Sony a7III Dual Card Setup Guide

Hello and welcome to my dual card slot setup guide for the Sony a7III.

In this guide I’ll explain all the different ways you can setup dual SD card recording on the Sony a7III.

For example, if you want to write RAW to slot 1 and JPEG to slot 2, or write RAW and JPEG to both card slots simultaneously, plus many more different media recording options, then keep reading!

If you don’t care for reading too much, then you can also watch my following YouTube video that covers the same, otherwise please read on…

Sony a7III Dual SD Cards

The Sony a7III has two memory card slots and these are clearly numbered as slot 1 and slot 2. Slot 1 is that fastest slot and this supports UHS-II cards like the Sony SF-G Series. Slot 2 is the slowest slot and this supports UHS-I cards like the SanDisk Extreme Pro.

Sony a7III Dual Card Setup

In order to setup the dual card slots you will need to jump into that infamous Sony menu system, so simply hit the MENU button on the a7III and you should be greeted by the following menu.

If you don’t see this exact menu then you will need to select the “Camera 1” icon from the top menu tabs.

File Format

Before we jump into the dual card setup let’s just check what file format you have set, as by default the a7III is set to record in JPEG only, but for the rest of this guide to make the most sense you’ll want this set to RAW / JPEG. I expect most of you will be shooting in this mode anyway, but if not don’t worry as I’ll explain further down.

So simply change the file format to RAW / JPEG if you don’t already have this set.

Record Media Settings

Next we want to find the “Rec. Media Settings” menu. Simply select the suitcase looking icon from the top menu tabs, click down then move across until you see “Setup6” as shown below.

Click on the first menu item “Rec. Media Settings” to enter the sub-menu where you will see three options.

1. Prioritize Record Media

By default prioritize record media will be set to slot 1 which is the fastest of the two memory card slots. There’s really no reason to change this, so leave it set to slot 1.

2. Recording Mode

There are 7 different recording modes that you can choose from, let’s take a look at each of them. Please note than if you have not set your file format to record RAW/JPEG, then the following options will be limited to either JPEG or RAW, but not both.

Standard

The a7III is set to standard recording mode by default. In this mode the camera will only record images (RAW/JPEG) and videos to slot 1, or slot 2 if you have changed this under prioritize record media.

Simultaneous Images

In this mode the camera will record images (RAW/JPEG) to both slots 1 and 2 at the same time, and will record videos to slot 1. I’m using this option myself 99% of the time.

Simultaneous Video

In this mode the camera will record video to both slots 1 and 2 at the same time, and will record images (RAW/JPEG) to slot 1.

Simultaneous Images & Video

In this mode the camera will record images (RAW/JPEG) and video to both slots 1 and 2 at the same time.

Sort RAW / JPEG

In this mode the camera will record RAW images and video to slot 1 and JPEG images to slot 2. I’d recommend this setup as opposed to the next option if you are shooting continuous, as the RAW files are larger than JPEGS and will clear the buffer faster when writing to the faster slot 1 (that’s if you are using a UHS-II SD card).

Sort JPEG / RAW

In this mode the camera will record JPEG images and video to slot 1 and RAW images to slot 2.

Sort Images / Video

In this mode the camera will record images (JPEG/RAW) to slot 1 and videos to slot 2.

3. Auto Switch Media

By default this is set to off. If you turn it on and have the recording mode set to standard, and an SD card in both slots 1 and 2; then when the card in slot 1 is full the camera will automatically switch to recording on the card in slot 2. Personally I never record like this, so just leave this set to off.

 
And that’s a wrap. If you have any questions regarding dual card setup on the Sony a7III then please do drop them in the comments below and I’ll get back to you just as soon as I can.

My Top 6 Sony a7III Memory Card Recommendations

Here are my Top 6 recommended memory cards for the Sony a7III.

1. Sony SF-G Tough UHS-II Memory Cards – 299MB/s

Sony’s SF-G Tough Series have read speeds of up to 300MB/s and write speeds of up to 299MB/s. These SD cards are actually overkill for the Sony a7III which even when using the UHS-II compatible slot one can only write at a maximum speed of around 142MB/s. However, new cameras will probably support faster in-camera write speeds so if you want to future proof your cards then these are a great choice.

Tough memory cards are also 18 times stronger than standard SD cards, bend proof to 180N, drop-proof to 5 meters, waterproof to a depth of 5 meters for up to 72 hours (IPX8 rating) and dustproof with an IP6X rating. The cards feature a one-piece ribless structure and don’t have the common lock switch, they are also X-ray proof, magnet proof, anti-static and temperature proof.

2. SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II Memory Cards – 260MB/s

Sony’s SF-G Tough cards are definitely not the cheapest memory cards that you could put in your a7III, thankfully the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II memory cards are normally around 10 percent cheaper. Their write speed of 260MB/s is a little slower than the Sony SF-G cards but since the a7III writes at a maximum speed of around 142MB/s anyway this isn’t too important. The read speed of 300MB/s is identical to the Sony SF-G Tough cards.

3. Sony SF-M Tough UHS-II Memory Cards – 150MB/s

Sony’s SF-M Tough Series are practically identical to the more expensive SF-G Series but their write time has been cut to 150MB/s and the read time to 277MB/s. Still, like I have mentioned above since the a7III can only write at a maximum speed of around 142MB/s these cards will be fast enough and will also save you quite a bit of money.

4. Sony SF-M UHS-II Memory Cards – 150MB/s

Sony’s SF-M Series are identical to the SF-M Tough Series just without the added toughness so they cost a little less. They write at a maximum speed of 150MB/s and can read up to 277MB/s. Again because the Sony a7III writes at a maximum speed of around 142MB/s these cards will be fast enough.

5. SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I Memory Cards – 95MB/s

Because only memory card slot one in the a7III supports the faster UHS-II cards there is really no benefit to using UHS-II cards in slot two. Therefore I’d recommend the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I memory cards. I’d actually recommend using these slower cards in both memory cards slots if you don’t plan on shooting lots of continuous bursts and don’t require the performance of the faster and more expensive UHS-II cards.

6. Sony SF-G UHS-II Memory Cards – 299MB/s

The Sony SF-G UHS-II memory cards used to be my number one recommended memory card but for some reason Sony has decided to obsolete them. You might still find them in some stores but most of the larger reputable dealers no longer have them in stock. They have the same 299MB/s write and 300MB/s read speed as the Sony SF-G Tough cards but like I mentioned above because the a7III only writes at around 142MB/s they are overkill for this camera unless you want to future proof your card collection.

Helpful Sony a7III Resources

• My Sony a7 III Accessories Guide
• My Sony a7 III Lenses Guide
• My Sony a7 III Memory Card Guide
• My Sony a7 III Shooters Facebook Group

If you are on Facebook then I’d love for you to join one of the many Sony Alpha Shooters groups that I run. There are groups for Sony Alpha landscape, portrait, sports, wildlife, weddings, macro, street, and video shooters, as well as a generic group for everything else Alpha. You can find all of the links here.