The Best Value Sony A7II SD Memory Cards

The Sony A7II can use SD and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo memory cards. Only one type can be used at a time.

I recommend SD cards as they are cheaper and faster.

The best quality AVCHD has a bitrate of 28Mbps. Any SD card that has a V30 or U3 rating will be fast enough. Paying more for “the best” will not be noticeable.

PRO Duo cards are a proprietary format created by Sony. They are now discontinued and more expensive than SD cards.

Sony A7II SD Card Compatibility

SDUC memory cards can’t be used in the A7II. Their capacity is too large. Trying to use one will cause an error.

2TB is the largest card can be used in the A7II.

• 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 speeds advertised on memory cards are peak transfer speeds.

What matters are continuous write speeds. They need to be fast enough to write video or clear an image buffer.

A slow card can cause video recording to stop. Or you’ll have to wait a long time to be able to shoot another burst.

Speed ratings of an SD memory card is dependent on the sequential write and read speeds. Memory card write speed is important for video in addition to continuous shooting.

Detailed SD Card Association explanation.

Speed Class Rating

A SD memory card is assigned a Class rating based on the continuous data write speed of the card. Class 10 is the highest rating, even though cards exist that are considerably faster.

Here are all of the Class ratings and the 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

Practically every SD card worth choosing for the Sony A7II will be a Class 10 memory card. In the time since the camera was released, SD cards have gotten a good deal faster.

Ultra High Speed (UHS)

The Ultra High Speed (UHS) bus comes in SDUC, SDXC, and SDHC cards. The UHS bus memory cards to have increased read and write speeds.

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

Look at the label to figure out the UHS rating of a SD memory card. If the card has UHS, a Roman numeral I, II, or III can be found on the front of the 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

Sony A7II PRO Duo Card Compatibility

The Sony A7II may use a single PRO Duo or PRO-HG Duo memory cards. PRO-HG signifies the memory card may have read speeds up to 50MB/s and a 15MB/s minimum write speed.

PRO Duo memory cards are often more expensive than an SD card. Considering the price difference, I will not recommend purchasing a PRO Duo card for use in a A7II.

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

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Recommended SD Cards

SanDisk Ultra 64GB SD Card

• 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

• 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

• 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.