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Panasonic GH3 Memory Card Compatibility

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The Panasonic GH3 uses SD, SDHC, & SDXC memory cards. To avoid problems when recording video, cards should be Class 10 with a UHS-I rating.

SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are designed to work in the Panasonic GH3. A memory card with fast write speeds is essential for burst shooting and video.

The functionality of your camera can be greatly reduced by using an incorrect SD memory card.

Don’t want the technical details? Here’s my recommendation on the card to get for the Panasonic GH3:

SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.

Like all things tech, the price of SD memory cards has greatly fallen since the release of the Panasonic GH3.

Due to costs being quite cheap, it will not make financial sense to buy anything other than a professional-quality SD memory card.

SanDisk Extreme Pro, Lexar Professional, and PNY Elite Performance cards have all worked well for me. I have never endured a card become inoperable or data errors with any of those memory cards.

Every one of the issues I have experienced has been because of generic unbranded cards. Hoping to save around a dollar isn’t worth the cost if your GH3 will not function properly.

If you want to reduce the cost, buy a smaller capacity card from a high-quality company. By doing this, you’ll not have to be concerned about the photos stored on the card.

SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.
PNY Elite-X 128GB SD Card
PNY Elite-X 128GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SD Card
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SD Card
Check prices on: Amazon
  • 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.

Only SDXC, SDHC, and SD memory cards can be used by the Panasonic GH3. Check to ensure your camera has the most recent firmware installed.

The newest memory cards, SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity), are not able to be used with the GH3.

You should understand the four types of Secure Digital (SD) cards that there are. They are separated by their storage size.

  • SD (Secure Digital) - 128MB to 2GB.
  • SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) - 4GB to 32GB.
  • SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) - 64GB to 2TB.
  • SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) - 4TB to 128TB.
SD Card Contacts
SD Card Contacts

Here’s an approximation of the volume of high-quality JPEGs photos you can expect to fit on a SD memory card:

  • 16GB - 4,640 images
  • 32GB - 9,280 images
  • 64GB - 18,560 images
  • 128GB - 37,120 images

Speed ratings of an SD memory card is determined by the sequential read and write speeds of the card. The speed of a memory card is very important for continuous shooting as well as video.

A slow card can cause a decrease in the number of continuous photos the Panasonic GH3 can take. This is because the camera’s buffer will not be able to write to the SD card quickly enough.

When recording video, a slow SD card can cause a sudden end to shooting. The video file might also be corrupted. If you are going to capture video, it is essential the memory card you use meets the required write speed for video.

Card read speed is important for transferring files to a computer or laptop. If you are filling up cards with images or video, a card with a fast read speed will save you time.

SD Card Speed Class
SD Card Speed Class

The Class rating of a memory card is based on the continuous write speed. Memory cards that have a minimum write speed of 10MB/s will be labeled Class 10.

  • Class 2 - 2MB/s
  • Class 4 - 4MB/s
  • Class 6 - 6MB/s
  • Class 8 - 8MB/s
  • Class 10 - 10MB/s or faster

Every brand of SD card that you can buy will have a Class 10 rating. You can find the class rating of a memory card by looking for a number inside of a C on the front label.

Example of UHS Rating
Example of UHS Rating

The Ultra High Speed bus (UHS) is built into SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC memory cards. UHS makes it possible offers a way to improve data transfer rates.

There are three separate specs. The versions are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.

Look at the front of the card to determine the UHS rating of a SD card. The presence of a Roman numeral I, II, or III on the front of the SD memory card, that is the UHS rating of the memory card.

  • 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

As outlined by everything that was covered is why the the 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro is the best memory card for the Panasonic GH3. The SD card also has excellent compatibility with other cameras.

Here are more pages on digital cameras with similar specifications as the GH3:

Updated on 2022-09-28
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