The Best Memory Cards for the Sony A700

The biggest Compact Flash card that is fully compatible with the Sony A700 is 32GB. There will likely be compatiblity issues if you use a bigger card.

The size limit comes from the camera using the FAT32 file system. The A700 can not format a card to larger than 32GB.

If you are in a hurry, my recommended CF card is:

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SanDisk Extreme 32GB CF Memory Card
SanDisk Extreme 32GB CF card
SanDisk Extreme 32GB CF Card
  • Read speeds up to 120MB/s.
  • Write speeds up to 85MB/s.
  • Water, x-ray, & shock proof.

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The best value Compact Flash memory card is going to be either 32GB or 16GB. Smaller or larger cards are going to offer a worse value.

A pro card doesn’t add a large amount to the cost. Having a fast card will remove the need to replace the card with a camera upgrade.

SanDisk Extreme 32GB CF Memory Card
SanDisk Extreme 32GB CF card
SanDisk Extreme 32GB Compact Flash Card
  • Read speeds up to 120MB/s.
  • Write speeds up to 85MB/s.
  • Sustained data recording of 20MB/s.
  • Water, x-ray, & shockproof.

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Transcend 32gb CF Card
Transcend 32GB CF Card
Transcend 32GB Compact Flash Card
  • Fast enough write speeds for burst photography and video.
  • Upto 60MB/s write and 120MB/s red speeds.
  • Supports UDMA7 transfer mode.

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Lexar Professional 1066x 32GB Compact Flash Card
Lexar Professional 1066x 32GB Compact Flash Card
Lexar Professional 1066x 32GB CompactFlash Card
  • Transfer speeds up to 160MB/s.
  • Video Performance Guarantee sepc VPG 65.
  • Limited lifetime warranty.

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SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB CompactFlash Card
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB CompactFlash Card
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB CompactFlash Card
  • Transfer speeds up to 160MB/s.
  • Can record 4k Ultra HD and Full HD video.
  • Video Performance Guarantee sepc VPG 65.
  • Limited lifetime warranty.

See current price and more information on:

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CF Memory cards come in two sizes. The cards are known as Type I or Type II.

The difference between the types is how thick the cards are. The length and width of the cards are identical.

  • Type I - 3.3mm thick
  • Type II - 5mm thick

The Type II spec were thicker so Microdrives could be used in the Sony A700. A Microdrive was a little mechanical harddrive, the size of a CF card.

When CF memory cards were first introduced they had high prices and limited storage capacities. Microdrives made it possible to have large amounts of storage.

Microdrives are no longer produced. Due to their mechanical nature, they often failed. So you cannot find them used.

SD to Compact Flash card adapters also take advantage of Type II slots. The adapters allow you to use SD or Micro SD cards in a CF slot.

UGreen Memory Card Reader
UGreen Memory Card Reader

The UGREEN 4-in-1 card reader is what I use with my CF cards.

The UGREEN card reader is USB 3.0 compatible. Transfer speeds over USB 3.0 will be quicker than the Sony A700.

The card reader also supports these memory card types:

  • CompactFlash Cards
  • SD, SDHC, & SDXC Cards
  • Memory Stick (MS), MS Pro, MS PRO-HG, & MS XC DUO
  • MicroSD, Micro SDHC, & Micro SDXC Cards

A frequent errors with cameras that use CF memory cards are damaged card slot pins. When a pin is bent, you could see a ‘unable to use card’ error.

To avoid bending pins, do not force a CF card into the Sony A700. The extra space for a Type II card allows a Compact Flash card to be aligned incorrectly.

If the compact flash card won’t effortlessly slide into the camera slot, remove it and check the positioning of the card. Also, check to see if there is any damage to the card or slot.

If it looks good, carefully align the CF card and make another attempt.