• Blog
  • Calculators
    • DoF Calculator | Lens Equivalent
    • Camera Bitrate Converter | Record Time Calculator
    • Diffraction Calculator
  • Memory Cards
    • Memory Cards (all cameras)
    • Memory Cards For Canon
    • Memory Cards For GoPro
  • Accessories
    • Canon
      • Canon R5
      • Canon EOS R
      • Canon RP
      • Canon M50 Accessories
      • Canon T7i / T6 / T6i / T6s
      • Canon SL3 / 250D
      • Canon M6 II
      • Canon M5
      • Canon G1X III
      • Canon G7X III
    • Nikon
      • Nikon Z6 / Z7
      • Nikon Z50
    • Fujifilm
      • Fujifilm X-T4
      • Fujifilm X-S10
      • Fujifilm X-T3
      • Fujifilm X-Pro3
      • Fujifilm X-H1
      • Fujifilm X-T200
      • Fujifilm X100V Accessories
      • Fujifilm X100F Accessories
      • Fujifilm XT30 & XT20
      • Fujifilm X-E3 | X-E2 | X-E2s
    • Panasonic
      • Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
      • Panasonic LX100 II
    • Ricoh
      • Ricoh GR III
    • Sigma
      • Sigma fp
    • Sony
      • Sony A7sIII
      • Sony A7rIV / A9II
      • Sony A9
      • Sony A7 III, A7r III
      • Sony A6600 Accessories
      • Sony A6000 Accessories
      • Sony A6100 Accessories
      • Sony RX1R II
      • Sony RX10 IV / RX10 III
      • Sony RX100 IV / RX100 V
    • Drones
      • Mavic 2 Pro
    • Camera Cleaning Gear
  • Lenses
    • Canon RF Lens List
    • Fujifilm XF Lens List
    • Fujifilm G Lens List
    • Leica M Lens List
    • Micro Four Thirds Lens List
    • Nikon Z Lens List
    • Sony FF E Lens List
    • Sony APS-C E Lens List
  • Store
Follow Me
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
Alik Griffin
Alik Griffin
  • Blog
  • Calculators
    • DoF Calculator | Lens Equivalent
    • Camera Bitrate Converter | Record Time Calculator
    • Diffraction Calculator
  • Memory Cards
    • Memory Cards (all cameras)
    • Memory Cards For Canon
    • Memory Cards For GoPro
  • Accessories
    • Canon
      • Canon R5
      • Canon EOS R
      • Canon RP
      • Canon M50 Accessories
      • Canon T7i / T6 / T6i / T6s
      • Canon SL3 / 250D
      • Canon M6 II
      • Canon M5
      • Canon G1X III
      • Canon G7X III
    • Nikon
      • Nikon Z6 / Z7
      • Nikon Z50
    • Fujifilm
      • Fujifilm X-T4
      • Fujifilm X-S10
      • Fujifilm X-T3
      • Fujifilm X-Pro3
      • Fujifilm X-H1
      • Fujifilm X-T200
      • Fujifilm X100V Accessories
      • Fujifilm X100F Accessories
      • Fujifilm XT30 & XT20
      • Fujifilm X-E3 | X-E2 | X-E2s
    • Panasonic
      • Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
      • Panasonic LX100 II
    • Ricoh
      • Ricoh GR III
    • Sigma
      • Sigma fp
    • Sony
      • Sony A7sIII
      • Sony A7rIV / A9II
      • Sony A9
      • Sony A7 III, A7r III
      • Sony A6600 Accessories
      • Sony A6000 Accessories
      • Sony A6100 Accessories
      • Sony RX1R II
      • Sony RX10 IV / RX10 III
      • Sony RX100 IV / RX100 V
    • Drones
      • Mavic 2 Pro
    • Camera Cleaning Gear
  • Lenses
    • Canon RF Lens List
    • Fujifilm XF Lens List
    • Fujifilm G Lens List
    • Leica M Lens List
    • Micro Four Thirds Lens List
    • Nikon Z Lens List
    • Sony FF E Lens List
    • Sony APS-C E Lens List
  • Store
  • Memory Cards

Memory Card Benchmarks | Sony RX100 VII

  • November 24, 2019
  • Alik

Best Memory Cards Sony RX100 VII

A complete list of memory card speeds and their in-camera performance as well as some great recommendations for video.

