The SIMPLE Sony a7R V Memory Card Guide: 5 Things You Need to Know

[@Photography_by_Huggins]

I am ordering my A7RV next week and I have been searching high and low for a video with this information, thank you so much, this came up as a recommended video today.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem David, congrats on the purchase!

[@Photography_by_Huggins]

@@andrewsaraceni Thank you! Upgrading from my extremally reliable and much loved Sony a6100.

[@PLay-or2sb]

Are you loving your A7RV? How was it coming from the a6100? I've my a6000 for about 7 years and just bought my A7RV yesterday. I haven't even taken it out of the box yet. I'm watching as many videos as I can before I dive into it.

[@Photography_by_Huggins]

@@PLay-or2sb I am in love with it, I have only picked up 3 lenses so far. 24-70 Sigma f2.8, 70-200 Gmaster mark 2 f2.8 and Sigma 85mm 1.4 I have zero complaints other then its not the best in l ow light, but that is to be expected with a high MP camera. If you get Topaz AI it will fix any noise issues.

[@grayanderson9800]

THE BEST AND MOST SIMPLE VIDEO ANSWERING ALL THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS! HELL YEAH!

[@andrewsaraceni]

haha Thanks Gray, I appreciate it!

[@hANBinhanbin]

Very informative and helpful. Thanks!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it helped!

[@jrodriguez1844]

This is the perfect concise guide on cards for the a7R V! Thank You!!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Joe, glad to hear you like it!

[@filmreiter]

that information I need - thank a lot!!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@luisfaustino]

Great video as usual Andrew, so informative.

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Luis, I appreciate that!

[@gaiijin37]

Absolutely awesome analysis. Thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad you found it helpful!

[@arielgharsi]

Literally exactly what I was looking for online but couldn’t find, thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Ari, glad you found it helpful!

[@josueclermont8070]

Fantastic. I appreciate the work you put into doing this

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Josue!

[@josueclermont8070]

@@andrewsaraceni You're welcome. I'm contemplating getting the A7RV as we speak.

[@Pk_flims]

Nice and thanks for information

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Prasiddha!

[@LMActionsports]

Wow this video has really helped me out with the decision of upgrading to the new R5. I already own the a7riv and a7iv. And for the a7iv i bought one cfexpress 80gb crd and cringed when I paid almost $200 for 80 gigs. I use mostly lexar V60 cards in my Sony A7iv and a7riv with no issues. But on the a7riv it is so laggy when turning on and the buffer speed is sloooowwww. But if i trade in my r4 fot the r5 I was wondering if I needed to buy the CF Xpress cards just to get Pete performance out of the camera. Because I don’t want to spend $700 on two 160gb cfexpress cards if I don’t have to. I have been dabbling in to the videography side and I will probably never use 8K but 4K60 I definitely will be using. So I will just upgrade to the R5 and grab a few V90 cards and I will be good. your video definitely help me in this decision. Thank you so much

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, sounds like you have a solid plan!

[@LMActionsports]

@@andrewsaraceni oh yes I do have a plan. I already have 20 lexar uhs-ii v60 cards and 2 v90 cards for my a7iv for video. I will just grab a few sony v90 cards and just use them with the r5 and I should be set

[@drashutoshshrivastava771]

Really crystal clear video...that i was looking for..thanks

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it helped Ashutosh!

[@AshishPatel-wz4pm]

Excellent video..!! Finally got to know what different SD cards (V30 V60 V90) can do, and cannot do..! Thanks ..!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Ashish!

[@quentinskitchen]

Thanks a lot for gathering all this info, it is immensely useful. I have been trying to find out which SD card I would need to buy if I decide to buy a Sony a7r5 and it has been very difficult to find this kind of information. Cheers mate!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Quentin, glad to hear this helped you!

[@RS-vu5um]

Excellent video on guiding the right card for Sony 7RV

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@RickAtlanta]

Very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Rick!

[@john-bloss]

Very useful info. Thanks Andrew.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad you found it useful!

[@leanderhoefler]

Thank you for the great video, gave me everything I needed to know!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Leander, glad to hear it helped!

