Sony A7III Card Speed/Buffer Test | What SD Card Should I Buy

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Buffer & speed tests using Sandisk UHS-I and Sony UHS-II cards!
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[@carflo2112]

Not boring at all, very informative. Thank you. I can’t wait to get my a7III

[@PraveenKumar-fs6of]

Well Said Carol .👍

[@warpegius457]

which tripod is in this video?

[@EmoEmu]

Very interesting. I'm glad you threw the A7RIII in there at the end. It ought to behave the same with regard to UHSI and II, only with larger files needing to get pushed through the pipeline, making UHSII even more important.

[@jasonhull5712]

This was exactly what I needed to see ! Thanks for taking the time to record this test, very informative, definitely not boring to tech junkies anyway. 👍

[@devilmaycry383]

Thanks this was very helpful I'm still waiting for my A7iii to arrive should come sometime this month.

[@gcnphilly]

Great video. Really informative. Would be cool if you did one on video as well and posted a final results chart for people to see all the comparison results at one time. Nice work!

[@racerguy008]

Not boring at all. Extremely helpful, as always :)

[@ianrempel7192]

Stoked for the wedding day review!

[@Dagger_Hashimoto]

Love the fact you listen to your audience and doing more videos of the A7III. Can't wait for next week to get mine. You guys doing an outstanding job 👍👍.

[@learningcameras]

Thank you so much! I'm sure you are counting down the days already hahaha

[@yaoxiong]

Exactly the information I was looking for. Thank You!

[@josecolon8143]

Thank you brother! Out of the all channels I have asked the question about the different card recording speed of this camera, you were the ONLY ones who took the time to answer! Thank you of the great explanation!!! 🙏

[@Tempest261]

Excellent test. I was going to perform this same exact experiment for my own purposes, but you saved me a lot of time. Thanks! The A7III also supports recording stills and video simultaneously, right? Can you give that a test?

[@WarriorsPhoto]

Good test there. I am able to see what kind of results I will see. I am happy to purchase these faster cards as my needs arise. Thank you for sharing this video and your findings.

[@girisonnaseri]

Why do u say its boring? its very useful. Also I will be shooting a lot of videos on this. so which card would u recommend for videos?

[@learningcameras]

Awesome! Glad it helped! So for video, there is no advantage to card speed so either save money and get the uhs I Sandisk extreme card in the description (at least 128gb) or get the Sony tough card for increased durability and to future proof yourself with uhsii cards

[@shroominion7529]

@@learningcameras CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TRIPOD THAT IS ? I CANNOT FIND IT IN YOUR GEAR LIST

[@taisho1125R]

This test was exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

[@martinsuen3153]

Love tests like this! It's practical experience that we are really curious about! It's not boring and it definitely helps us. Thanks for making such detailed test!

[@learningcameras]

Awesome! So glad it helped

[@typer1911]

Nice video! I was needing to research cards for my a7iii when it arrives.

[@jtes1442]

Thanks Dan , this is super useful !

[@chrisfu1736]

Super useful video!! Was on fence spending over $1gb for UHSII, but shooting sports it's a no brainer

[@TygerByte]

Thanks for this test! Been waiting for someone to test this since uhsii cards are 4x the cost.

[@Brandonreneeofficial]

This is the exact video i was looking for!

[@weedylock]

Great info :D Thanks, enjoyed it and not boring at all.

[@TimCurry04]

Ha, those of us who want to know more about this camera didn't find it boring at all! Much needed demos and opinions. Thx.

[@TheDarkangel1016]

Very helpful and practical…thanks for the video.

[@adamc6250]

Great! Please, do more comparisons between this two cameras. I also subscribed

[@bolbo999]

this is very useful for A7III user and anyone who want to use A7III cheer-up man you are doing very good

[@RonEMarks]

Great, simple, concise and covered real world use! Thanks!

[@artmaltman]

Excellent, very helpful, thanks for doing this!

[@IMDABROWN]

The King of FL has delivered us a great test to review.

[@OneTradeMan]

Shot a proposal recently and the buffer clearing definitely screwed me. I thought I was using UHS-II cards but they were only UHS-I. Your video answered a lot of questions for me.

[@tripleceas]

This was a great video. Thanks for posting.

[@jamesk3022]

How does the v90 vs the v60 uhs-ii memory cards perform in this camera?

[@skepticalline789]

This video is everything i was looking for , other channels will just give specs , but this is Gold !!! Thank u so Much !!

