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Best Sony NEX-7 Memory Card

     1167 words  6 minutes 
Avoid problems or reduced performance in your Sony NEX-7 by choosing the best memory card. You can choose between SD and PRO Duo, but one is more expensive.

The Sony NEX-7 is able to use two different kinds of memory cards. Sony PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo are compatible with as well as SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards.

You’ll find is only space for one memory card to be used at a time. You’ll have to make a choice between a PRO Duo or SD card.

PRO Duo memory cards are a proprietary memory format held by Sony. SD cards have had a wider adoption that PRO Duo cards because SD cards are substantially faster as well as less expensive.

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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 manufacturers that make the best SD cards. The best memory cards I have owned have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards.

That does not mean you need to purchase a card from SanDisk for your Sony ILCE-NEX-7. Look for cards with impressive names. That will make sure you get fast transfer rates, water resistance, and other professional features.

I have not had errors with PNY Elite Performance or Lexar Professional SD cards.

When I have had problems with memory cards has been when I have used inexpensive no name brands. A low cost card increases the possibility of card errors or data corruption.

If you are looking to save money, don’t buy a generic card. You will avoid problems by buying a professional-quality card with a smaller storage capacity.

Affiliate Advertising Disclosure

Outside the Shot is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase. I also participate in affiliate advertising programs with KEH and Adorama. More can be found on the Affiliate Discolsure page.

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.

SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards can be used by the Sony NEX-7. If you want the optimal performance, use a card.

The latest SDUC memory cards are not compatible with the NEX-7.

Currently, there are four specs of Secure Digital (SD) cards. New card specs add more tech that allows for more memory capacity as well as much faster read/write 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.

The speed rating of an SD card is dependant on the sequential read and write speeds. Card speed is important for continuous shooting and video.

Slows cards can cause a reduction in the number of continuous photos the Sony NEX-7 can capture. This is because the camera’s buffer is not able to write to the SD card fast enough.

With video, a slow SD card can cause recording to end. The video file might also be corrupted. If you are going to capture video, it is critical the card you use meets the required continuous 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 SD card with a fast read speed will cut down on the amount of time it takes the transfer to complete.

SD Card Speed Class
SD Card Speed Class

A SD card gets a Class rating based on the continuous data write speed of the card. Class 10 is the top rating, even though SD cards are available that have a higher read/write speed.

Here are all of the Class ratings and applicable 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

Virtually any memory card worth owning for the Sony NEX-7 will be a Class 10 SD card. In the time period since the announcement of the camera, Memory cards have gotten so much faster.

UHS-I Rating
UHS Rating

The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is available in SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. UHS memory cards to achieve faster read and write speeds.

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

You can figure out the UHS rating of a memory card by checking the front of the SD card. If there is aRoman numeral I, II, or III on the label, that is the UHS rating of your 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 NEX-7 is able to use a PRO-HG Duo or PRO Duo memory cards. What PRO-HG signifies is that the memory card has a minimum read speed of 50mb/s and a 15mb/s minimum write speed.

You have to pay more money to purchase a Sony PRO Duo memory card than a comparable SD memory card. I would not recommend purchasing a PRO Duo memory card to use with a NEX-7 because of the increase in cost.

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

At this time you understand pretty much everything about SD and PRO Duo memory cards.

Updated on 2022-10-11
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