Best Memory Cards Panasonic G9 | A Speed Comparison

The Panasonic G9 is packed with some incredible performance specs, a 20.3 megapixel sensor that can shoot at 60fps of continuous shooting and even is capable of a 80MP high res shoot mode. However, if you want to get the most out of all these features, it’s very important to buy the best and fastest memory card you can. To eliminate the guess-work, we’ve tested all the most popular memory cards in the Panasonic G9 to find which cards work best, and which memory cards are the fastest. 

Use this guide to find the fastest memory cards for your Panasonic G9.

 Panasonic G9 Specs

Sensor: 20.3MP Digital Live MOS Sensor
Processor: Venus Engine Image Processor
Est. Buffer Size: 1.6GB 
Memory Card Compatibility: UHS-I / UHS-II
Time To Clear Buffer: 13:09 (Sony G UHS-II)
Shots To Fill Buffer RAW: 97 (Sony G UHS-II)

Panasonic Lumix G9 – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto

Panasonic G9 | The Speed Test

We tested each card using the G9 shooting in RAW mode at ISO 100. All extra settings were turned off.

Like with the Panasonic GH5 and GH5s, UHS-I memory cards ran at disappointing speeds. You really need to buy UHS-II cards to unlock the full potential of the G9. But it’s not that simple as we found Lexar UHS-II cards failed to provide UHS-II rated memory card speeds so you will need to choose your brand carefully depending on what you want to use the camera for.

Use the chart below to see which cards are best for your needs.

Panasonic G9 Best Memory Cards

Like with previous generation Sony cameras, Panasonic cards have always been finicky with memory cards. Some cards like Lexar UHS-II cards just don’t work well while regular UHS-I memory cards have very slow buffers that bottleneck at around 30MB/s. The good news is the next generation of Panasonic cameras will likely upgrade the buffer speeds to stay competitive with the competition. In the mean time UHS-II are the way to go with buffer speeds capping out at around 100MB/s. That’s really not too bad and totally fine for 4k video.

Panasonic G9 Top 3 Recommended Memory Cards

The Panasonic G9 has two memory card slots that both support UHS-II memory cards. This will allow you to maintain great speeds while still recording backup to a second card.

We recommend using UHS-II cards in order to keep the camera running quick and to keep from waiting on that buffer.

Sony G UHS-II 64GB

Sony released some very fast UHS-II memory cards in early 2017 and branded them as G cards. They are some of the fastest UHS-II memory cards and actually perform the best in the Panasonic G9. Now that Lexar cards are gone, the Sony G9 is the best option, especially since Sandisk UHS-II cards did not perform as well in the G9.

– Amazon

Toshiba UHS-II 64GB

Toshiba UHS-II memory cards are great. They always perform very well and are always at the top of the charts. The only problem is they are usually released in limited numbers so they can be hard to find. When they are available they are usually one of the best bangs for the buck. We recommend them for the Panasonic G9.

– Amazon

Delkin V90 64GB

Delkin makes a very nice UHS-II memory card. Their V90 is very fast and reliable. It’s a great option for the Panasonic G9 and even outperforms the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-II memory cards in-camera. I personally use these cards regularly in my UHS-II cameras and have had no problems over the years.

– Amazon

Other Cards To Consider / Cards To Avoid

There are a few new brands out there that are making UHS-II memory cards like Hoodman Steel, Adata and even Fujifilm and they are all are great options if you can find them at a less expensive price. But the one card brand to avoid for this camera is Lexar. They just don’t perform well and I do not recommend them. 

Finding The Best SD Memory Cards Panasonic G9

The best place to buy memory cards is from a trusted retailer. If you buy of Amazon, make sure you buy from the manufacturer when you can. Adorama and BHphoto are also great. Never buy memory cards of Ebay.

Best Memory Card 4k Video Panasonic G9

4k Video is limited to 150mbps and you’ll find that any of the top performing memory cards will work fine. Even UHS-I memory cards will work for video, but you should be use U3 cards to make sure you always get consistent minimum write speeds.

UHS-II vs. UHS-I Memory Cards In The Panasonic G9

Can you use UHS-I memory cards if you’re just using it as a backup?

Since the Panasonic G9 takes UHS-II memory cards in both slots, We recommend using dual UHS-II memory cards. However, if you’re just shooting JPEG backups to card slot 2, then you will be able to get away with a UHS-I card.

Remember that when shooting with a dual memory card configuration, you’re buffer speeds will be limited to the slowest card, unless you’re writing smaller files such as JPEG to that card.

Best Memory Cards Panasonic G9 | Bottom Line

Because of the slow performance of the UHS-I memory cards, we recommend you stick with UHS-II cards for the Panasonic G9. Because of the super fast burst speed and the high megapixel shoot modes, you’ll want the best performance out of your memory cards as possible to get the most out of your camera. 

Sony G UHS-II cards are going to be the easiest to find and all around is one of the best cards you can buy for this camera. However, Delkin V90 and Toshiba cards can sometimes be found at a better price and are also very fast. Fujifilm, Adata and Transcend also performed very well in-camera and are also recommended.