[@learningcameras]

Awesome! Glad it helped

[@kyleduff3556]

Thank you so much, exactly what I have been trying to figure out

[@bradsiefert]

Great video. Really helpful information.

[@6gwilliams]

Thanks, well done and helpful. I have the A7RIII and have ordered the A7III.

[@MrJcwhitefield]

Thanks Dan! Another great video!

[@maxpower08]

Great test!! So if I were just shooting Landscapes and Travel, UHS I would be fine?

[@helloWorldPlus]

Can micro sd with adapter work well with the camera?

[@allenpoulson6203]

Really good Dan, thanks a lot!

[@otrebor7631]

Nice. Very useful info. Btw, what is that mini tripod you used?

[@khainguyen9887]

Really useful. I'm looking for this

[@cleverja]

excellent video, much needed

[@GregThurtle]

Great test Dan - I always shoot compressed RAW, would love to see the same test with compressed raw?

[@luboyanev]

Agree, would've been nice if we also saw that as a reference

[@DanielBelaytv]

extremely helpful test!

[@DeusExAstra]

Good info on this camera and buffer performance, thanks

[@Lexxo777]

Good Video! Gotta love a shutter war! I noticed on the last test the A73 was set to f/2, and the R3 to f/2.8, but both camera buffers stopped after the same amount of shots (38), kinda cool.

[@gordonlister8242]

Only discovered your channel when researching the swap from Nikon to Sony, and glad I did; as you do really informative videos.

[@learningcameras]

Thank you so much Gordon!

[@bhainsley]

Thanks so much for this!

[@sinathiutube]

Very nice comparison and information, can you please give the link to mini tripod you are using in the video?

[@SebastiansKanal]

Nice Video - was useful for me. Could you please tell me what tripod that is? It looks very nice and solid - I want the same :)

[@venzikalbanov1795]

I just did the same test on my a6500...and the buffered took me to 100 shots in RAW+JPEG and cleared all 100 in about 1'15 seconds and it took the 100 pics in about 10 seconds and i was still able to to keep shooting (the second time i did the test). So im guessing for sports photography the a6500 would be better than the A7Riii because of the buffer and similar auto focus. However maybe not better than the A7iii because of the better Autofocus... any thoughts?

[@waawaaweewaa2045]

How quickly can you preview images after taking say 5 images, with a UHS-II card? This is how I usually shoot if I do a burst and I like previewing right after. thx

[@drwilhelmschneiderii8434]

thanks for the video-was about to buy a uhs ii memory but ill just buy a two bigger uhsi for 4K recording now knowing the ushii is more for reading to the computer-get mine by the weekend

[@StephenKazumi]

I've read there's issues when switching from photo to video when it's buffering. For someone who shoots both at the same time (music photography). Being able to switch very quickly is important to not miss the moment in photo and video.

[@josh6499]

Super helpful thanks!

[@JuanLopez-oz9kh]

Can you do the same comparison with the Fuji HX-1?

[@MarlonOrellana]

how did you get the crane tripod screw into the a7?

[@llaease]

The best Sony memory video on the internet

[@mohammadfarooq1843]

Many thanks. Perfect video for my question before buying new camera.very informative. Also have GH5 and already own 2 UHS 2 cards but will probably only be buying only UHS 1 cards for Sony - dependant on price.

[@gizmoriderfulye8007]

I wished you counted actual file transfer speed from size of the pictures. Also, even in RAW the amount of colours and dynamics on picture should affect the size and therefore the speed?

[@waseembessada7390]

Dude, what a review that was.

[@DaveChurchill]

For a better explanation of what is happening in your first two tests: - The buffer is a fixed size, so it will fill up with the same number of photos regardless of card write speed, HOWEVER - As the buffer is filling up, it is also writing to the memory card and clearing a part of the buffer as more shots are taken - Since the buffer is filling at a faster rate than the camera writes to the card, then this means the buffer will eventually fill - Since faster cards write data faster from the buffer, this means that a faster card will fill the buffer slower, meaning more photos taken until it fills - Once the buffer is full, the data is written to the card and of course a faster card will write out faster

[@wolfe4410]

So which is the faster card exactly

[@icarrera76]

why did you test single UHS-II card in the UHS-I slot?

[@Mich32tracy32]

Think you have to shoot uncompressed raw to get full speed in h+ it’s in manual somewhere

[@dmlchannel3262]

Good to know. Thanks Dan.

