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Best Sony A7II SD Memory Cards

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Avoid problems or reduced performance in your Sony A7II by choosing the best memory card. You can choose between SD and PRO Duo, but one is more expensive.

Two different kinds of memory cards can be used in the Sony A7II. SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards can be used in addition to Sony XC-HG Duo, PRO-HG Duo, and PRO Duo cards.

Only a single card can be in the slot at a time. You’ll have to choose between an SD or PRO Duo memory card.

PRO Duo cards are a proprietary format that is owned by Sony. Because of this, SD memory cards are more affordable and can offer better performance than PRO Duo memory cards.

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.

SanDisk, Lexar, and PNY are brands that produce high-quality SD cards. The best memory cards I have owned have been SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards.

That does not mean you need to buy a card made by SanDisk for your Sony ILCE-A7II. Just make sure the name is cool. That will ensure you get fast read/write speeds, dust resistance, and other professional features.

I have not run into problems with PNY Elite Performance or Lexar Professional memory cards.

The problems I have encountered with cards has been when inexpensive no name brands were used. Being cheap increases the chance of data corruption or card errors.

If you are looking to spend less money, don’t buy a cheap card. You will be better off buying a professional-quality SD card with a smaller capacity.

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.

SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards are usable with the Sony A7II. For the optimal performance, use a SD card.

The latest SDUC memory cards can’t be used in the A7II.

There are four different specifications of SD (Secure Digital) cards. New card specs add features that allows for larger storage space and improved data transfer 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.

Speed ratings of an SD memory card is dependant on the sequential write and read speeds. Memory card write speed is important for video in addition to continuous shooting.

Slows SD cards can cause a decrease in the number of continuous images the Sony A7II can capture. This is due to the camera’s buffer not being able to write data to the memory card fast enough.

When recording video, a slow memory card can cause recording to stop. The video file may also be corrupted. If you are going to capture video, it is important the memory card you use meets the required minimum continuous write speed for video.

Card read speed is important for file transfers to a computer or laptop. If you have cards that are full, a card with a fast read speed will reduce the amount of time it takes the transfer to finish.

SD Card Speed Class
SD Card Speed Class

A SD memory card is assigned a Class rating based on the continuous data write speed of the card. Class 10 is the highest rating, even though cards exist that are considerably faster.

Here are all of the Class ratings and the corresponding lowest read/write speeds:

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

Practically every SD card worth choosing for the Sony A7II will be a Class 10 memory card. In the time since the camera was released, SD cards have gotten a good deal faster.

UHS-I Rating
UHS Rating

The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus comes in SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. The UHS bus memory cards to have increased read and write speeds.

Three separate specs exist. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.

Look at the label to figure out the UHS rating of a SD memory card. If the card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III can be found on the front of the SD 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

The Sony A7II may use a single 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 often more expensive than an SD card. Considering the price difference, I will not recommend purchasing a PRO Duo card for use in a A7II.

SD Card Contacts
SD Card Contacts

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

Finally you know all the things about PRO Duo and SD cards.

Updated on 2022-10-12
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