The Ricoh G900 camera doesn’t come standard with a memory card as standard. Some retailers sometimes put together bundles that might include an SD card, but chances are you’ll have to pick up a memory card separately. So the natural question is: what’s the best SD card to get for it?
If you just want to cut to the chase, here are some quick recommendations. Any of these is a good choice for the G900. They’re compatible with all of the camera’s features, they’re from reliable and well-known memory card manufacturers, they’re readily available at major retailers, and they can often be found at reasonable prices. You can find more information on these further down this page.
- SanDisk Extreme V30 UHS-I SD Card
- Lexar Professional 1066x Silver V30 UHS-I SD Card
- Kingston Canvas Go Plus V30 UHS-I SD Card
- Type: SDXC / SDHC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Type: SDXC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Type: SDXC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Ricoh G900 Memory Card Requirements
So which SD card should you get for your G900? The specs and manual are pretty light on specifics, but the gist is:
- SD/SDHC/SDXC or FlashAir
And yes, that’s about it.
The reason for that is that the G900 is not especially demanding on the speed of the SD card, at least by current standards. It does have 4K30 video and HDR video modes, though, so there are cards that will be too slow to keep up.
Worth noting: FlashAir is a variation on SD cards developed by Toshiba. It conforms with SD specs but adds wifi capabilities, like the now-discontinued Eye-Fi cards. While it is still technically possible to buy FlashAir cards, the ones I’ve come across are absurdly expensive and therefore simply don’t make a good choice. Which is why I’m not including any here in these recommendations.
Something to point out is that, like other Ricoh cameras, the G900 does have some user-accessible internal memory. And, at 6.5GB, it’s surprisingly large. But it’s not really large enough to be a viable replacement for a memory card. It’s best used as a kind of backup if the SD card happens to fill up.
So what I’m aiming to do here is provide some practical recommendations on which SD cards to get for the G900 so you can spend less time searching online and more time out shooting.
I’m not trying to list every SD card that works in the G900—there are many others that will work just fine as well. I’m focusing here on ones that offer a good combination of meeting the requirements of all of the G900’s features, are readily available at major retailers, are cost-effective, and come from major manufacturers with track records for good-quality cards. And, because the G900 just doesn’t need–and can’t take full advantage of a fast SD card–there’s no point forking out the big bucks for a cutting edge fast SD card.
So here are some more specific recommendations:
SanDisk Extreme V30 UHS-I
- Type: SDXC / SDHC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
SanDisk's Extreme range are good bets for many cameras, and that's true here too. SanDisk has faster ranges like the Plus and Pro lines, but the Extreme line is both quick enough for most cameras and usually less expensive than those faster lines.
One thing to note with SanDisk cards is that they recycle their model names. So you can find Extreme cards that are older and slower. You'll probably find those older versions work just fine--it really depends how far back you go--but you can tell the latest version because it's labeled with both U3 and V30, both of which are speed ratings specifically related to recording video. These cards are often good value, and you can sometimes find them sold in 2-packs.
Lexar Professional 1066x Silver V30 UHS-I
- Type: SDXC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
This card from Lexar, one of the leading makers of memory cards, is a fast, reliable option. It's rated for video recording speed rating of V30. It comes in sizes up to 512GB.
Buy at: Amazon
Kingston Canvas Go Plus V30 UHS-I
- Type: SDXC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Kingston is another brand that isn't as well known as some of the others, but they've been making reliable memory cards for a very long time. As a brand, they don't tend to focus on the cutting edge speeds but rather on reliable and good-value memory cards.
This particular card (model SDG3 Canvas Go Plus) isn't the fastest in Kingston's range, but it's fast enough to work well in this camera. It's available in sizes from 16GB through 512GB.
Buy at: Amazon
PNY Elite-X V30 UHS-I
- Class 10 U3 V30 speed rating with read speeds up to 100MB/s
- Class 10 U3 V30 rating delivers speed and performance for burst mode HD photography and 4K Ultra HD...
PNY aren't as well known as some of the other brands, but they've been around for quite some time and make reliable, cost-effective memory cards. It comes in sizes from 64GB up to 512GB.
Buy at Amazon
Delkin Devices Advantage V30 UHS-I
- Type: SDXC / SDHC
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Delkin Devices have recently come out with a range of new SD cards of varying speeds and specs. This is one of their mid-range cards that is rated for V30 video recording speeds.
What Size SD Card to Use in the Ricoh G900
The G900 is compatible with SDHC and SDXC cards. That means you can use cards from 4GB all the way to the largest cards currently available, which are 512GB and even 1TB cards. The current sweet spot for a combination of convenience, being readily available, and being cost-effective is probably around the 128GB to 256GB cards. And given that this camera really lends itself to traveling, the larger cards will give you more flexibility with much less risk of running out of space partway through a trip (but you can also obviously take a spare or download your photos and videos on the road).
How to Format Memory Cards in the Ricoh G900
The G900 has separate functions for formatting the SD card and the internal memory. To format the SD card, go to:
Setup > Format [Card]
You can find the function to format the internal memory directly under that.
How to Format SD Cards with a Computer
It’s always best practice to format memory cards in the camera you’re planning to use them in, but if that’s not practical or not what you want to do, it is possible to format them with a computer. But there are some things to watch out for, particularly when it comes to choosing which filesystem to use. So I’ve put together guides on how to format SD cards on Mac and how to use the free SD Card Formatter app for Windows or Mac.
Related Posts
Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-12-01 at 13:56. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.