[@momustafa321]

Nice video bro keep the good work

[@ItsPinecone_911]

For the 8 pic buffer over the the more expensive A7Riii camera you got to realize the mp and quality of the pic is at lease double compaired to the base A7iii. Both are excellent cameras but Im saving for the A7Riiii or the A99ii both are 42.4mp but I really couldnt tell you which one is actually better. Im guessing the A7Riii is better since its newer but dont honestly know.

[@fishin2themax245]

Very nice job. Good idea to focus on SD cards.🏆

[@marcgosselin945]

Thanks for the video. Very good

[@sienta000]

Thanks, that's what I want to know.

[@rgvincevideo]

thank you you help me choose what SD cards to Buy... Keep It Up!!!

[@learningcameras]

Thanks!!!

[@warpegius457]

which tripod is in this video?

[@etismyname]

awesome review! subbed

[@learningcameras]

Awesome!!! Thanks for the sub

[@jonathanditren1680]

really good vid!

[@kyzeetruthahn4406]

but is it possible to Review the photos while it clears the buffer?

[@balabay77]

I personally prefer Sandisk because I’ve been using them for years but recently I’ve been looking around for uhs-ii cards and was surprised that Sony cards get bad reviews for failing/craping out at photo shoots. What’s your take on it?

[@learningcameras]

I have not had any issues yet and I own 3 and use them daily but I have typically only purchased Sandisk. These UHS-II cards are my first Sony cards

[@danielwoods9663]

Dan, I was going to do this on my own but you saved me the time - Thanks Man!

[@learningcameras]

Haha, awesome!

[@CarlosSalazar-sx8fi]

excellent test!

[@chryseass.5143]

That was really helpful! Thanks - I subbed just on this video alone!

[@learningcameras]

That's what I like to hear!!!

[@chryseass.5143]

I went out and bought two Extreme Pros Class 1 cards ( on sale!) last night after watching this. The camera will be coming on the weekend and I wanted to be ready! You completely demystified the card issue for me and saved me some money, so I do thank you, Dan. I like your straightforward approach. I now know that I can pick up a Class 2 card, at a later date, if I find it necessary.

[@learningcameras]

Awesome! Enjoy the new camera and let me know how it goes. Honestly I own a few UHS-II cards and rarely use them. I would prefer a higher capacity UHS-1 than a lower capacity UHS-II until we get dual class 2 slots

[@Steger13]

What about for vdo in 4 k? Witch is the better one?

[@Morawka1]

You didn't have RAW+JPG on the A7R III in the last test. Notice X-Fine is missing on the screen during the test. That will throw off your results. I would have liked to have seen a test with the UHS II Cards in both slots even tho one slot has a slower reader. Also a test with Raw+Raw on both cards.

[@TausifHussain]

Hey Dan, People are telling me i need the UHS ii card for 4k recording on the a7iii. Is this true? or will i be fine with the uhs i for all 4k and 120 fps 1080 recording.

[@learningcameras]

You do NOT need UHS-II for 4k or 120fps. A high speed UHS-I card like the Sandisk I used here is fine

[@TausifHussain]

You sir are always and consistently the best! Thank you so much for clearing that up and saving me money haha. Although i do wish the a7iii had a higher bit rate 120p for better quality :D

[@learningcameras]

You got it!

[@86thebartender]

Hey Dan great video I can't find anyone with hard numbers on 4k raw video to your recommended sandisk 128gb. will 128gb be big enough for a hybrid 4k shooter like myself on the A7iii? basically how far (time filming) does 128gb get me on 4k video. keep up the amazing work!

[@Rico-ns5dt]

I couldn't imagine shooting that much FoR that long so I think it's great that my camera can handle it if I need it to.

[@desertgecko4549]

The one test you missed, and one which is debated in some circles, is RAW+jpeg on UHS-ii in slot 1 vs. RAW on UHS-ii in slot 1 and jpeg on U3 in slot 2 simultaneously. Which is faster? You showed us RAW in slot 1 vs. RAW in slot 1 with jpeg in slot 2, but you omitted the jpegs in the first part of the comparison, making it invalid (to be clear, you should have recorded RAW+jpeg to slot 1 for a baseline). Otherwise, an excellent, informative video -- thank you.