Use this guide to find the best memory cards for video or stills with the Sony RX100 VII.

 

Camera Specs

Sensor: 20.1MP 1″ Exmor RS BSI CMOS Sensor
Processor: BIONZ X Image Processor
Memory Cards: Single Slot UHS-I
Continuous Burst: 20 fps, up to 90fps
Video: 4k24p / 4k25p / 4k30p 100Mbps
Buffer Size: 2GB
Shots To Fill Buffer: 109 ( Sandisk Extreme Pro 170 )
Time To Clear Buffer: 50-52 seconds average

Sony RX100 VII – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto

 

Table Of Contents

  • Best Memory Cards Sony RX100VII
    • Quick Memory Card Recommendation List
    • In-Camera SD Card Benchmarks | Sony RX100 VII
  • Top 5 Recommended Cards
    • Sandisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s
    • Sony Professional U3
    • Lexar 1000x
    • Delkin Advantage
    • Kingston Canvas React
  • Best Memory Cards For 4k Video
  • What Size Memory Card Do You Need?
    • For Stills
    • For Video
    • Sony RX100VII Record Times
  • How To Avoid Counterfeit Cards

 

Best Memory Cards Sony RX100VII

 

Quick Memory Card Recommendation List

Check prices they bounce around a lot between brands. These are all great cards.

Top Performers

Sandisk Extreme Pro 170MBs U3 – Amazon
Sony Professional U3
– Amazon
Lexar 1000x – Amazon
Delkin Advantage U3 – Amazon
Kingston CanvasReact A1 U3 – Amazon

Usually Less Expensive But Still Great

Sandisk Extreme – Amazon
Kingston Canvas GO! – Amazon

 

In-Camera SD Card Benchmarks | Sony RX100 VII

This is the speed chart for the Sony RX100VII. UHS-II memory cards did come out a little bit faster but the few MB/s improvement isn’t worth the cost and this camera does not have the hardware to fully support UHS-II.

Memory CardSpeed ClassUSB ReadUSB WriteSony RX100 VIIOrder
Sandisk Extreme Pro 170MB/sUHS-I99.288.337.29MB/sAmazon
Sandisk Extreme PlusUHS-I99.388.237.66MB/sAmazon
Sandisk Extreme U3UHS-I99.356.837.26MB/sAmazon
Sandisk Ultra U1UHS-I99.534.325.15MB/s--
Kingston CanvasReact A1 U3UHS-I99.682.535.89MB/sAmazon
Kingston CanvasGo! U3UHS-I99.674.035.47MB/sAmazon
Lexar 633x U1UHS-I95.054.635.61MB/s--
Sony Professional U3UHS-I98.560.237.75MB/sAmazon
Sony U3 94MB/sUHS-I96.757.536.75MB/sAmazon
Sony U3 95MB/sUHS-I96.685.436.86MB/sAmazon
Transcend U3UHS-I96.787.837.31MB/sAmazon
PNY Elite Performance U3UHS-I96.766.936.89MB/sAmazon
Delkin Advantage U3UHS-I99.678.836.17MB/sAmazon
Toshiba Exceria Pro U3UHS-I97.874.737.74MB/sAmazon
Toshiba Exceria U3UHS-I97.229.927.35MB/sAmazon
Verbatim Pro+ U3UHS-I98.583.734.16MB/sAmazon
Verbatim Pro U3UHS-I96.668.035.56MB/sAmazon
Amplim 667x A1 V30UHS-I99.652.234.76MB/sAmazon
Sandisk Extreme Pro 300MB/sUHS-II258.5190.537.97MB/sAmazon
Lexar 2000xUHS-II258.9201.537.42MB/sAmazon
Lexar 1667xUHS-II----37.79MB/sAmazon
Lexar 1000xUHS-II153.483.0937.90MB/sAmazon
Toshiba Exceria ProUHS-II263.6223.837.93MB/sAmazon
Transcend v90UHS-II258.2164.937.52MB/sAmazon
Sony G ToughUHS-II256.8201.038.23MB/sAmazon
Sony GUHS-II258.0206.738.36MB/sAmazon
Sony MUHS-II253.691.638.20MB/sAmazon
Delkin Power v90UHS-II257.6191.038.30MB/sAmazon
Delkin Prime v60UHS-II252.889.138.07MB/sAmazon
Fujifilm Elite IIUHS-II259.3168.437.52MB/sAmazon
Adata v90UHS-II259.4187.437.71MB/sAmazon
Hoodman Steel 2000xUHS-II268.7183.937.82MB/sAmazon
Hoodman Steel 1500xUHS-II258.1169.237.93MB/sBHphoto
ProGrade V90UHS-II258.2212.838.01MB/sAmazon
ProGrade V60UHS-II166.9105.937.81MB/sAmazon
Amplim 1900x V60UHS-II249.8104.537.92MB/sAmazon
Angel Bird V90UHS-II256.6211.137.90MB/sAmazon
Angel Bird V60UHS-II166.980.237.61MB/sAmazon