[@Keenonhang]

Great. Very useful and informative video. I just ordered my A7RV yesterday : )

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks, and congrats on the purchase!

[@Keenonhang]

Which codec do you usually shoot in when shooting in 4K, 24p? Which would you recommend?@@andrewsaraceni

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@Keenonhang XAVC S usually, it's a great all around codec. XAVC HS is also good if your laptop/setup can handle it.

[@truebro77]

genuinely useful this!

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks, glad you found it useful!

[@rajdattaranade4116]

Excellent informative video Andrew! Helped me decide which cards to buy with confidence.

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Rajdatta, glad to hear it helped you!

[@anastasiaduchess]

thank you!!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@richardterrell5309]

Very, very helpful, thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Richard!

[@johnnygfitness]

Love your channel! 🎉

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Johnny, I appreciate it!

[@JohnScaneArt]

Great information, thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, John!

[@ssdigitalssuresh9697]

Really sir...gain more knowledge from your videos...

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Suresh, I appreciate it!

[@DNICTimor-LesteTV]

thanks brother for information from timor leste

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@patrickkelley438]

Good info, thanks.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Patrick!

[@hecjvaldez]

Please include the video+proxy settings. This almost always change the required card

[@andrewsaraceni]

So long as you're leaning towards the better V60/V90 UHS-II cards or CF-Express Type A, you should be fine.

[@hecjvaldez]

@@andrewsaraceni great!! thanks a lot for the replay

[@veselinvasilev9362]

Thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@90den90]

Thanks for awesome informative video.. I had a question if you allow me I just bought a7rv and i will go to shoot safari (wild life) According to reading and righting speed by megabits/sec Whats your advice which speed nomber i buy?

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem! I would go for a V60 or V90 SD card, personally - I use V90 cards for mine. The difference is the amount of MB/s that they write, e.g. V30 is 30MB/s, V60 is 60MB/s, etc.

[@kumar0209]

Hey brother, Could you please tell me what's the buffer size of a7r5 if you use V30 UHS1 SD card shooting Uncompressed RAW at 7fps... thanks

[@andrewsaraceni]

I don't think Sony publishes the buffer size numbers/tests for uncompressed RAWs. It handles around 1000 JPGs and 550-580 RAWs (lossless compressed or compressed), so figure maybe half of that given the doubling of file size/image data.

[@kevinschneider5285]

@andrewsaraceni I have a quick travel-related question. is it possible to shoot on a faster SD and, e.g. in the evenings, insert a slower but larger SD to copy the files *in camera* and clear the main SD for the next day? i am trying to travel without a laptop and I am a bit unsure what to do as devices to laptop-free transfer files from an cfexpress type a do not seem to exist ...?

[@andrewsaraceni]

I don't think there's anything that supports in-camera copying, but there may be some third-party devices/options that support that kind of workflow. Truthfully, I think your best bet is to still go with some kind of laptop.

[@twistedjiji]

Quick question: Is there a way to switch between memory cards while in the Playback mode/view? Or do I have to go into Menu and switch to Slot 2 manually?

[@andrewsaraceni]

I think you still have to set that in the menu (i.e. Playback Target > Select Playback Media).

[@changkwonlee6174]

you are awesome, thanks for the info. but, one question, i see that there is 8K 200 and 400, so a V60 card does support both of them?

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem! Yes, V60 cards should support both.

[@zany1616]

So none of my uhs 1 cards will work?

[@andrewsaraceni]

No, they'll likely still work - you just won't be able to use certain resolutions, frame rates, codecs, etc. unless you get higher spec cards.

[@harbinger26]

This would have saved me a lot of dough given that I ended up with iridium cfexpress type a cards that cost like $700 or something. Oops. At least I’m future proof (unless Sony switches card types in the next generation or so). What do you think might happen there?

[@andrewsaraceni]

I think Sony will be sticking with CF Express Type A in their Alpha bodies for some time, and especially now with even more manufacturers making cards, readers, etc.