[@berniepenados2105]

Very helpful video Dan! I am getting my A7III tomorrow and I couldn't be more pumped. coming from a 6D user. I do have one question. I mostly do Landscape, portrait, and travel photography. That being said, would i be able to use 2 UHS I on both slots and be fine? Plan to do a little video here and there. Would love to hear from you, thanks!!

[@learningcameras]

That's awesome! So yes, you can use UHS I or UHS II in either slot as they are backwards compatible so no issues whichever way you go.

[@vero1197]

Hi Dan, thanks a lot, this was very helpful for me! I was looking out for a video test like this one as I'm thinking to move from Canon to Sony. I read lot of bad feedbacks about the Sony cameras buffer speed and this discouraged me quiet a lot.. but this video test proved the contrary ( I feel relieved lol). Does the A7rII performe as the same to A7rIII?

[@learningcameras]

Thanks! So the only time the buffer is ever an issue to me is if you're shooting RAW to both cards since you are limited to the slower UHS-I card slot plus the camera is working a but harder. I honestly don't remember the A7RII performance though

[@IskyIskandar]

great video, thanks :)

[@BlackravenarmouryUk]

Hate to sound the total noob, but I am... very interesting video, but wanted to ask from a non pro perspective ... just got a Sony a7iii and want to get decent cards to use where really speed of buffer etc are never likely to be an issue. Will be using the camera for both Video and Photos. Avoiding the Sony Tough cards as I’ve read a huge amount on them getting slightly stuck. Could you recommend what cards would work well please ??

[@learningcameras]

Check these out then: bhpho.to/2GkFs0r

[@atamanphotography]

As soon as you want shoot video or change some settings you have wait the cam to clear the buffer :/

[@DaveBurbank]

Thanks for the video. A couple comments: You were comparing the buffer clearing speed of the a7 III vs a7R III and were shooting RAW. You said they were about the same speed. It's worth noting the a7R III images are almost twice the size of the a7 III's 24 megapixel images. (Also: What was the purpose of the stopwatch running on the left of the screen?)

[@learningcameras]

The stop watch was so I could figure out how long it took to clear the buffer. When I was editing the video I could look at the time I stopped shooting and when the last photo cleared to see how long the process was. I cut some of this out in the final video you see but I needed those times for myself

[@PhilT993]

Great info. I have an A7III on order. Coming from a Canon 5D3 so I don't own any SD cards yet. This helps me decide what to buy. Thanks

[@learningcameras]

Awesome Philip! Just recording a video going through EVERY menu item as well so stay tuned

[@DarkstarDarth]

I wonder how the A7R2iii will perform😁

[@HowILove]

good use for the hasselblad

[@piranhastudios6125]

Which one is more reliable though? Read a couple of reviews after a month of usage, the sony card crashed and the user couldn't reformat it. Maybe just a lemon but have you heard if that was a common problem? I have used Sandisk forever and never a problem.

[@learningcameras]

You can always buy Sandisk UHS II cards: bhpho.to/2Hd5mmX They are great though a little more expensive and ever so slightly slower write speeds

[@eavesphoto]

WOW! you don't turn the camera off when inserting or removing the SD cards? Thats a sure way to get corrupt files!

[@ThePhotographyHobbyist]

So basically, if you want/need to have backups of your files (shooting simultaneously to each card), it's a waste of money to buy UHS 2 (unless you're only going to write to one card or if you can live with only JPGs written to the UHS 1 slot. Fortunately for me, I rarely ever use continuous shooting mode so UHS 1 cards are all I need ;-)

[@kbruff2010]

Exactly what this video implies ... It's weird isn't. I am using 2 / uhs-1, and I don't shoot raw. I do back up to slot 2. Everything is fine.

[@mm_137]

Thank you 😁👍🏼

[@nerdMike]

Hello, what's the exactly card model? Because you can find different UHS-II: V30, V60 and V90 with different speeds.

[@learningcameras]

Definitely get this one bhpho.to/2GkFs0r for video work, dual card shooting, or to save money OR, Sony has an awesome tough card which is better built bhpho.to/33rfulx . It is also UHS II so better for future proofing as well

[@al00shi]

Card layout for both uhs ii stated 1 uhs 1 and the other uhs 2...

[@ThePandaPhotographer]

Why is the creative profile on -2 contrast -O Sat and -1 sharpness for RAW files? in Raw it doesn't matter.

[@learningcameras]

The creative profile also shows up in video and when I do shoot RAW+JPEG those are the settings I use for JPEG