 

Top 5 Recommended Cards

I recommend only buying UHS-I memory cards since the Sony RX100 VII does not support UHS-II.

There is one exception, some of the lower end UHS-II cards like the Lexar 1000x still perform very well and often can be found at better prices than the UHS-I cards. One of the big advantages of the Lexar 1000x cards is they still have a fast read speed. This means if you have a UHS-II memory card reader, you can transfer video from your card to your computer much quicker.

 

Sandisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s

Best Memory Card Sony RX100 VIIAvailable At: Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto

Sandisk makes one of the most popular SD cards and their reputation is the best. The Extreme Pro 170MB/s is their latest and greatest UHS-I memory card and they come with a lifetime warranty.

 

Sony Professional U3

Fastest Memory Card Sony RX100 VIIAvailable At: Amazon / Adorama

Sony is well known for its UHS-II G cards but their UHS-I cards are actually very good as well. The Sony Professional U3 is often the best performing UHS-I cards in my tests. It’s a little hard to find these days in the 64GB size, but if you see it at a good price don’t be afraid to try it out.

 

Lexar 1000x

Recommended SD Memory Card Sony RX100 VIIAvailable At: Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto

While being a UHS-II card, the price and performance are very good and competitive. I usually tell people to not buy UHS-II cards for UHS-I cameras, but in this case, it’s a great buy. Plus, if you use a UHS-II memory card reader you can get very fast transfer speeds from your card to your computer, but you will see no special benefits in-camera with UHS-II.

 

Delkin Advantage

Recommended SD Memory Card Sony RX100 VIIAvailable At: Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto

Delkin is one of the brands I regularly use in my cameras and I’ve never had a problem with their cards so it always makes my recommendation list. I currently use Delkin XQD cards in my Nikon Z6, and I use dual Delkin cards in my Sony A7rIII. Often the price of this card is very competitive and it’s usually the best bang for the buck.

 

Kingston Canvas React

Good SD Memory Card Sony RX100 VIIAvailable At: Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto

Kingston is a great brand of memory card and they have a few options now at different prices with different levels of performance. Their Canvas React card has been performing very well in various tests and it’s a card and brand I always recommend. The Canvas Go card is also a great option for the Sony RX100 VII if you’re looking for something a little cheaper.

 

Best Memory Cards For 4k Video

Record Limit Time: Unlimited, but it’s set with a 5-minute record limit by default.
Minimum Requirements: U3

When it comes to specs, all the modern U3 memory cards that I have been testing have been working great for 4k video so all you really need to look for is that rating or better. So any U3, v30, v60, v90 card will work great.

