Best Sony NEX-F3 Memory Card
Two types of memory cards will work with the Sony NEX-F3. SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards can be used plus Sony PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo cards.
There’s is only room for one card to be in the camera at a time. You will need to choose between an SD or PRO Duo card.
PRO Duo memory cards are a proprietary memory format controlled by Sony. Because of that, SD memory cards are more cost-effective and frequently have greater performance than PRO Duo memory cards.
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- 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.
Best SD Cards
SanDisk, Lexar, and PNY are manufacturers that produce the best Memory cards. The best SD cards I have owned have been the SanDisk Extreme Pro memory cards.
You do not need to purchase a card made by SanDisk for your Sony ILCE-NEX-F3. Look for SD cards with cool-sounding names. That will ensure you get fast transfer speeds, shock resistance, and other features.
I have not run into errors with Lexar Professional or PNY Elite Performance cards.
The issues I have encountered with SD cards has been when inexpensive generic brands were used. Not having a brand name increases the chance of card errors or data corruption.
If you would like to spend less, don’t buy a generic card. You will be better off buying a professional-quality card with a smaller capacity.
Recommended SD Cards
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Sony NEX-F3 SD Card Compatibility
SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards can be used with the Sony NEX-F3. Use a SD memory card to get the optimal performance from the NEX-F3.
The most recent SDUC cards will not work with the NEX-F3.
There are four different specs of SD (Secure Digital) cards. New memory specifications add tech that provides for more storage capacity and much faster 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.
SD Card Speed
The speed rating of an SD memory card is based on the sequential write and read speeds. Card continuous write speed is very important for continuous shooting as well as video.
Slows cards can decrease the number of continuous frames the Sony NEX-F3 can take. This is because the camera’s buffer will not be able to write to the SD card quickly enough.
With video, a slow card can cause an unexpected end to recording. The video file might also be corrupted. If you are going to record video, it is important the card you use meets the required minimum continuous write speed for video.
Read speed is nice to have for transferring files to a computer or laptop. If you have cards that are full, a SD card with a fast read speed will save you time.
Speed Class Rating
A SD memory card is given a Class rating based on the continuous transfer rate of the memory card. Class 10 is the best rating, even though cards are made that have a higher transfer rate.
Here you can see a list of the Classes and their 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
Virtually any memory card worth deciding to buy for the Sony NEX-F3 will be a Class 10 memory card. In the time since the camera was released, SD memory cards have gotten a good deal faster.
Ultra High Speed (UHS)
The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus is built into SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC cards. The UHS bus memory cards to achieve increased write speeds.
Three different specs exist. They are UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.
You can determine the UHS rating of a SD card by checking the front of the SD memory card. If the SD card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III will be on the front of the SD 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
Sony NEX-F3 PRO Duo Card Compatibility
One PRO-HG Duo or PRO Duo cards can be used in the Sony NEX-F3. PRO-HG signifies the memory card may have read speeds up to 50MB/s and a 15MB/s minimum write speed.
You will need to hand over more to get a Sony PRO Duo memory card than an equal SD card. Considering the price difference, I will not recommend purchasing a PRO Duo card for use in a NEX-F3.
Image Capacity
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
Related Cameras
At this point you know everything about PRO Duo and SD cards.