The RX10 III is an old camera that was released in 2014, and it has a single SD card slot that supports the UHS-I speed class. If you still have this camera or are thinking of getting one from the used market, you might need some tips on the best memory cards. This guide will explain some of the basics and recommend the best memory cards for the Sony RX100 III.
Recommended Memory Cards Sony RX100 III
The RX100 III has one SD card slot that supports UHS-I speed class. Sony cameras from this era also had a 1080p video bitrate of around 50Mbps, which means you need a card that can support 6.25MB/s to record videos. You can use U3 or even U1 SD memory cards with this camera without any issues.
The RX100 III can handle memory cards up to 128GB in capacity. As a precaution, I’d recommend a 64-128GB memory card to prevent any compatibility problems.
These suggestions should help you find some of the best cards for this camera today.
| Recommended SD Cards | Speed Class | USB Write | USB Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD UHS-II V60 | Hide | |||
| Sony E v60 128GB | UHS-II v60 | 142 | 252 | Amazon / B&H |
| Sony E v30 64GB | UHS-II v30 | 73 | 247 | Amazon / B&H |
| UHS-I U3 | Hide | |||
| Sandisk Extreme Pro 32GB-1TB | UHS-I | 137 | 175 | Amazon / B&H |
| Kingston CanvasGo! 128/256/512GB/1TB | UHS-I | 124 | 161 | Amazon / B&H |
| Delkin Advantage 128GB-1TB | UHS-I | 77 | 93 | Amazon / B&H |
Sony RX100 III Memory Card Speed Test
Here are some buffer and speed tests from back in 2014. This will give you an idea of how this camera buffer performs. While cards today are faster, don’t expect to see improved performance with the latest cards.
| SD Memory Cards | UBS 3.0 Read | USB 3.0 Write | Sony RX100III Write |
| Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB U3 | 89.0 MB/s | 84.7 MB/s | 33.19 MB/s |
| Kingston 64GB U3 | 88.1 MB/s | 74.3 MB/s | 32.93 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme Plus 64GB U3 | 88.9 MB/s | 62.0 MB/s | 32.92 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme 64GB U3 | 71.3 MB/s | 52.1 MB/s | 32.79 MB/s |
| Samsung Pro 64GB U1 | 86.8 MB/s | 77.2 MB/s | 32.36 MB/s |
| Lexar 600x 64GB U1 | 85.6 MB/s | 60.1 MB/s | 31.94 MB/s |
| PNY 64GB SDXC U1 | 86.1 MB/s | 54.5 MB/s | 31.88 MB/s |
| Transcend 64GB SDXC U3 | 87.7 MB/s | 64.1 MB/s | 31.53 MB/s |
| Sony 64GB SDXC U3 | 87.2 MB/s | 71.9 MB/s | 31.18 MB/s |
If you have another Sony camera or are considering one, be sure to check out the memory card guide for Sony cameras, to see how different cards work in different models.
Also, check the latest SD memory card benchmarks.
SDXC vs SDHC
I only use SDXC cards now because they are needed to record video on most of the Sony cameras. I strongly advise you to avoid the 32GB cards if you have a Sony camera because you can’t use the XAVC S codec that many Sony cameras have. You need SDXC to use XAVC, which means a 64GB card or more.
U1 vs U3
You won’t see any difference in speed by using a U3 card instead of a U1 card. But on newer cameras, you might. U3 cards have a minimum write speed of 30MB/s, while U1 cards have a minimum write speed of 10MB/s.
Sony RX100 III Memory Card Conclusions
The brand of the card is not very important for this camera. But if you think you might change your camera soon, you should get the cards I suggested so they work well on any device. The RX100III does not really need a fast card for shooting. And all the cards I mentioned are good cards, so you can compare the prices and get the cheapest one if you want to save some money.
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