Welcome to my Sony A7CII (ILCE-7CM2) memory card guide that will help you to find the best cards for your needs and budget.
Which Memory Cards are Compatible?
The Sony A7CII is compatible with UHS-I and UHS-II (SD/SDHC/SDXC) cards in its single memory card slot.
Here’s a quick speed comparison between UHS-I and UHS-II cards.
- UHS-I: theoretical maximum transfer speeds of up to 104MB/s
- UHS-II: theoretical maximum transfer speeds of up to 312MB/s
In-Camera Write Speed Comparison
Since the A7CII has only just launched I’ve not yet had the opportunity to perform my extensive in-camera tests.
Therefore the following results are based on my Sony A7IV In-Camera Tests. As soon as I have the A7CII in my hands these results will be updated.
Best UHS-II Memory Cards
| Memory Card | * Approx In-Camera Write Speed (A7IV) | * Max Shots/Burst (A7IV) | Video Rating | Price Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sony SF-G Tough | 247 MB/s | 24 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 2. Kingston Canvas React Plus | 246 MB/s | 24 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 3. SanDisk Extreme Pro | 244 MB/s | 24 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 4. Lexar Professional 2000X | 243 MB/s | 23 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 5. Delkin Devices POWER | 243 MB/s | 23 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 6. Transcend SD 700S | 242 MB/s | 23 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 7. Manfrotto Professional | 242 MB/s | 23 | V90 | Manfrotto |
| 8. Angelbird AV Pro Mk 2 V90 | 241 MB/s | 23 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 9. ProGrade V90 | 239 MB/s | 23 | V90 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 10. Sony SF-M Tough | 152 MB/s | 20 | V60 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 11. Sony SF-M | 152 MB/s | 20 | V60 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 12. ProGrade V60 | 140 MB/s | 20 | V60 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 13. Lexar Professional 1667X | 103 MB/s | 19 | V60 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 14. Sony SF-E | 76 MB/s | 18 | V60 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
Best UHS-I Memory Cards
If you rarely shooting continuous bursts then you might be happy with the much slower UHS-I memory cards.
Again these UHS-I results are based on my Sony A7IV In-Camera Tests for now.
| Memory Card | * Approx In-Camera Write Speed (A7IV) | * Max Shots/Burst (A7IV) | Video Rating | Price Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. SanDisk Extreme Pro | 83 MB/s | 19 | V30 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 2. SanDisk Extreme | 61 MB/s | 18 | V30 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 3. Lexar Professional 633X UHS-I | 37 MB/s | 18 | V30 | B&H Photo | Amazon |
Compatible Memory Cards for Video
For shooting video a V90 rated card will cover you for all of the recording formats the A7C II supports.
However, if you don’t plan to shoot time-lapses in XAVC S-I 4K or XAVC S-I HD then a V60 rated card will be fast enough.
For movie recording (When [Proxy Recording] is set to [Off])
When shooting in the following formats and bit rates with proxy recording off the following card types are supported:
For movie recording (When [Proxy Recording] is set to [On])
When shooting in the following formats and bit rates with proxy recording on the following card types are supported:
* This camera cannot perform proxy recording when shooting in the XAVC S-I format.
For S&Q Motion shooting (When [Proxy Recording] is set to [Off])
When shooting in S&Q Motion in the following formats and bit rates with proxy recording off the following card types are supported:
For S&Q Motion shooting (When [Proxy Recording] is set to [On])
When shooting in S&Q Motion in the following formats and bit rates with proxy recording on the following card types are supported:
* This camera cannot perform proxy recording when shooting in the XAVC S-I format.
For time-lapse shooting (When [Proxy Recording] is set to [Off])
When shooting time-lapses in the following formats with proxy recording off the following card types are supported:
For time-lapse shooting (When [Proxy Recording] is set to [On])
When shooting time-lapses in the following formats with proxy recording on the following card types are supported:
Number of Recordable Images
The table below shows the approximate number of images that can be recorded on a memory card formatted with the A7C II. The values may vary depending on the shooting conditions and the type of memory card used.
| File Format | SD Memory Card Size | |
|---|---|---|
| 64GB | 128GB | |
| JPEG Light | 9 000 | 19 000 |
| JPEG Standard | 6 800 | 13 000 |
| JPEG Fine | 4 800 | 9 600 |
| JPEG Extra fine | 2 300 | 4 700 |
| HEIF Light | 14 000 | 28 000 |
| HEIF Standard | 10 000 | 21 000 |
| HEIF Fine | 7 700 | 15 000 |
| HEIF Extra fine | 5 400 | 10 000 |
| RAW & JPEG (Compressed RAW)*2 | 1 000 | 2 100 |
| RAW & HEIF (Compressed RAW)*2 | 1 100 | 2 400 |
| RAW (Compressed RAW) | 1 400 | 2 800 |
| RAW & JPEG (Lossless Compressed RAW: L)*2 | 1 000 | 2 000 |
| RAW & HEIF (Lossless Compressed RAW: L)*2 | 1 100 | 2 200 |
| RAW (Lossless Compressed RAW: L) | 1 200 | 2 600 |
| RAW & JPEG (Uncompressed RAW)*2 | 660 | 1 300 |
| RAW & HEIF (Uncompressed RAW)*2 | 690 | 1 300 |
| RAW (Uncompressed RAW) | 770 | 1 500 |
Recordable Movie Times
The table below shows the approximate total recording times using a memory card formatted in the A7C II with proxy recording set to off. The values may vary depending on the shooting conditions and the type of memory card used.
| File Format | Rec Frame Rate | Record Setting | SD Memory Card Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 GB | 128 GB | |||
| XAVC HS 4K | 60p/50p | 200M | 35 min | 1 h 10 min |
| 150M | 45 min | 1 h 35 min | ||
| 100M | 1 h 5 min | 2 h 10 min | ||
| 75M | 1 h 25 min | 2 h 50 min | ||
| 45M | 2 h 10 min | 4 h 30 min | ||
| XAVC S 4K | 60p/50p | 200M | 35 min | 1 h 10 min |
| 150M | 45 min | 1 h 35 min | ||
| XAVC S HD | 60p/50p | 50M | 2 h | 4 h 10 min |
| 25M | 3 h 20 min | 7 h | ||
| XAVC S-I 4K | 60p | 600M | 10 min | 25 min |
| 50p | 500M | 10 min | 25 min | |
| XAVC S-I HD | 60p | 222M | 30 min | 1 h 5 min |
| 50p | 185M | 30 min | 1 h 5 min | |
Sony A7C II Guides & Resources
Sony A7C / A7CII / A7CR Forum & Facebook Group
If you are looking for further help and advice on the A7C or would simply like to share your photos and videos, then please head over to our friendly Forums. If you prefer Facebook then I also run the Sony A7C + A7CII + A7CR Shooters Group.
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