cards are in most cases twice as much as an SD card. I would not recommend purchasing a Sony PRO Duo card for your NEX-5R because of the total price increase.
Image Capacity
Below is an approximate estimation of how many large JPEG images you can expect to store on each size of SD card.
- 16GB - 4,640 images
- 32GB - 9,280 images
- 64GB - 18,560 images
- 128GB - 37,120 images
- 256GB - 74,240 images
Related Cameras
There is nothing more you need to understand about PRO Duo and SD memory cards.