The other rating you need to look at is SDXC or SDHC.

SDXC – This allows the cards to be formatted with a 64-bit file system so that you can have large video clips.

SDHC – With SDHC memory cards the camera will format them to 32-bit, this means video files will be broken up into 4GB chunks.

 

What Size Memory Card Do You Need?

I put together a nice guide based on specs and my experience to help you decide which size memory card to buy.

 

For Stills

For photographers shooting only still, I recommend buying a 64GB card. While I never use more than 64GB in even in a day of shooting, occasionally I’ll forget to clear off my camera before going out to shoot again and having the extra memory is nice.

I also like to leave shots on my cards from the day before until I know they are fully backed up to my server. So if you’re using any sort of cloud-based backup, it’s nice to buy larger cards so you can keep the redundancy while you wait for that backup.

Also, if you decide to record video, the 64GB cards will allow you to record without breaking the video files up into 4GB chunks since 32GB cards can only be formatted with a 32-bit filesystem.

 

For Video

The memory card size for the RX100 VII when recording video depends on what format you are recording and how you plan on using the camera.

There are a few details you should note. Take a look at the max bitrates.

 

4k 24p / 30p Max Bitrate: 100Mbps

1080 24p / 25p / 30p / 50p / 60p Max Bitrate: 50Mbps

 

To get the maximum quality or 100Mbps at 24fps or 30fps with the Sony RX100 VII you will need to record in 4k unless you want  100fps or 120fps then you can record 1080p with 100Mbps.

If you only want 1080p 24fps or 1080p 30fps, you will only get half the bitrate of 50Mbps.

If you want 1080p footage, I recommend that you still shoot 4k and scale it down with Davinci Resolve in a 16-bit sequence. In theory, this should give you 4:2:2 1080p footage. Then render out to DNxHD or Prores 4:2:2.

You should be using Avid’s DNxHD if you’re a windows editor and Apple’s ProRes if you’re a Mac editor. Although now there are ways to get Prores working on Windows.

 

Sony RX100VII Record Times

Here is a handy chart you can use to find the best size memory card you’ll need for your recording format. Or how many minutes you can get with the different formats on with different size cards.

For video shooters, filmmakers, I recommend 128GB cards and I highly recommend you clear off your cards regularly for backup.

By the way, is chart is the same for just about all Sony cameras that are shooting 4k.

Resolution Format Bitrate 32GB 64GB 128GB 256GB
4k30p, 24p XAVC S 4K 100Mbps 43min 85min 171min 341min
4k30p, 24p XAVC S 4K 60Mbps 71min 142min 284min 569min
1080 120p, 100p XAVC S HD 100Mbps 43min 85min 171min 341min
1080 120p, 100p XAVC S HD 60Mbps 71min 142min 284min 569min
1080 24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p XAVC S HD 50Mbps 85min 171min 341min 683min
1080 25p, 30p XAVC S HD 16Mbps 267min 533min 1067min 2133min
1080 60i AVCHD 24Mbps 178min 356min 711min 1422min
1080 60i AVCHD 17Mbps 251min 502min 1004min 2008min

 

How To Avoid Counterfeit Cards

Unfortunately, counterfeit cards are still a problem and they pop up from time to time at different retailers. 

The best way to avoid counterfeit cards is to avoid buying cards off auction sites. Instead, always buy cards from trusted sources. But occasionally even trusted sources like Amazon will get overrun by counterfeit cards.

So here is how you can find out if you’re cards are fake.

How to check if your sd card is counterfeit?

If a memory card is a fake, usually it has a hacked controller which will tell you the card is bigger than it really. For example, you buy a 64GB card, you then put the card in your camera and it tells you it’s 64GB, but there is only actually 32GB of flash memory. You might shoot for months or weeks before breaking past 32GB, and when you do, the card will fail.

This is why so many people have memory card failures these days, they’re actually just using counterfeit cards without knowing it.

