Best Memory Cards Sony A7rV

Recommended Memory Cards Sony A7rV

When examining memory cards, the Sony A7rV surpasses previous R series cameras with its impressive memory card interface. One noteworthy improvement is the support for CFexpress Type-A memory cards in addition to UHS-II cards.

Do you need CFexpress Type A memory cards in the Sony A7rV?

Probably not. You will only need CFexpress Type A cards if you record in S&Q modes at the high bitrates. That’s all the CFexpress cards are good for in this camera and don’t waste your money on them if you’re not recording in S&Q slow motion (S&Q is the higher bitrate promotion that includes no sound – great for FX shots but not much else). For all other functions UHS-II V90 cards are more than fast enough, and for photographers not doing a lot of continuous bursting V60 cards are great.

If you’re a landscape photographer you could easily get by with a v60 UHS-II memory card.

Here are some of the best-performing memory cards in each speed class

I have not benchmarked the Sony A7rV yet, but these recommendations are based on other Sony cameras like the Sony A1 or the Sony A7IV. A batch of cards across multiple brands has been acting strange across many brands of cameras and a lot of refreshes are coming in 2023 so I will benchmark the Sony A7rV this summer with updated cards.

Check the Sony A1 memory card recommendations or the Sony A7IV memory card recommendations to see what’s working well with the Sony hardware. While going with all Sony cards is usually a no-brainer for Sony cameras, you can sometimes find better deals and better performances with other brands.

Sony A7rV – Amazon / Adorama / B&H

Memory Card Benchmarks

Testing for each memory card was conducted in-camera, which involved filling the buffer and then evaluating the time it takes to clear it.

To measure USB speeds, a Macbook Pro and a ProGrade reader were utilized with the AJA System Test. However, it’s important to note that these USB speeds may not be replicated on certain computers like the M1 Mac mini or M1 iMac, as they share the USB bus with other components.

For now, I’ve populated the table with Sony A1 benchmarks until I test the A7rV.

Which Memory Cards Can Be Used For Which Settings

The camera will reject memory cards out of spec, it also rejects that old Sony M card that they recalled.

Here are the memory cards that are required for general video recording.

S&Q Memory Card Shooting

Here are the memory cards required for the different S&Q modes.

Note when S&Q Record Frame Rate is set to 30p / 25p / 24p with the Frame Rate set to 60fps / 50fps for slow-motion recording, a CFexpress Type A card is required. This will play back at 30 / 25 / 25 fps at 600Mbps but the camera is actually recording at double the frame rate which is technically double the bitrate, it just reduces the speed down to the Record Frame Rate cutting the bitrate in half during playback as it stretches 60 frames shot into 30fps played back.

This is why S&Q record modes are so important, you get much better quality than standard slow-motion recording modes, and this is why you really only would ever need a CFexpress A card for the Sony A7rV if you need S&Q recording. No other feature of the camera demands these fast bitrates.

These charts are taken from the Sony User Manual.

Best Memory Card Sony A7rV – Some Thoughts

For shooting photography with the Sony A7rV, it’s recommended to use either a v90 or v60 UHS-II memory card. CFxA memory cards are only required for S&Q slow motion recording and not for any other feature of the camera.

In terms of memory card brands, Sony M or Sony G cards are recommended, and the high-performing V90 cards are also worth considering if they’re on sale. For certain video features such as shooting 600Mbps at H.264, v90 cards may be necessary, but if you’re using the high bitrate video settings or shooting H.265 which has a max bitrate of 400Mbps, then only V60 memory cards are required.

To avoid counterfeit memory cards, always test any new card to ensure that it’s genuine and not equipped with a hacked memory card controller. If it’s authentic, you should get close to the card’s rated memory capacity, and it’s recommended to buy from reputable retailers like B&H or Adorama.