[@harbinger26]

@@andrewsaraceni I hope so. Someone told me that Cfexpress type B are the only cards fast enough to do uncropped 8k which would come to the A1ii (or whatever, for example) with stacked/global shutter. I don't know if this is true given that CfExpress type A cards (iridium for example) have sustained write of like 800mb/s or something. That seems fast enough for even 12k if I had to guess (but this is more your department with the data sheet with write speed, etc)

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@harbinger26 Yeah it'll depend on a few factors, but Sony's 8K video support for the a1, a7R V will work with V60 SD cards even today. And considering cards like ProGrade's CF Express Type A 4.0 cards support up to 1450MB/s sustained write speeds, certainly in the realm of cameras shooting 8K, it should be a safe bet to stick with.

[@AnhNguyen-iq7fs]

Thank for such an informative video. I have a quick question. Is V30 Class SD card acceptable for all photo formats if Sony 7R V is primarily used for photography? Any drawback?

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Anh! Yes, you can shoot in all of the photo compression types, resolutions, etc. with a V30 card, and a portion of the video formats. Buffer speed might be slightly impacted for photo, but that's really about it.

[@jose17880]

Andrew l need you help please I just got the 7R5 is the ok if I can used the sandisk Extreme pro V90 128GB do think I'm ok with this one appreciate for you advice

[@andrewsaraceni]

Yes, that card should work fine and give you equivalent options to the V90 ProGrade cards.

[@seek3n]

I have a v30 but it can write upto 140mbps. Would it still not work?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Yeah, the same rules/limitations mentioned would still apply for V30 cards.

[@seangaffney581]

What card would you recommend if you're only doing time lapse and photos ? Im planning a 12 day trip and wondering how many cards I'll need

[@andrewsaraceni]

A V60 card (e.g. ProGrade) would certainly be enough for that, and still get you a majority of options if you wanted to shoot video. Definitely lean on 128GB or more for size.

[@NetvoTV]

Does log affect file size? Can phone grade log easily with few adjustments? Is it worth to shoot log video if you just want to record life here and there or is there a way to get food and better than phone camera with SOOC quality?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Log does not affect file size - it really depends on the resolution, frame rate and codec, at least with most of Sony's Alpha mirrorless bodies. For simple videos, I'd probably stick to S-Cinetone or Movie gamma (i.e. PP Off), and work your way up to shooting log comfortably, as it takes some time to learn to expose and grade properly.

[@NetvoTV]

I see, oh yeah S-Cine tone, I forgot about it just now, but why Apple iPhone new Log shooting mode produce very much larger file size? Or is it not because of the log but in addition to the log, it also record at higher bit rate? If that's the case, Sony Xperia 1 V record at high bitrate compare to standard iPhone video codec but still isn't log, why it record at higher bitrate and do we able to pull detail from the often blowout sky and the shadow too on the Sony Xperia 1 V? Do we able to make the video from A7RV straight out of the camera give natural HDR look that doesn't blown out the sky without need to go through the log and post processing?

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@NetvoTV I think the iPhone 15 log modes record in ProRes, which are larger codecs/file sizes. The a7R V can shoot in HDR (e.g. HLG, HLG3), but you'd also have to do some work to grade that.

[@Samuelmensah777]

❤️📸👏🏾

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks!

[@marcosarg1]

Do you think for strictly pictures, v30 or v60 will be fine?

[@andrewsaraceni]

For pictures only, V30 would be fine. You would notice a speed increase with a V60 or V90 though, if that's important to you.

[@PhilT993]

@@andrewsaraceni Yes, but wouldn't be true only if you fill the buffer and are waiting for the shots to empty onto the card to make more space in the buffer? Thanks. I can't imagine filling that buffer unless you are accidentally sitting on the shutter button 🙂

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@PhilT993 Right, that speed difference really only comes into play with hitting/clearing the buffer. It should be rare that someone's shooting that many burst stills at once to notice it, but I can't assume I know what folks are doing with their cameras. 😉

[@PhilT993]

@@andrewsaraceni Fair enough. Thanks, Andrew

[@marcosarg1]

@@andrewsaraceni Thank you so much!

[@SayedSafwan]

I am a beginner and i am considering this card, (Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card) at about 300 dollars.should i go with it?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Watch the video and see what my recommendation is. 😉

[@SayedSafwan]

@@andrewsaraceni

[@MR-si2cd]

Thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!