To see if you’re counterfeit card is a fake the best way to check it so max out it’s capacity the day you buy it. It should get very close to the rated capacity without any issues, if it dies, then return it.

You can do this by copying files from your computer, or by recording video. Not a problem since the Sony RX100 VII no longer has a record limit. Teather it to USB set it to 4k 24 and let it record for an hour or three (depending on the card size). You might not want to do this in a hot environment to avoid the camera stopping from any issues with overheating.

 

Best Memory Cards Sony RX100 VII Conclusions

The Sony RX100 VII got a really nice upgrade, removal of the 4k video limit, mic jack, insane autofocus capabilities. It can really do just about anything.

While you don’t need the fastest card to deal with the video specs, you may still want to buy a fast card to clear off that massive 2GB buffer as quickly as possible especially if you’re shooting with that 20fps continuous burst.

UHS-II cards are not necessary for this camera so you can save some money with UHS-I cards. Stick with the U3 or v30 spec and you’ll be able to do anything the camera was designed for.

If you’re not doing a lot of bursting, and just use the camera as a travel or pocket camera, stick with one of the cheaper cards I recommended to save you a little cash, or buy cheaper but with a larger size.

I actually never shoot faster than 5fps on any of my cameras so I usually can’t tell the difference between the slightly slower cards and the best cards.

**This website contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click them to make a purchase.
Related Topics
  • Sony RX100 VII
Alik

Professional editor, blogger and photographer from Los Angeles California.

You May Also Like
View Post
  • Memory Cards

Best Memory Cards Fujifilm X-E4

  • Alik
  • February 8, 2021
View Post
  • Memory Cards

Best Memory Cards Fujifilm X-S10

  • Alik
  • February 6, 2021
View Post
  • Memory Cards

Best Memory Cards Nikon Z6 II / Z7 II

  • Alik
  • November 8, 2020
View Post
  • Memory Cards

Best Memory Cards Sony A7c

  • Alik
  • October 20, 2020
Youtube
  • How To Create A Better Film-Like Grain In Lightroom
  • The Secret To A Better Film Look
  • Advanced Lightroom Color Editing
    Hack Lightroom Presets For Better Color Editing
  • Master Curves In Lightroom
    How To Get Better Contrast With The Curves Tools | Lightroom Tutorial
Popular Articles
  • 1
    TTArtisan 50mm f1.2 Review – The Best Casual 50mm
  • SLR Magic 50mm f1.1 Sample Photo 2
    Modern Lens Design Is Crazier Than You Think
  • 3
    Pergear 12mm f2 HDR Samples | Fukuoka Japan
  • 4
    Cheap vs Expensive Lenses – What’s the Real Difference?
  • 5
    Japan Landscape Shooting – Rokinon 12mm f2
Join The Fun! | Sign Up For The Newsletter


About Me

A professional freelance trailer editor. I’ve been blogging for a decade and this site focuses on benchmarking memory cards, camera accessories and lens reviews.

There will be a shift towards more education with color and editing so be sure to hit the bell in the bottom right to subscribe for udpdates. Read About to learn more.

Popular Lens Reviews
  • 1
    A Complete List Of Fujifilm Lenses | X-Mount
  • Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 S Lens Review 2
    Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 S Lens Review & Sample Photos
  • 3
    Kamlan 50mm f1.1 II Review & Sample Photos
  • 4
    Meike 35mm f1.7 Review & Sample Photos
  • 5
    Meike 35mm f1.4 Review & Sample Photos
Memory Card Guides | Benchmarks

Memory Cards For Canon R5

Memory Cards For Canon R6

Memory Cards For Nikon Z6II / Z7II

Memory Cards For Fujifilm X-T4

Memory Cards For GoPro Hero 9

Memory Cards For GoPro Hero 8

Privacy Policy | Ethics Statement | Licensing

Copyright © Alik Griffin Inc. 2021

Input your search keywords and press Enter.