After physically testing the popular memory cards in the Sony A7IV, I’ve come up with some key features you need to know, then I’ll get into the in-camera buffer tests and recommendations.
Recommended Memory Cards Sony A7IV
The Sony A7IV features dual memory card slots that take UHS-II v90 cards or CFexpress Type A cards.
Do you need CFexpress Type A memory cards in the Sony A7IV?
No. But they allow for a nearly limitless buffer when shooting compressed RAW at 10fps or at 5fps with the lossless compressed mode.
Unlike the Sony A7sIII and Sony A1, you don’t need CFexpress Type A memory cards when shooting S&Q XAVC S-I slow-motion footage in the Sony A7IV, but you will need a v90 UHS-II memory card.
The CFxA and UHS-II cards are getting pretty close to the same price now, so just go for the CFxA cards if they are a better deal.
This chart shows the best memory cards for the Sony A7IV and how they perform in the camera.
Here is how you can expect each type of memory card to perform
- CFxA Cards – The CFxA cards are the fastest memory cards for the Sony A7IV topping out with speeds of 326 MB/s with the ProGrade 160GB card. These cards aren’t necessary for the Sony A7IV but if you want a nearly bottomless buffer, the CFexpress Type A cards are great and you can transfer data very quickly to an external SSD with a CFexpress Type A reader.
- UHS-II V90 Cards – Best SD cards for most people with the Sony A7IV because these cards will allow you to take advantage of all the frame rates and all the video modes of the camera. The fastest card I tested here came in at 222 MB/s which was from the Sony G Tough v90 64GB model.
- UHS-II V60 Cards – Best for casual video shooters and photographers who want a lot more data at a lower cost, but you will be limited with some recording formats which I list further down in this article. These are the best budget-friendly cards for casual photographers. The fastest card tested among the v60 cards came in at 174 MB/s. This was the Lexar 1800x V60 card.
Recommended For Sony | Rated Sustained | USB Write | USB Read | Tested Sustain | Check Stores | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CFExpress Type-A | CFx-A | ||||||
Sony G Tough 80/160/320/640GB | CFx-A | 400 | 658 | 847 | 276 | Check Price | |
Lexar Gold Series 80/160GB/320GB | CFx-A | 400 | 825 | 886 | 817 | Check Price | |
Lexar Silver Series 160/320GB | CFx-A | 200 | 776 | 861 | 687 | Check Price | |
Delkin Black 80GB | CFx-A | 400 | 639 | 852 | 134 | Check Price | |
ProGrade 160GB | CFx-A | 400 | 691 | 845 | 148 | Check Price | |
SD UHS-II V90 | UHS-II | ||||||
Sandisk Extreme Pro V90 32-512GB | UHS-II | 90 | 268 | 293 | 90 | Check Price | |
Lexar 2000x V90 32-256GB | UHS-II | 90 | 228 | 256 | 90 | Check Price | |
Sony G Tough v90 32-256GB | UHS-II | 90 | 258 | 296 | 90 | Check Price | |
Delkin Black v90 64/128/256GB | UHS-II | 90 | 253 | 278 | 90 | Check Price | |
Kingston Canvas React V90 32-256GB | UHS-II | 90 | 274 | 292 | 90 | Check Price |
*In-camera speeds are how fast the cards perform when tested in-camera.
Also, check out my Top 7 Accessories For The Sony A7IV
Sony A7IV Memory Card Speed & Buffer Tests
Here are two charts where I test each memory card in the Sony A7IV.
Use this chart in addition to the recommendations above to get a general idea of the speed of various cards or as an A7IV memory card compatibility guide. Some cards from some brands don’t always work as well as others.
Chart Testing CFexpress Type A Cards
We seem to bottleneck at around 325MB/s on this camera. So if you’re using CFxA cards, it won’t really matter which brand you go with for this camera. These cards perform well beyond what the camera is capable of doing.
Chart Testing UHS-II SD Cards
To find more information like the USB read and write speeds of the SD cards, check out the SD Card Benchmarks, or if you want specific USB read and write speeds for the CFexpress Type A cards, also check out the CFexpress Type A Benchmarks. I keep these updated with all the latest cards.
Sony A7IV Cameras Specs
Sensor: 33MP Full-Frame, Exmor R BSI CMOS Processor: BIONZ XR Image Processor Memory Card Slots: 2 UHS-II / 1 CFe A Continuous Shoot: 10fps Compressed RAW Continuous Shoot: 5fps Lossless Compressed RAW Est. Buffer Size: 1GB RAW Shots To Fill Buffer: 65 shots Sony G Tough UHS-II, pretty much unlimited CFxA – Compressed RAW Max Memory Card Capacity: Unlimited Size 4k Datarate: H.265 200Mbps XAVC HS (25MB/s) / H.264 600Mbps XAVC S-I (75MB/s) |
Understanding Read/Write Speeds For A7IV Video Recording
Sony cameras will reject memory cards out of spec, it also rejects the old Sony M card that they recalled.
Sony cameras have many different movie recording options, here is a chart that shows the different bitrates of these recording options and the Supported memory cards.
S&Q Memory Card Shooting
Here are the memory cards required for the different S&Q modes.
These charts are taken from the Sony Help Guide.
Sony A7IV Video Record Time
Here is a handy chart on record times in minutes based on the different record formats, you’ll need to check this chart to determine what size memory card is best for you.
On most Sony cameras today, you have the option to record at a higher bitrate or a lower bitrate.
You can also use my camera record time calculator to customize your results.
Format | Bitrate | Frame Rate | 64GB | 128GB | 256GB |
XAVC S-I 4k | 600Mbps | 120, 60, 30, 24 | 14min | 28min | 57min |
XAVC S-I HD | 222Mbps | 120, 60, 30, 24 | 38min | 77min | 154min |
XAVC HS 4k, XAVC S 4k | 200 Mbps | 120, 60, 30, 24 | 43min | 85min | 171min |
XAVC S HD, XAVC | 100 Mbps | 120, 60, 30, 24 | 85min | 171min | 341min |
One last thing, when buying a new card always be sure to fill the card to check that it doesn’t have a hacked memory card controller and that the card is authentic. You should get close to the rated capacity of memory listed on the card if it is genuine, or buy from trusted stores like B&H or Adorama.
**This website contains affiliate links. We will earn a small commission on purchases made through these links. Some of the links used in these articles will direct you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. |