A speed test between some of the most popular SD memory cards in the Sony RX100 III.
Use this guide to find the best memory cards for your style and budget.
Sony RX100 III – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Sony RX100 III Memory Cards Speed Test
To no surprise the Sony RX100III memory card speeds perform very similar to the Sony A7r and A7s. Sony seems to have a slow memory card controller or processor in their cameras that lowers the maximum write speeds of any card to around 30MB/s. This means you really gain no benefit from the more expensive cards and there isn’t really a best memory card for the Sony RX100 III. It comes down to price and brand loyalty.
But let’s get into the details and I’ll share with you some of my favorite cards, my recommendations and what I think is the best card for the Sony RX100III.
Sony RX100 III Memory Card Speed Test
| SD Memory Cards | UBS 3.0 Read | USB 3.0 Write | Sony RX100III Write | See Price |
| Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB U3 | 89.0 MB/s | 84.7 MB/s | 33.19 MB/s | Amazon |
| Kingston 64GB U3 | 88.1 MB/s | 74.3 MB/s | 32.93 MB/s | Amazon |
| Sandisk Extreme Plus 64GB U3 | 88.9 MB/s | 62.0 MB/s | 32.92 MB/s | Amazon |
| Sandisk Extreme 64GB U3 | 71.3 MB/s | 52.1 MB/s | 32.79 MB/s | Amazon |
| Samsung Pro 64GB U1 | 86.8 MB/s | 77.2 MB/s | 32.36 MB/s | Amazon |
| Lexar 600x 64GB U1 | 85.6 MB/s | 60.1 MB/s | 31.94 MB/s | Amazon |
| PNY 64GB SDXC U1 | 86.1 MB/s | 54.5 MB/s | 31.88 MB/s | Amazon |
| Transcend 64GB SDXC U3 | 87.7 MB/s | 64.1 MB/s | 31.53 MB/s | Amazon |
| Sony 64GB SDXC U3 | 87.2 MB/s | 71.9 MB/s | 31.18 MB/s | Amazon |
Sony RX100III Memory Card Speed Test Results
You can see the speed between each card is pretty insignificant. Also, I don’t usually post the JPEG results unless I find something special. In this case they all seem to shoot around 18MB/s. I’m assuming it’s from the internal bottleneck that is happening, which is why we see these low scores.
Since none of the cards really left any of the others in the dust, I’ll list a few cards I like and that are a good price.
Best UHS-I Memory Cards
Typically the Class 10 / U3 cards perform better than the Class 10 / U1 cards. Just not on Sony cameras. If you’re looking to have the all around best card, the Sandisk Extreme Pros are my favorite. On cameras that don’t have the Sony bottleneck, they always perform the best and will last you for years. I personally buy these cards for primary use because I have multiple cameras. Also the Kingston performs really well, occasionally outperforming the Sandisk Extreme Pro.
I also recommend Sony cards since they are always very reliable with Sony cameras.
SDXC vs SDHC
I only test SDXC cards anymore because they are required to shoot video on many of the Sony cameras. I highly recommend you don’t buy the 32GB cards if you’re a Sony shooter since you will not be able to record video in the XAVC S codec that is now on many of the Sony cameras. You need SDXC to record XAVC, which will mean a 64GB card.
U1 vs U3
On the Sony RX100iii you don’t really get a speed boost from going up to a U3 card. But on many other cameras you do. U3 typically means you are guaranteed to get a minimum write speed of 30MB/s. U1 means a minimum guarantee speed of 10MB/s.
Sony RX100 III Memory Card Conclusions
I would say get what brand you like, it doesn’t really matter on this particular camera. However, if you plan on switching camera brands in the near future then consider the cards I’ve recommended so you can have great performance on all your devices. But for the RX100III you don’t typically notice a slower card when you’re out in the field shooting. And also, all the cards I’ve listed are great cards so check the prices and buy the cheapest if saving a few bucks is important to you.
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